Fruit Pizza

This is a beautiful dessert that looks much harder than it is.  The most time consuming aspect is slicing the fruit!  The first time I made this was for my daughter's baby dedication, almost 22 years ago.  I was telling the hubby today about how nervous I was when I made it then.  I even called myself an "uptight cook". Anyone who knows me knows how silly that description is.  So, don't be uptight.  Just follow the steps and you'll have a dessert to "wow" your guests.

Here's what you'll need:
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 c butter, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange juice
1 egg, room temp

1 tub strawberry cream cheese
1 8-oz whipped topping, thawed

Mixed fresh fruit - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi (whatever you like)
1/4 c peach or apricot preserves
2 TBSP water

Sift the powder sugar, flour, baking soda and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl.

Add the butter, egg, vanilla and orange juice.

Mix, on low, until the dough comes together.  Mix on medium high, 1 minute, until well blended.  Spoon dough into a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Dump the chilled dough onto the cookie sheet.

The dough is pretty sticky, and the heat from your hands will make it worse.  I tried using greased fingers. No go.  I also tried a wet spatula.  That didn't go so well either.  The best way I found was to lay a sheet of parchment paper over the dough and spreading it out with a rolling pin.

Gently peel away the parchment.

Bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the cookie is set.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Beat the whipped topping and cream cheese together with a mixer.

Spread evenly over the cooled cookie.

Arrange the fruit, in rows, over the filling.

Combine fruit preserves and water in a microwave-proof bowl.  Heat until melted, about 30 seconds.  Stir until smooth.

Use a pastry brush to spread the melted preserves over the fruit and cookie edges.

This makes the fruit shiny and helps protect it from drying out.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Will keep fresh in fridge 1-2 days.

Enjoy!

Mixed Fruit Crumbles

There's something warm and comforting about warm desserts when the weather is so cold.  With so many fruits being available year-round and a wide variety of quality frozen fruits, it's east to whip one up in minutes. I was cleaning our my freezer and I found a bag of frozen blueberries, and I had (almost) a quart of strawberries in the fridge.  I didn't have to think twice!

Here's what you'll need:
2 c blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 quart strawberries, sliced
1/2 c flour
1/2 c oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 TBSP cold butter
whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 4 ramekins with cooking spray.

Layer the blueberries and strawberries in the prepared pans.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt.

Use a pastry cutter (or 2 knives) to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until it looks like small peas.

Spoon the mixture over the berries.  Spread to evenly coat.  It may seem like you have too much topping, but as the berries cook, they will let off a lot of liquid.  This crumble will help soak it up.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until the topping is browned and the juice is bubbling through.

Top with whipped cream (or ice cream) just before serving.  Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!