4th of July Fruit Pizza

Are you on dessert duty for the Fourth of July this year? If so, you’re in the right place! This fruit pizza is one of my absolute favorite desserts and the best part is you can use any type of fruit you want on it. I’m using blueberries and strawberries for this occasion but I’ve also had it with kiwi, raspberry, pineapple, and so many others! Keep on reading to find the ingredients, instructions, and tips on making this delicious festive dessert! 🙂

Ingredients

• One 16.5 oz tube of sugar cookie dough
• One 8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• One 13 oz can of whipped cream
• One 16 oz package of strawberries
• About 5 oz of blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove cookie dough packaging and slice the tube into 1/4 thick pieces.
3. Place the pieces onto a greased pan. I used a 9 x 12.5-inch pan and it fit perfectly! Spread the pieces together so that there are no gaps and it makes one layer/sheet of cookie dough.
4. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, but make sure to check on it consistently so you don’t over bake it while making sure the middle is cooked all the way. Once it’s lightly browned it should be ready.
   Tip: I use a butterknife to check the middle and if nothing sticks to it then it’s ready!
5. Once you remove the cookie from the oven, wait for it to cool down completely otherwise your icing spread will melt on it, and it won’t taste the same.
   Tip: I wait around 15-30 minutes and meanwhile I wash the berries, make the icing, and clean up the kitchen so I’m not left with a huge mess at the end. 🙂
6. Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together and once it’s smooth you can add 1/2 cup of whipped cream. The whipped cream isn’t absolutely necessary but it will help soften the icing and make the consistency more spreadable!
7. Spread the icing onto the cookie crust, making sure it covers the cookie all the way to the edges.
8. Start placing your fruit!
   Tip: I like starting with the blueberry portion. I make an outline of where I want the square in the upper left-hand corner to begin/end and this way there’s more of a guarantee that you’ll end up with straighter edges than if you were to begin from the very corner. I do the same with the strawberries to make sure the thickness of each red/white stripe will be fairly even and adjust the blueberries if necessary. Also, cut the strawberries in halves!
9. Use the can of whipped cream to add in your white stripes. This step isn’t absolutely necessary since the icing underneath the fruit is a light ivory color, but if you’re picky like me and want things to look more spiffy, then I recommend adding the whipped cream!
   Tip: I like using a can of whipped cream with a nozzle at the top so it makes it easier to pipe! Otherwise, it’d be a lot harder to do if you were to get the container version of whipped cream instead of the can.

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