A crisp, buttery sugar cookie crust is topped with honey mascarpone spread and fresh, vibrant fruit slices. This colorful and bright rainbow fruit dessert pizza is one your whole family will love to make and eat.
Tomorrow on Good Morning Connecticut we are cooking away those Covid and cold weather blues! I’m excited to show you how to make this simple yet stunning fruit and mascarpone dessert pizza. This is a fun food activity for your kids that will get them excited about fruit while also teaching them about patterns, colors, and more. And some good news, you can make these into mini individual treats so each family member can use their favorite fruits and designs. I don’t know about your kids, but Bea & Tilly are bickering a lot more these days, so individual expression through food is definitely making things sunnier in this house!
What I love about kid friendly desserts like this fruit dessert pizza is that it can be made by the littlest helpers. It combines arts and crafts with cooking. And it’s the perfect way to have some joy in the kitchen during these times we all feel a bit cooped up. The bright colors of the fruit make a beautiful treat that your kids will be so proud to create.
Sugar Cookie Crust
This fruit and mascarpone dessert pizza begins with a crisp yet chewy sugar cookie crust. Feel free to use store-bought cookie dough if that makes it easier on your end.
To make the sugar cookie crust you will follow the cookie dough instructions in the recipe to create a dough disc. Using melted butter in the dough helps to not only mix it with ease, it yield a crisper crust. That crispness is a wonderful texture against the creamy mascarpone spread and juicy fruit.
This cookie dough will be pressed around a pizza pan. Leave about a half inch of space around the cookie round so it has room to spread. Use your fingers to shape the edges evenly.
When baking up the crust you can use either a 12 inch round pizza pan or a cake pan. If using a cake pan you will get a thicker crust similar to a cookie cake, so make sure to bake the cookie longer. Below is a picture of a thinner, pizza pan cookie. This bakes up like a giant bakery style sugar cookie! Also, use parchment paper so you can remove the cookie to a plate without breaking it.
Allow the cookie to cool completely before topping it
Mascarpone Spread & Fruit Topping
This fruit dessert pizza is “sauced” with mascarpone cheese. I love using mascarpone since it’s naturally sweet and only a touch of honey is needed. Some lemon zest, vanilla, and cream delicately amps up the flavor. This spread goes beautifully with fresh fruit.
Additionally, mascarpone is naturally soft. So you don’t even have to bring it to room temperature. This dessert is definitely one you can make on a whim with minimal prep work and ingredients you have on hand!
Pick any sliced fruit of your choice to top your dessert pizza! Start from the outer border when decorating and work your way inward for the pattern. I do the peeling and let the girls have fun slicing the fruit. I do have special kid’s nylon knives and colorful cutting boards that are great and safe for children.
To get a glossy finish that you see on bakery fruit tarts, gently brush some warmed apricot jam over the fruit. And if you want a touch of added sweetness, Grate on a little white chocolate.
Thanks so much for making this fruit dessert pizza. See you tomorrow on Good Morning Connecticut! Follow me on Instagram for more food pics and free recipe videos.
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Fruit Dessert Pizza
A sugar cookie crust is topped with mascarpone spread and fresh fruit slices. This fruit dessert pizza is one your whole family will love!
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 1/2 cup butter melted and cooled slightly
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup AP flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Topping
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 kiwis peeled and sliced
- 1 C. Strawberries hulled and sliced
- 1/2 mango peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup mandarin orange segments
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon apricot jam warmed
- 1 ounce white chocolate grated, optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Make cookie crust: In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda).
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Melt butter in a large bowl. Whisk in sugar until smooth, followed by egg and vanilla.
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Then switch to a silicon spatula. Gently mix in dry ingredients. Form a cookie disc.
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Press that dough onto the pizza pan. If needed, put a round of parchment underneath the dough.
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Bake 12-18 minutes, until baked through and lightly golden brown. Note that crust will puff up and then fall back down and crinkle as cooling.
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Let it cool completely.
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Then make mascarpone spread by smoothing the mascarpone, honey, lemon zest, and vanilla in a bowl. Add cream and mix until smooth.
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Then spread onto cookie crust.
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Arrange fruit, starting at the crust.
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Brush fruit with warmed apricot jam for glossy finish. Sprinkle with white chocolate shavings, if desired.
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Serve immediately and chill any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to use store-bought cookie dough.
Use any fruit of choice.
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