Recipes to Make With Kids: Fruit Cookie Pizza

Eating the Rainbow

A rainbow of colors can be found on this plate

As a parent, one way that I've tried to incorporate more fruits and vegetables onto my kids' plates is by thinking in terms of color. My kids may grow tired of hearing me say, "Let's add some color to your plate," but hopefully when they leave the nest, they will hear my voice in their head with that reminder.

Fruits offers a rainbow of color choices. From the red hues of the ripest strawberries to the bright green of kiwis, the color palate found in fresh fruits will brighten up any plate.

On your next trip to the grocery store or farmer's market, see if you can make it a game with your kids by asking, "What colors can we add to our basket?" This opens up the door to not only discuss the benefits of fruits, but also to understand that each fruit has a different season.

You can take it one step further by assigning each family member the task of selecting a colorful fruit and determining how to incorporate it into your family's menu that week. It can be as simple as eating grapes with your lunchtime sandwich, or mixing fresh blueberries into your pancake batter.

Teaching the Rainbow

Setting up for my baking camp, July 2019

Back in 2019, I taught a summer flavors themed baking camp. One of my favorite recipes of the week was Fruit Cookie Pizza. During class, kids made a cookie crust and cream cheese sauce for the pizza. The highlight of the day was watching the kids seeing fruit as an ingredient to incorporate into their desserts. Students were able to select which fruits they wanted on their pizza and then they learned how to properly wash and cut fruit.

Seeing their autonomy in cutting strawberries, kiwis, and pineapples made me optimistic that one day these kids would gain kitchen independence. That's our goal at Itty Bitty Bakers. We want to come alongside our students and teach them kitchen skills and confidence that one day translates into being capable in their own kitchen.

Using kid-safe knives is a great way to teach kids how to chop fruits

We hope you will try this recipe with your own kids with the same goal in mind, gaining solid and lasting kitchen independence.

Kids loved decorating their pizza

Note: While we made one large cookie pizza, this recipe could easily be adapted into smaller, individually portioned cookies.

Fruit Cookie Pizza

Yield: 1 (14-inch) pizza, approximately 16 slices

Ingredients:

Fruit Pizza Cookie Crust

• 1 ⅓ cups butter, softened

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• 1 teaspoon orange zest

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 3 tablespoons milk

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• Fruit Pizza Sauce

• 1 (16-ounce) container marshmallow creme

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Fruit Pizza Toppings

• Assorted fruit (ex: 7-10 sliced strawberries, 1-2 sliced peaches, ½ cup blueberries, ½ cup pineapple chunks)

• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped (optional)

Directions:

For the Fruit Pizza Cookie Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla together using an electric mixer. Cream until ingredients are well blended, leaving a light and fluffy mixture.

3. Add in the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add the milk and mix well.

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

5. Gradually blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture using an electric mixer.

6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or freeze for 20 minutes.

7. Place the chilled dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper onto a 14-inch pizza pan.

8. Bake until the cookie dough is cooked and golden brown, but not overly crisp, approximately 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

For the Fruit Pizza Sauce

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip together the marshmallow creme and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Assembling the Pizza

Spread the sauce on the cooled crust. Top with fruit in desired pattern. Enjoy!

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Looking for more baking fun? Check out Recipes to Make with Kids on our blog, and sign-up your child for an upcoming baking class near you!