Mini Fruit Pizza Cookies

Our local grocery store, Wegmans, makes some beautiful and tasty desserts. They’re an excellent place for me to glean ideas for my at home baking.

These Mini Fruit Pizza Cookies were made after I spotted fruit tarts in their display case. They’re delicious, but they cost quite a bit, so for me they’re a splurge dessert.

Since figuring out how to recreate the flavors and beauty of their fruit tarts in the comfort of my kitchen, I no longer have to wait for my once or twice a year splurge dessert. Sorry Wegmans, but I still love you.

One warning about fruit desserts is that fruits tend to weep after they’re cut. I like to cut my fruit up and lay it out on paper towels for about 30 minutes to an hour before placing it on top of cakes or cookies. This extra step helps to absorb some of the extra juice from the fruit and keep your desserts looking beautiful.

I made a huge pan of these mini fruit pizza cookies for our Fourth of July neighborhood celebration last year, but these are excellent any time of the year. Like today for example. I haven’t quite decided if I’ll be sharing these with the hubs. Just kidding, he can definitely have half of one.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (or homemade)
• 1 package of Jello brand no bake cheesecake
• 1 small box of Jello vanilla pudding
• 2 and 1/2 cups of milk
• 1-2 peaches, sliced
• 6-8 strawberries, sliced
• 3 kiwi, sliced
• 1 container of blueberries
• 2 Tbsp. of jelly (I used peach flavored)
• 1-2 Tbsp. of water

Directions:

*Note:  I make these the day that I need them so the cookies don’t get damp.*

Custard:

Make the custard base by combining the no bake cheesecake packet, the vanilla pudding, and milk together.

Cover and store this custard in the refrigerator to allow it to firm up.

(Save the graham cracker crumbs that are included in the boxed cheesecake for a different use).

Sugar Cookies:

Bake the sugar cookies according to the package directions and allow to cool.  I use a medium size cookie scoop for larger cookies.

This yields about 12-18 cookies depending on how large you scoop them.  You can also slice the dough into rounds.

I chill my cookie dough for a bit on the parchment lined pan before baking if it’s started to warm up to ensure perfectly round cookies.

Fruit and Jelly Glaze:  All fruit should be washed and thoroughly dried before this step.

While the cookies bake slice the peaches, strawberries, and kiwis and set out on paper towels to release extra liquid.

Use other fruits that you like that are in season such as blackberries, pineapple, or even canned mandarin oranges.

Mix the jelly and water together until you have a glaze that is a brush-able consistency.  Add the water slowly so that the glaze isn’t too thin.

To Assemble:

Spread a scoop of the custard filling over the top of the cookies, and then top with fruit slices in a decorative pattern.

Once all of the cookies are topped, brush the fruit with jelly glaze to make it shiny.

Store the mini fruit pizzas in the refrigerator.

 

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