Fruit Pizza

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A soft and chewy sugar cookie crust is topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and finished off with your favorite fruit in this epic Dessert Pizza! It’s a light and refreshing summer treat that’s super easy to customize.

The Best Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza Recipe

Pizza is one of those dishes that brings people together, and turning it into a dessert is tons of fun! Once you exchange the pizza dough for a soft sugar cookie, swap out the sauce for silky cream cheese frosting and load it up with a kaleidoscope of fresh fruit, you’ll fall in love with the idea of pizza all over again. And just when you think it’s too pretty to eat, you’ll give in to the temptation and never look back.

One thing I love about the cream cheese frosting is that it’s not overly sweet. It feels more like a no-bake cheesecake filling, which goes so well with the chewy cookie beneath it and the juicy fruit on top. You’ll be making a new variation of this gorgeous dessert for every major holiday!

I wanted to show you a couple of different ways to decorate your dessert pizza, so I actually made two of them when I took the recipe photos. We gave one to a neighbor and they were just as obsessed with it as we were! If you’re looking for a light treat to dazzle your sweet tooth, this easy fruit pizza is the perfect choice.

About the Sugar Cookie Pizza “Crust”

The cookie crust for this fruit pizza is based on my sugar cookie cake. The recipe is basically cut in half, with a few adjustments. I reduced the amount of flour and subbed in a bit of cornstarch to help the cookie not spread too much in the pan and prevent overflowing. You’ll also find that while other ingredients are cut in half, the egg isn’t. Rather than trying to cut an egg in half, I used the whole thing. It helps the cookie rise a bit more, which works nicely in this pizza.

What You’ll Need

Feel free to substitute the cream cheese frosting for vanilla Greek yogurt if you’d like to lighten things up even more. In this case, it’s best to assemble the pizza shortly before you serve it.

Scroll down to the recipe card for the quantities associated with each ingredient.

For the Sugar Cookie Crust

• All-Purpose Flour: You can use 1:1 gluten-free flour instead if necessary.
• Cornstarch: To promote tenderness and prevent overspreading.
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Unsalted Butter: Bring this to room temperature.
• Granulated Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar: A small amount of brown sugar helps your cookie crust come out moist and chewy and adds a bit of flavor.
• Large Egg
• Vanilla Extract: Stick with a high-quality extract for the best flavor.

For the Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• Cream Cheese: Brought to room temperature.
• Unsalted Butter: Also at room temperature.
• Powdered Sugar: If you need a gluten-free dessert, make sure your powdered sugar has that certification symbol. The same goes for the cornstarch used in the cookie crust.
• Vanilla Extract
• Assorted Fresh Fruit: Use whatever you’re craving! I tend to like a variety of colors.

How to Make Fruit Pizza

Once you’ve gathered your cookie crust ingredients and brought the butter to room temperature, you’re ready to start on the batter. From there, it’s just a matter of baking it up, letting it cool, whipping up the frosting and topping it off!

Make the Cookie Crust

Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 12-inch pizza pan with a parchment paper lining. Set the prepared pan aside.

Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set the mixture aside.

Cream Butter & Sugars: Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You should notice the change in color and texture and know it’s ready.

Add Egg & Vanilla: Add the egg and mix until it’s incorporated, then add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

Add Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over-mix it. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.

Transfer Dough to Pan: Transfer the cookie dough to the prepared pizza pan and spread it out evenly. I left about a half-inch gap between the edge of the cookie dough and the edge of the pan. If the dough is a little sticky, you can use an offset spatula to work with it.

Chill & Smooth Edges: Refrigerate the cookie dough on the pizza pan for about 20 minutes, then shape the edges of the cookie dough to be more even (as shown in the photos above) if you’d like.

Bake: Bake the cookie crust for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden. Allow it to cool completely on the pan. It will firm up as it cools. Be careful not to over-bake the cookie base or you could end up with a firm crust. Bring the cream cheese and butter for the frosting to room temperature while the crust cools.

Make the Frosting & Assemble

Combine Cream Cheese & Butter: Once the cookie base has cooled, start on the cream cheese topping. Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixer bowl and mix until well combined and smooth.

Add Powdered Sugar & Vanilla: Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until well combined and smooth.

Spread Frosting Onto Crust: Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the cooled cookie base and refrigerate it so that it firms up while you prepare the fruit for the topping.

Add Fruit: Decorate the pizza with fruit as desired. I recommend patting the fruit dry before adding it to the pizza.

Enjoy! Cut the fruit pizza into slices and serve immediately.

Decorating Ideas

With so many fruits to choose from and an endless possibility of patterns, decorating this dessert pizza is sure to spark your creativity. Here are some easy ways to make it festive for different holidays:

• Patriotic Fruit Pizza: Red, white and blue fruit pizza is great for July 4th, Memorial Day or Labor Day. Since the frosting is already white, all you need are strawberries and blueberries (or other red and blue fruits of your choice). If you want to make it extra patriotic, form the fruit into an American flag design like I did with this Angel Food Flag Cake! Just use strawberries for the stripes, leave the white parts as is and use blueberries for the stars area.
• Valentine Fruit Pizza: Want to share this treat with that special someone on Valentine’s day or an anniversary? Build a big heart out of raspberries and line the rim with strawberry slices or vice versa! You could even dye the frosting pink with gel food coloring – just avoid the liquid stuff, as it will alter the consistency.
• Christmas Fruit Pizza: Use a large round cookie cutter to remove the center from the cookie base while it’s still warm. Now you have a nice wreath shape! Decorate it with cherries and sliced kiwi, or any other red and green fruits you like, adding a few mint leaves here and there for good measure. We like to turn the cut-out circle into a mini fruit pizza for Santa!

Will Fruit Pizza Keep Overnight?

It will indeed – but it’s best to hold off on adding the fruit if you’re making it ahead of time. As the fruit sits on the frosting, it will naturally release juices. This won’t ruin anything, but I prefer my design to be juice-free when I cut and serve the pizza.

Be sure to keep the frosted cookie crust refrigerated in an airtight container until you’re ready to dig into your dessert pizza. Then you’ll just have to take it out and decorate it!

Tips for Success

As simple as it is, fruit pizza never fails to impress. Take note of the tips below to make sure yours comes out flawless.

• Measure the Flour Accurately: Don’t dip your measuring cup directly into the bag of flour – instead, fill it up one spoonful at a time, fluffing up the flour in the bag as you go. This prevents over-packing. If you have a food scale, it’s best to use that to ensure accuracy.
• Cream the Butter & Sugar Completely: Continue to cream the butter and sugar for your cookie dough until you notice the mixture lighten in both color and texture. This indicates that it’s fully creamed.
• Chill the Dough & Smooth the Edges: After you chill the dough for about 20 minutes, I recommend using your fingers to even out the edges. It’s a quick and easy way to make the crust look nice and neat.
• Chill the Frosted Cookie Base: I also like to chill the finished cookie once it’s frosted so the buttercream can stiffen up a little before the fruit is added.

How to Store Extras

Because the fruit releases juices, this cookie pizza is best served fresh. That being said, leftovers will stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Keep in mind that after a while, the juices will start to move around and soften the topping a bit.

Can I Freeze This?

If you’d like, you can freeze your cooled cookie crust for up to 3 months, thawing it out before you add the buttercream and fruit. Cover the crust in a tight layer of plastic wrap and freeze it in an airtight storage bag or container. Unwrap it and thaw it out on the counter before you frost and decorate.

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More Fruity Treats to Try

• Easy Blueberry Crisp
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad
• Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
• Triple Berry Trifle