These mini fruit pizzas feature soft, tender sugar cookies topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit. They’re simple to make and always popular. Customize them with your favorite fruit—fresh berries or a bright tropical mix work beautifully.
Mini Fruit Pizzas
Fruit pizza is a summer favorite for a reason: a soft sugar cookie base, tangy cream cheese topping, and colorful fresh fruit are a perfect trio. These mini fruit pizzas concentrate that classic combination into individual, bite-sized cookies. Because you form the dough into balls rather than rolling and cutting, there’s no dough-chilling step and the recipe comes together faster than many sugar-cookie preparations.
These cookies are ideal for parties or for matching a specific color scheme. A rainbow arrangement of fruit on each cookie looks festive and inviting.
For the Sugar Cookies
The cookie base is soft, tender, and slightly chewy. This is a rolled-sugar-cookie style—meaning you form the dough into balls rather than rolling and cutting shapes. The dough is enriched with an extra egg yolk, cornstarch, and a touch of cream of tartar for softness and structure. Butter, vanilla, and a small amount of almond extract add a rich, aromatic flavor; the almond extract is optional but recommended for depth.
Form the dough into rounds—roughly 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie (about 2 ounces for the author’s cookies). Space them on the baking sheet and bake until the tops look set. After baking, allow them to cool before frosting.
Recipe Tip
Measure flour carefully to avoid dry, flavorless cookies. Whisk the flour first, then spoon it into measuring cups and level the top, or use a kitchen scale for accuracy. If the mixed dough feels sticky when squeezed between your fingers, add 1 extra tablespoon of flour. If you can’t fully incorporate the flour, the initial measurement was likely off.
For the Cream Cheese Topping
This recipe uses a whipped cream cheese frosting that strikes a balance between creamy and lightly sweet. Start by whipping full-fat, brick-style cream cheese with a little granulated sugar until smooth, then incorporate cold whipping cream to achieve a light, fluffy texture. It’s important to use full-fat brick cream cheese—not spreadable or low-fat varieties—to get the right consistency.
Cool the cookies completely before frosting; warm cookies will cause the frosting to soften or melt.
Recipe Tip
This whipped cream cheese frosting is smooth and airy, and it’s less sweet than many frostings. If you prefer a traditional vanilla buttercream, a simple swap of butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and a bit of cream will give you a classic alternative.
For the Fruit Topping
Choose seasonal, ripe fruit and be sure to wash and dry it thoroughly before using. Excess moisture from fruit will make the frosting separate or become runny. Suggested toppings include:
- Fresh summer berries
- Tropical fruit combinations such as kiwi, pineapple, mango, and papaya
- A colorful rainbow mix of berries, kiwi, grapes, and mango
Storage & Make Ahead Tips
Make Ahead: Bake the cookies up to one day in advance. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature overnight. The frosting can be made the day before and refrigerated in an airtight container. Remove the frosting from the fridge about 30 minutes before decorating to soften; if needed, briefly beat it with a mixer to reach a spreadable consistency.
Freezing: Unbaked dough balls can be frozen in a sealed bag for up to two months. Bake directly from frozen, adding an extra minute or two to the bake time if needed.
Storage After Decorating: Because these cookies are topped with cream cheese and fresh fruit, store finished mini fruit pizzas in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They’re best eaten within three days.
More fruit desserts to enjoy:
- No Bake Fruit Tart
- Berries and Cream Sheet Cake
- Brownie Fruit Pizza
- Sugar Cookie Bars with Berries
Mini Fruit Pizzas
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour (344 g), measured correctly
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 g), softened but not melting
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar (267 g) — use 1½ cups for a sweeter cookie
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk (do not use 2 whole eggs)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 ounces cream cheese (170 g), full-fat brick style, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 g)
- ½ cup whipping cream (120 ml), 33–35% fat, cold
Fruit
- 3 cups fresh berries or chopped fruit (do not use frozen)
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamed (about 2 minutes).
- Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract to the butter mixture. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed. If the dough is sticky when squeezed, add 1–2 tablespoons more flour.
- Form the dough into balls of about 2 tablespoons each and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 12–14 minutes, until the tops look set. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
- For smooth, circular edges, while the cookies are still warm on the sheet, gently press a large round cookie cutter around the cookie to shape the edges—do not cut through.
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar with a whisk attachment until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on medium, slowly drizzle in the cold whipping cream and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Decorate
- Wash and dry the fruit thoroughly, then slice or chop as needed.
- Frost fully cooled cookies with a thick layer of whipped cream cheese frosting. A piping bag with a large round tip works well.
- Top each cookie with fruit and serve chilled or within a few hours.
Notes
- Flour: Whisk first, then spoon into measuring cups, or use a kitchen scale for best results.
- Nutrition: Nutrition facts are estimates based on 1 cookie with frosting and fruit, assuming 20 even cookies.
- Alternative Frosting: For a vanilla buttercream, beat ½ cup unsalted butter until creamy, add 2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons whipping cream. Beat until fluffy.
- Storage: Store finished cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.