If you have never heard of this dessert before, you might be cringing inside. Fruit and pizza together sounds like a mash up of two perfectly good food items turned into a hybrid of despicable proportions. If you hear me out, however, you might just be surprised. A soft and sugary cookie crust, a sea of cream cheese frosting fluffy and thick, and a burst of colorful fruit toppings makes this treat not only something your mouth will thank you for, but simply a work of art.
A Slice of History
No one really knows the exact origin of how traditional savory Italian pizza was turned into a dessert.
Pizza itself, in a traditional sense, has an extensive and complex history. The idea of flatbreads topped with various other ingredients can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, pizza’s more recent history started in Naples, where this staple was mainly a food for the poor of the community and eaten at any meal. After Italy was unified in 1861, the recipe and its variations spread into the mainland and became extremely popular.
Immigrants from Naples to the United States tried out their pizza recipes and started restaurants in major cities like New York City, Boston, and Chicago. Needless to say, people other than just these immigrants became fascinated by this dish and it caught on. The first documented pizzeria in the United States was established in 1905, called G. Lombardi’s in Manhattan. Over time, pizza changed from an “ethnic” food to something that was delicious, fast, and fun. More gourmet versions topped with barbeque chicken or salmon have popped up in California and with the invention of fruit pizza, it is safe to say that the pizza possibilities are endless.
There is word that fruit pizza did originate from California when a cook at a pizzeria accidentally added strawberries to a pizza, but this is speculation. Since the idea has sprung up, however, there has been a vast outpouring of fruit pizza creativity. Bakers use different kinds of cookie dough as the base–either chocolate chip, chocolate, or plain sugar cookie dough–and decorate with a host of toppings. The typical fruits seen burrowed in the soft cream cheese frosting are strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi, but anything from mango to pears to watermelon works well. Food bloggers have even started making mini fruit pizzas and shaping the dough into a bowl for the frosting and fruit to rest inside.
Another crucial part of this dessert is the glaze–and bakers have gotten creative with this as well. Some drizzle chocolate or caramel, others squirt on lemon juice or brush on a citrus glaze.
The best part of fruit pizza–other than the first bite–is definitely the creativity involved. Creating a patriotic or tropical theme with fruit combinations, messing with patterns and colors, and trying out a host of flavorful sauces leaves enough room to let the imagination and the taste buds roam free.
A Slice of Memory
I was introduced to fruit pizza in high school. During basketball season, once a week, my teammates and I would carpool after practice to one of our houses for notoriously delicious team dinners. In practice the afternoon before team dinner, our coach would approach one of us–the one whose parents were hosting–and interrogate them thoroughly about what was being prepared. Depending on what was for dinner, coach would let us out early and we would pile into cars as fast as possible.
Over my four years of spaghetti dinners, barbeque, potato bars, and crispy chicken fingers, there is only one thing that really sticks out. Fruit pizza. After eating a large helping of salad and the main course, someone would politely ask what was for dessert. If the answer was fruit pizza, which it often was being the fan favorite, a loud squeal of excitement would settle over all of us. I always have preferred the sugar cookie crust, but many of the team moms used chocolate chip cookie dough as the base. The gooey cookie mingled with the rich cream cheese, not too sweet, and the tart berries made for the perfect conclusion to any team dinner.
I have made this dessert many times since my high school basketball days. It’s especially prevalent on the Fourth of July–the holiday of holidays in my family–when summer strawberries and blueberries can masterfully present a red, white, and blue masterpiece. Fruit pizza isn’t difficult, either. Whether you are committed enough to make the dough from scratch, or just use a roll from the store, it always turns out delicious. (It’s nearly impossible to mess it up, too!)
A Slice of Colorful Creation
Most fruit pizza recipes you will find online or on food blogs will call for a roll of store bought cookie dough. I made my own sugar cookie dough from scratch for my fruit pizza, so the recipe given is a combination of a homemade sugar cookie dough recipe and a fruit pizza recipe. Between the dough, the frosting, the fruit, and the glaze, there are quite a few ingredients.
Just like you would if you were making a pizza, you start with the dough. Start by creaming the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. If you have an electric mixer, use it. I am behind the times and had to mix everything by hand. If you are in the same boat as me, a whisk works well. Because the recipe calls for powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, the mixture will be light and fluffy.
Once that is well mixed, stir the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and baking soda. Give the almond extract a good whiff before you pour it into the mixture. Doesn’t it smell delicious?
Lastly, add in the flour one cup at a time. Stir well. The dough should be thick and not very sticky–the consistency of normal cookie dough.
Normally, if baking sugar cookies, you would lay out the dough, knead it, and roll it flat with a rolling pin. Skip those steps and instead scoop out the dough and press it (like pizza dough) into a lightly greased cookie sheet. Make sure the cookie sheet you use has sides, whether a rectangle or circular pan. Once you spread the dough evenly, use your fingers to create a crust around the edges of the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. I had a few bubbles in the middle of the pan appear a few minutes in and just used a spoon to flatten them. It might make the cookie look less pretty, but no one will see because it will eventually get covered with frosting and fruit.
While the dough is cooking, turn your attention to the frosting. This is very simple. Thaw the cream cheese and combine it with the powdered sugar.
Once these two ingredients are well-mixed, fold in the whipped topping. Make sure it is very well mixed, or else the frosting will have the consistency of cottage cheese. The glaze should be the last thing you turn your attention to. On the stove top, combine orange juice, sugar, water, lemon juice, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt.
Stir together and bring to a boil. It shouldn’t take longer than about 2 to 5 minutes for the liquid to thicken to a syrup-like consistency. Once the glaze is thick, take it off the burner and let it cool.
While the glaze is cooling, wash desired fruit thoroughly and cut into desired shapes. I used strawberries, kiwi, and blackberries. I started by washing and cutting the strawberries into thin cross-sections. The blackberries I cut in half (width) and the kiwi I skinned and cut into slices.
Take the frosting and drop it onto the crust. By this time, the crust should be thoroughly cooled and easy to spread. Distribute the frosting evenly over the cookie, leaving the crust exposed just like you would a pizza.
After the frosting is spread, you can start to have fun decorating and placing fruit slices wherever you want. I started out thinking I would try to make my fruit look like flowers (the strawberries being the petals), but it didn’t work so well. I ended up just covering the pan with as much colorful fruit as possible.
Lastly, take a pastry brush and gently run glaze over fruit, crust, and exposed frosting. This may give the frosting a bit of a yellow tint, but it makes the fruit shine and will add an extra citrus flavor to the whole dessert.
Once the glaze is brushed on, you are ready to serve! This dessert is great for parties and holiday events, especially in the summer. It isn’t hard to make, it tastes wonderful, and looks so bright and delicious sitting on any kitchen table.
Fruit Pizza:
Adapted from recipes by Sabby In Suburbia and Design, Eat, Repeat
Ingredients-
For sugar cookie dough:
1 cup of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
For frosting:
1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
4 oz. of whipped topping
For glaze:
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch
a pinch of salt
Instructions:
1. Cream the butter and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer. Once mixed, add the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and baking soda. Once incorporated, add the flour in one cup portions. When the flour disappears, transfer the dough to a lightly greased cookie sheet and spread evenly, leaving a crust around the edges of the pan.
2. Bake the dough on 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Once done, remove from oven and let cool for one hour or more.
3. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in whipped topping. Spread evenly over crust.
4. Make glaze while crust is still cooling. In a saucepan, bring sugar, orange juice, water, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt to a boil, stirring consistently for 2 minutes or until thickened. Let cool.
5. Cut up desired fruit and put in desired pattern on top of frosting. Once glaze is cooled, brush lightly over fruit.
6. Enjoy!
*Pizza history information found on History.com in an article titled “A Slice of History: Pizza Through the Ages” by Gayle Turim.
Catastrophe Kitchen 