Thursday, June 30, 2011

4th of July Fruit Pizza

Although I can't be in my normal stomping grounds for the 4th of July, I wanted to bring a little of home to life with this fruit pizza.  It's something my Mom has made every 4th of July since I can remember.  You can make this for any occasion.  I think it works best in the summer with fresh fruit, but really anytime of year with any fruit would be great.  I usually buy the Nestle pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough from the store, this time I decided to make the dough myself.  I liked it a lot more than the store bought, and although it does take a little more time, it's worth it. 
I will post the cookie recipe at the bottom.  I made half the batch and it was the perfect amount!  I also let the dough cool, covered, in my fridge for two days before making the "pizza" crust.  I'm taking my leanings from the best chocolate chip cookies ever, and putting them to use.  If you don't have the time to chill the dough for a few days, it'll work great to use right after you've made it as well.
Press the dough onto a cookie sheet.  Try to get it as even and flat as possible.  I used a 9x13 inch cookie sheet, and had just enough extra for one cookie :)
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for around 8 minutes.  Make sure you check on the dough a couple times as the dough bakes fast.  The edges will start to brown, that's how you know it's done.
Once the cookie has completely cooled, spread a thin layer of cool whip on top.  I used low fat, just so I could eat a couple more pieces and not feel AS guilty!
This is where you can get really creative.  Since it's the 4th of July, I made a flag and sprinkled some powered sugar on every other row of strawberries for the white stripe. 
 I've eaten this with many different fruits, and they all taste great.  Bananas, grapes, raspberries, blueberries - you name it and believe it or not, it'll go great on a chocolate chip cookie with cool whip :)
What are your favorite 4th of July desserts? 
Almost the weekend...

Chocolate Chip Cookies
*I cut in half! 
2 cups butter
24 oz mini chocolate chips 
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla

Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender until it's a fine powder. *
Cream butter and both sugars together.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix together well.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
Add chocolate chips.
Roll into balls for cookies, or spread onto a baking sheet for cookie pizza.
Bake at 350 degrees for around 12 minutes for cookies, 8 minutes for pizza.
*You can skip the oatmeal in these cookies altogether, but they do taste great with the oatmeal included!

Fruit Pizza
1/2 batch of the above cookie dough, or store bought Nestle chocolate chip cookie dough
1/2 cup cool whip, possibly a little more
strawberries
blueberries

Spread the cool whip in an even layer over the cooled cookie dough.
Cut into equal sized pieces.
Add fruit to each piece 
Enjoy! 

2 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful dessert! Lovely presentation. Can't wait to try it. I think I'm going to make this dessert for a BBQ I am attending on Saturday. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/warm-strawberry-crumb-cake

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  2. These look really delicious. I love tray bakes and these sound especially good! Have a wonderful weekend :)

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