I’m sure that over the holidays many of us have filled up on all kinds of delectable sweets. Whether it be chocolate cream pie, cheesecake, or maybe even crème brûlée. While these treats are delicious, most of them aren’t very healthy. As we start off 2018, I’m sure that many of you have made New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier and cut down on the sweets. Yet I’ve found that even when trying to eat healthy, the craving for something sweet doesn’t go away. It really just keeps gnawing at you until you eventually have to give in. So a lot of times I like to go with a dessert that contains a lot of fruit, which is a healthier food item than ingredients such as chocolate. Without further ado, here’s the link to a recipe that I followed and made over the holidays (as pictured above). The ingredients and directions are also posted below. Not only is it a refreshing alternative to normal desserts, it is also healthier! It’s called the Fruit Pizza.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/05/23/fruit-pizza/

Ingredients:

Sugar Cookie Crust

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/2 cups leveled all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Topping

• 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Various kinds of fresh fruit

Make ahead tip: Prepare the cookie “crust” and frosting 1 day in advance– cover each tightly and keep the cookie at room temperature and the frosting in the refrigerator. Frost and assemble the day of serving.

Directions:

1. In a bigbowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for approximately 1 minute on medium speed. Once smooth, add the sugar and beat on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as necessary.
2. In a standard sized bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch). With the mixer on low speed, gradually incorporate the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients(excluding the fruit).
3. Once it is completely mixed, cover the dough securely and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to a day. Without refrigeration, your cookie dough may expand over the sides of the pan.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan. Take out the chilled dough from the refrigerator and press onto the pizza pan in an level flat circle.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Overbaking will cause a hard crust. Allow crust to cool entirely before decorating. To quicken the process you put the crust in the refrigerator after 10 minutes of cooling at room temperature.
7. Use this time to chop the fruit as the crust cools.
8. In a standard sized bowl using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth for approximately 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and 1 Tbsp cream. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1 more Tbsp cream if necessary to thin out more. Beat for 1 minute.
9. In a thick coating, spread the frosting over the chilled crust. Decorate with the assorted fresh fruit. You may choose to decorate your pizza like the picture above or come up with your own pattern. Some suggested patterns are checkered, stripes, and repeating patterns.
10. Cut and serve. Leftovers stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so you can enjoy your fruit pizza again and again.

Additional Tip: If you don’t want to go through the hassle of making the cream cheese frosting, you can buy it in most grocery stores. Also, instead of making your own sugar cookie crust, you can just buy Pillsbury sugar cookie dough that tastes great.