Last updated on June 15th, 2015
I made this red, white, and blue dessert “pizza” the other day, and all I can say is “Yankee-doodle-dandy.” It’s a giant homemade sugar cookie, all dressed up with lemony cream cheese frosting and colorful fruit. It tastes like heaven…and looks like the Fourth of July!
Note: Although I made my first pizza with blueberries, strawberries, and bananas…
I made a subsequent version with just blueberries and strawberries.
So use whatever fruit appeals to you.
Here’s the easy recipe:
To start, make a giant sugar cookie: In a bright green bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Next, in the bowl of your standing mixer, beat 1 stick softened butter and 1 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
No standing mixer in your batterie de cuisine?
Use a medium-size bowl and handheld electric beaters.
Then beat in 1 large egg…
And 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
At “low” speed, gradually add the flour mixture…
And beat until thoroughly incorporated.
Scoop the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap…
And then form it into a ball, and flatten it into a disk. Wrap the disk, and pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes or for up to 3 days. (If you’re not in a hurry, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months.)
Now fetch your French rolling pin, and roll the dough into a 10- or 11-inch circle.
Transfer the cookie to a rimless, parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill for 15 minutes or so, while you preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake until the cookie starts to brown at the edges — 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on things — you don’t want the cookie to burn. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the frosting, drop 1 (8-ounce) block of softened cream cheese and a generous cup of confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl…
And add the juice of half a lemon. (If you have a lemon-squeezing gadget, be sure to place the fruit cut-side-down. You’ll get more juice that way.)
Violently beat the cream cheese mixture with a wooden spoon or stout wire whisk until you achieve something that looks like…frosting.
Scoop this sweetness onto the center of the cookie…
And spread it out with an off-set spatula, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around.
And now the fun begins!
The fruit: You can arrange the fruit as capriciously or as artistically as you wish. To be somewhat artistic, I placed a small handful of blueberries in the center of my cookie…
And surrounded them with strawberry slices. (“Look ma — I made a flower!”)
Then I added a double row of blueberries…
And an edge of strawberries, with pointed tips facing out.
Did I leave well enough alone at this point?
I most certainly did not.
Instead, I sliced up a banana…
And dropped the pieces in a bowl of orange juice to keep them from browning too quickly.
Then I placed the banana slices between the strawberry-edge and the double row of blueberries. I also added more blueberries, which, as you can see, totally obliterated my initial design.
In other words, I created a monster. A big, colorful, screamingly-delicious monster that will serve 8 people.
True Confession: Brenda Johnson, my ever lovin’ taste-tester, received one slice of this tooty-fruity goodness. The rest of the pizza was devoured by…someone else.
(Burp.)
Well. I hope this fruit pizza doesn’t seem too complicated to make. Honestly, it’s one of the prettiest — and simplest — desserts in in the universe!
Need a copy-and-paste version of the above? Here we go-go:
A Fabulous Fruit Pizza
Kevin Lee Jacobs (www.kevinleejacobs.com)
Ingredients for about 8 servingsFor the cookie crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extractFor the cream cheese frosting:
1 8-ounce block cream cheese, at room temperature
1 generous cup confectioners’ sugar
The juice of half a lemonFor the fruit topping (feel free to use the fruit of your choice)
Strawberries — about 12, sliced
Blueberries – 1 pound or slightly less
1 banana, sliced and dipped in orange juice or lemon juice (to retard browning)Making the sugar cookie dough — In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a medium bowl if you are using handheld electric beaters), beat the butter and sugar at “medium” speed until light and fluffy. Then beat in the egg and vanilla. At “low” speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture. Form the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and tightly wrap in plastic. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes, or for up to 3 days.
Forming and baking the cookie — Center the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 350°F. On a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough into a 10- or 11-inch-diameter circle. Transfer the pastry to a rimless, parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the edges of the cookie begin to color — 15-20 minutes, or possibly longer if your oven runs slow. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack, and let the cookie cool to room temperature.
Making the cream cheese frosting — Put the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Beat with a stout spoon or wire whisk until thick and smooth. If the frosting seems too thin, just add more confectioners’ sugar.
Assembling the pizza — Scoop the frosting onto the center of the cookie, and spread it out with an offset spatula, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Arrange the fruit in some artistic (or capricious!) fashion.
If you are making the pizza ahead of time, leave it on the baking sheet, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 1 day.
To serve, slide the tart onto a wooden board. Slice with a sharp knife or pastry wheel.
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Brenda Johnson says
While true it did serve 2….I did manage to wrangle not one- but 2 yummy slices of this festive fruit topped treat!!!!! Crisp buttery sugar cookie, topped with lucious lemony cream cheese and sweet juicy berries!!! A perfect refreshingly cool snack on a warm humid day!! (And with all that fruit- healthy of course!!!) Keep this one in mind for any upcoming summer gatherings folks!! Guests and hosts alike will thank you! Thanks for sharing Kevin!!!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Brenda – Thanks for taste-testing!
Elizabeth says
What a fabulous choice for summer get-togethers. Thanks again, Kevin!
Bridget says
This is beautiful Kevin and we’re ‘on’ for tonight! Thank you!!!
Beverly, zone 6, eastern PA says
I am trembling with anticipation !
Fabulous photography for all the visual learners in your fan club, growing by the minute.
Tara says
I’m so excited! My grandkids are coming and this is so visually appealing and looks very easy to make. I think I’ll leave it to them and stand back and watch.
Nancy says
Thanks Kevin, what a perfect desert for the 4th of July! Yum
Amy says
Soaking the bananas…Genius!! I’ve always left out that yellow fruit because it turns too quickly. That’s why your website is my Go-To for sneaky hints and magical deliciousness.
Madgie says
This is my first time commenting. Kevin, I love your blog.
What a fabulous dessert!!! We go all out for the 4th and it is fun to have something new to add to the repertoire
I was wondering if you could use Mascarpone instead of cream cheese??
Trudi Dido says
AND for us gluten free peeps you can buy a bag of Bob;’s Red Mill Shortbread Cookie mix and make up this tempter. i promise you will NOT miss the floured kind
Doris Doody says
I’m going to make this for myself, and eat it in front of anyone who has not been ‘nice’ to me this week…may share if they apologise nicely.
sue chiafullo says
Kevin,
This looks delightful and easy! Even I think I can make this festive dessert!
Joyce Schlag says
Kevin. I really enjoy your emails and your recipes. Your humor and aesthetics add to the lusciousness of your food
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Madgie – Great idea to switch out the cream cheese for Mascarpone. Enjoy!
Catharine R. says
Kevin, I can always count on you for timely recipes! Making this today for Flag Day!
Bryanna says
Gorgeous and easy. On my menu for July 4.
Patricia says
Kevin,
Often have 4th of July celebrations and this recipe is perfect. I love your website and your recipes and helpful hints. Tried your blueberry galette last week for a ladies’ luncheon and it was a hit. Thank you for your delicious and humorous recipes. Pat
Brooklyn Bob says
We made it and loved it! The only change was more confectioners’ sugar for the frosting. A real winner, Kevin!
Darlene says
Do you think I can make this without bananas? I’m worried they won’t hold up if I make the pizza a day in advance.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Brooklyn Bob – So glad you tried — and liked — this fun dessert!
Hi Darlene – I’ve updated the recipe to show that I made a subsequent pizza with only blueberries and strawberries. (See photo #3 above.)
frederique Jennette says
How beautiful!!! I am definitely going to make this this July 4th! Thank you!
Happy July 4,
Renee
Marise says
This is so lovely, it is the most beautiful fruit pizza ive ever seen! Im going to make it for a big birthday party/barbeque coming up this Sunday, June 21st. I’m always sad when the 4th is over, like when Christmas is past. I think we’ll eat this 10 times before and after, to prolong the holiday
Amy says
Thank you Kevin for the copy and paste recipe! Very thoughtful. This looks scrumptious and I am going to make it tonight with my kids. Fun and delicious and art all in one! How can you miss?
Addie B in Florida says
This recipe looks wonderful; we are going to a July 4th party and I offered to bring this as dessert. The hostess said her partner is making a cheesecake so I forwarded your link to her and asked her to reconsider – geez! What could be more perfect??
I also sent it to my daughter in CT, whose husband’s birthday is July 4th – why not make it as a birthday “cake”, which her two kids could also have fun helping with? My daughter Lisa is a very busy radio news anchor in NYC, so I told her that if time was an issue she could even use a packaged cookie mix if she had to – sacrilege, I know, but you can’t imagine how busy that woman is! And she lives for spending what free time she has with her two kids (8 and 6).
Still waiting for replies from both but I only sent it earlier today.
Linda DeVona says
Hi! Glad to have this recipe! I’m making dessert for a potluck luncheon tomorrow…I may try making little individual fruit pizzas using the same recipe! My Mom used to make a similar recipe, but she glazed the end results with a apricot jelly glaze ( just microwaved jelly?) that made it look so pretty! She used all kinds of fruit…kiwi, mandarin oranges, etc…
Debbie says
I just made this to take to a FIREWORKS PORCH PARTY… It looks MARVELOUS DARLING!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
HI Debbie – So glad the pizza worked out for you. Enjoy your party!
Barbara Chaisson says
I have been making this for years. Use sugar cookie dough from refrigerated section of the grocery store as my base. I like to use kiwi for color, and mandarin oranges sometimes too.