Fruit Pizza Recipe

Fruit Pizza!!

When birthdays roll around each year, I’d rather say “yes, please” to a piece (or 2!) of fruit pizza, than to birthday cake and ice cream J. It’s a family-favorite: super-delicious and super-easy. (I wish it was super-calorie friendly…but hey, I have it once/twice a year, so no worries!)

Last Sunday, we celebrated 3 of the 4 family birthdays in July (5 if you count Uno Robusto's b-day), so I made a fruit pizza, complete with birthday candles.

Here are the step by step instructions on how to make this delicious dessert:

Ingredients:

·    Bag/box of sugar cookie mix

·    Ingredients needed to make the sugar cookie dough (listed on box - typically a stick of butter and 1 egg)

·    (1) block of cream cheese or 1/3 less-fat cream cheese

·    1/2 cup sugar

·    1 tsp vanilla

·    choice of 5 fruits

Step 1:     Make sugar cookie dough, according to bag/box directions. 

Step 2:     Press into a large circle, on a pizza pan sprayed with PAM. (if dough sticks to your hands, dip them in a small amount of water - it will help the dough release from your hands while you're pressing it into the circle). 

Step 3:     Bake at 350-degrees for 12-ish minutes. Keep an eye on it, as when it's evenly light-brown on top, it's done! Let cool.

Step 4:     Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Spread mixture onto cooled "pizza crust". 

Step 5:     Arrange cut fruits on top in whatever design you'd like!

Step 6:     Keep in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Cut into 8 pieces and enjoy!

*Here's a handy tip: take a pineapple ring and stick it right in the middle of the pizza...then place fruits around the pineapple until you reach the very edges.

Suggested fruits:

• pineapple ring
• canned mandarin orange slices
• grapes, halved
• strawberries, sliced
• blueberries
• blackberries
• raspberries
• kiwi, sliced
• pitted cherry (for the very middle)

*If you make this ahead-of-time, wait to put the cream-cheese mixture and fruit on the crust until 2-3 hours before you serve it. Otherwise, the crust can get mushy.

What is your favorite birthday cake or celebration recipe?