Rainbow Fruit Pizza

It’s Memorial Day weekend and that means summer is officially here! I think it’s safe to say that everybody enjoys summer festivals, backyard barbecues, community events and the ease of getting together that the warm and sunny weather brings. What’s my favorite thing about all of these summertime activities? FOOD. I love trying new foods just as much as I enjoy the classics. Which brings me to the topic of this post, rainbow fruit pizza! Juicy rainbow fruits top a sweet strawberry cream cheese spread, all delicately placed on a sugar cookie bed!

This classic summer dessert is the perfect size for sharing and a stunning addition to any summer spread. For how enticing it looks, it’s really quite simple and relatively quick to make. Besides, who can resist cool, fresh, juicy fruits on a hot summer day? 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 rolls of sugar cookie dough OR use your favorite recipe for two dozen sugar cookies.
• 8 oz spreadable strawberry cream cheese.
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Fruits of your choice: I used strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapples, kiwi, blueberries (use as much as you like/can pile on!).

My approach to fruits and vegetables is “eat the rainbow”. If you’ve noticed, my fruit pizza has something red, orange, yellow, green and blue/purple. This is a great way to get the tons of different vitamins that each colored fruit is packed with all in one mouthful! When picking fruity toppings for your fruit pizza, avoid fruits that are terribly watery, like watermelon or ones that brown quickly when exposed to air, like apples and bananas. Although I have used bananas before and they’re delicious on fruit pizza, I recommend only using them if you’re going to cut them, place them and serve right away before they get brown and mushy. 

First step is to press your cookie dough into a rimmed baking pan. Rectangle or circle, it doesn’t matter just as long as your cookie dough reaches all sides and is an even thickness all over. Also, the dough is easiest to work with when it’s cold, but if it does start to get sticky, rub a very light coating of butter on a silicone spatula and use that to press the dough. Pop it in the oven and bake at 350° for 15-19 minutes until it’s a light golden color all over. *Careful not to overbake or you’ll have a crumbly, rock-hard crust.

While your crust is baking, make the cream cheese spread and prep your fruits.

1. For cream cheese spread: place all 8 oz of strawberry cream cheese in a medium bowl then stir in 1/4 cup of sugar, stir until blended.
2. For any canned fruits, pour them into a strainer and let the juice drain out completely, then lay all fruits on a paper towel-lined kitchen towel to further dry. Any excess liquid will make your cream cheese spread soupy. No thanks.

*By the way, if this gorgeous skirt looks familiar, you probably saw me rave about it here!

chop chop!

My rainbow fruits are washed, dried, cut and good to go! Once the crust comes out of the oven, let it cool completely before spreading the strawberry cream cheese mixture!

And spreaaaaaaad. Nice and neatly, evenly coating the sugar cookie crust.

Once you’ve gone over your cookie and have the perfect even layer of strawberry cream cheese, it’s time to decorate! I’ve seen people get really artistic with fruit pizza, making mandala type designs, patterns, or using colors that coordinate with the event/holiday they’re baking for! Usually I just sprinkle everything on, trying to get everything evenly spaced so that everyone gets a bite of each fruit. This time I got artsy and did a little pattern. Can you see it?!

Once you and your party has admired your tasty expression of artistic flair, DIG IN!

I want to hear what you think! Have you tried fruit pizza before?

♥Mia