A soft, thick, and chewy sugar cookie base topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting and fresh berries (and WAY better than the premade Pillsbury dough you’ve probably have before!).
Why I Love This Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza
- Baked in a 9×13″ pan: This recipe is scaled to make thick bars in a 9×13 pan! We recommend a light metal 9×13 pan to ensure soft sugar cookie bars.
- It’s perfectly sliceable! When you slice this fruity sugar cookie cake, it won’t crumble or break into pieces—the soft, chewy crust cuts cleanly into handheld slices because it’s based on my super popular sugar cookie bar recipe.
- Perfect for a crowd! Perfect for barbecues, summer parties, patriotic Fourth of July desserts, baby showers, or whenever you need to take a dessert to a potluck!
- Super easy! It doesn’t take much more effort than a Pillsbury sugar cookie fruit pizza, but it tastes way better than the thin, crumbly crust you get with pre-made dough.
- No soggy fruits! It’s always a bummer when your fruit pizza gets soggy, so we’re skipping some of those juicy fruits like mandarin oranges that don’t belong on fruit pizza (oops, I said it). I skip the grapes, mandarin oranges, and kiwi (which release a lot of juices), and only use fresh berries.
Tips for Success
- Don’t overbake: Fruit pizza recipes need a crust that’s thick and chewy, not crumbly. To achieve this, it’s important not to over-bake the sugar cookie base. The center will be slightly under-done when you take it out of the oven, and that’s okay!
- Dry the fruit: Make sure your fruit is dry. Wash it well, then either let it sit in a colander until it’s completely dry or pat it dry with paper towels. Don’t use frozen fruit; it will be too soggy!
- Don’t skip the parchment paper on the pan! This will keep the crust from sticking and also help you lift out the bars to help you get those perfect, clean sugar cookie fruit pizza slices. For clean slices, I also like to freeze the bars for about 20-30 minutes before slicing.
- Make it festive! Since we’re baking this in a rectangle 9×13 pan, you can easily turn it into a 4th of July fruit pizza by arranging the berries in an American flag!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Unsalted butter: for the best tasting & sturdy bars, use real butter (not margarine). You can use salted butter and omit the added salt.
- Almond extract: this gives it an amazing sugar cookie flavor but if you don’t like the flavor of almond extract, you can replace with more vanilla.
- Cream cheese: use a block of cream cheese for the frosting, not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub.
- Berries: you can use any mix of berries you want but I love using strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries!
How to Make Sugar Cookie Pizza:
Step 1: Make the Dough
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Follow the instructions in the recipe card to mix up the sugar cookie dough, stirring just until all the flour disappears. You don’t want to over-mix, because this can make your sugar cookie crust tough!
Tip: If you forget to soften your butter ahead of time, you can pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Step 2: Press into pan & bake
Drop the sugar cookie dough into a parchment-lined, light metal 9×13 pan, then use clean hands to press it into the bottom, making sure it’s smooth and evenly distributed.
Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
Tip: If the dough is sticky, you can place a piece of parchment on top before pressing it into the pan.
Step 3: Make the Frosting
While you let the sugar cookie crust cool, whip up the cream cheese frosting ingredients into a smooth, creamy spread for your sugar cookie fruit pizza.
Step 4: Frost the Crust
Once the crust has cooled completely, use an offset spatula to frost the sugar cookie bars. If desired, you can leave a margin along the edges just like a real pizza.
Tip: If you want clean cuts & plan to serve these on a platter vs. in the pan, I recommend lifting the bars out of the pan before frosting & adding berries.
Step 5: Decorate & Slice
The final step of this sugar cookie pizza recipe is to layer on the fresh berries! This is a great step to have kids help with. Copy my scattered design here or read on for some other decoration ideas.
For clean slices, allow the bars to chill in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is firm (since this is a softer frosting, it won’t get totally hard but will firm up a bit). Before serving, I like to freeze the bars for about 30-60 minutes and then use a large, sharp knife to cut. Wipe the knife off with a warm towel between each cut to prevent the frosting & berries from smearing.
Fun Variations
- Switch up the frosting! Use the buttercream from my regular sugar cookie bar recipe instead of cream cheese frosting. I’ve also seen this done with Cool Whip, although I don’t think it would be as tasty or hold up as well to the fruit.
- Switch up the crust! You could make fruit pizza without sugar cookie crust by using a brownie base instead. Other fruit pizza crust alternatives include blondies, white chocolate chip cookie dough, or even my triple chocolate cookie cake dough!
- Switch up the shape! Make a sheet pan fruit pizza or square fruit pizza instead; for a square fruit pizza, you’ll need to bake the recipe longer and for a sheet pan, you’ll have to double the dough.
Decoration Ideas
- Make a patriotic sugar cookie fruit pizza (4th of July) by arranging the fruit to look like the American flag, or bake a regular batch of my frosted sugar cookie bars and use different colors of frosting to pipe on an American flag!
- Stick with a single fruit (i.e., a sugar cookie strawberry pizza or blueberry pizza).
- Use your favorite fruits to make a rainbow, add a white or dark chocolate drizzle, sprinkle on some nuts for crunch—a pizza sugar cookie with fruit is totally customizable!
How to Store Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza (do you have to refrigerate fruit pizza?!)
Yes, you do have to store this in the refrigerator to keep the cream cheese safe & berries fresh!
If you don’t plan on serving the sugar cookie pizza right away, you can store it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Note that the longer it sits, the juicier the berries will be. Therefore, I don’t recommend making this too far in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do you keep fruit pizza from getting soggy?
Skipping the juicy fruits like canned mandarin oranges and kiwi helps keep this fruit pizza from getting soggy. Also, be sure to use berries that are at the peak of ripeness and dry them well before adding them to the pizza.
If you’re making this in advance, I recommend baking the bars and then waiting to frost or add the berries until closer to when you’re ready to serve.
Can I make this recipe into individual fruit pizza cookies?
If you’d like to make individual mini fruit pizzas, I recommend making either my Chilled Sugar Cookies (roll them thick!) or my Fluffy Sugar Cookies and topping them with cream cheese frosting and berries.
How is this different from Pillsbury sugar cookie fruit pizza?
Pillsbury fruit pizza isn’t nearly as good as this sugar cookie pizza from scratch, with its perfectly chewy, sliceable crust! It’s also way better than Pillsbury pizza dough dessert recipes.
Can I make a strawberry pizza recipe with sugar cookie dough?
Absolutely! Just omit the other berries and use only strawberries for your fruit pizza. You can amp up the strawberry flavor by using strawberry frosting, too.
This post was originally published July 2018, but updated with a refreshed recipe & photos June 2022.
Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza Bars
A chewy, perfectly sliceable sugar cookie base is topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit for the ultimate summertime dessert! Bake in a 9×13 pan for easy transport.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt omit if using salted butter
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar depending on how stiff your frosting is (this can depend on the brand of cream cheese), you can add up to 1/4 cup more
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Fruit Topping
- 10 ounces blueberries
- 8 ounces strawberries sliced
- 6 ounces raspberries
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. If your butter hasn't been softened, you can place in microwave for 10 seconds to *slightly* soften it.
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In a large bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 20-30 seconds; do not overbeat. While mixer is still on medium speed, add in egg, vanilla and almond extract.
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Once mixed, add in baking powder, salt, and flour. (Add flour 1/2 cup at a time on low speed). Be sure to measure your flour properly using the spoon & level method, as adding too much can result in dry bars.
Mix until all flour disappears, typically 20-30 seconds. You do not need to beat/mix this any longer than it takes to mix in the flour. When pinched between your fingers, dough should be similar to a playdoh consistency and not be very sticky.
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Lightly grease a 9×13 pan with butter or non stick baking spray then cover the pan in parchment paper (having the grease underneath the paper will help the paper stay down).
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Drop the dough into 1 tablespoon sized chunks into the prepared pan. Use your hands or a spatula to press down the dough until it covers the pan and is smooth around the edges.
Tip: If the dough is sticky, you can place another piece of parchment paper on top and continue pressing down.
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Bake for 14-16 minutes. The trick to soft sugar cookie bars is to take them out right when you see the TINIEST amount of brown around the edges. The center may look underdone and this is okay; the bars will continue to bake in the hot pan when cooling.
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Allow to cool completely before frosting (once the pan is cool to the touch, you can put the pan in the fridge on a cooling rack to speed this up).
To Make Frosting and Decorate:
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In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for 1-2 minutes (until light and creamy).
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Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar. Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
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Spread the frosting onto the crust and arrange the fresh berries on top.
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For clean slices, allow the bars to chill in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is firm (since this is a softer frosting, it won't get totally hard but will firm up a bit). Before serving, I like to freeze the bars for about 30-60 minutes and then use a large, sharp knife to cut. Wipe the knife off with a warm towel between each cut to prevent the frosting & berries from smearing.
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Cover & store in refrigerator until ready to eat.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Recipe Notes
- Storage: If not eating right away, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Almond Extract: This gives it an amazing sugar cookie flavor but if you don’t like almond extract (or have an allergy) you can simply substitute it for more vanilla extract.
Nutrition
If you make this sugar cookie fruit pizza, be sure to leave a comment below and tag me on Instagram @designeatrepeat. I LOVE seeing what you made!
Angela says
I plan to make this next weekend. I know it’s best to probably use fresh fruit, but could you use frozen or would it get too mushy?
Melissa says
It would get too watery & mushy unfortunately!
Rosa says
How can u keep the fruit from turning black like the bananas
Melissa says
Hi Rosa! I’ve never used bananas on this. I recommend sticking with berries or kiwis. Soft fruits that don’t turn brown work best and have the best texture.
Maddie says
I am making this for someone who is allergic to nut products. What can I use as a substitute for almond extract?
Melissa says
You can omit the almond extract or replace with an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla!
Karly says
I’m very excited about this one! I can’t wait to try. Looks delicious!
Melissa says
Thanks, Karly! If you make it, let me know how you like it!!