Mini Fruit Pizzas

By Kelly Bogard

Summer’s here. And so is the abundance of fresh fruit. Lots of local berries—even more exotic fruits grown in far away places—make it to my kitchen this time of year.

I’m keeping plenty on hand. Because it’s great for snacks. Especially when the kiddos play outside until the street lights come on.

I try to find new ways to use fruit, so Butters doesn’t get burned out. This week’s recipe—cool and refreshing—is a great way to sweeten the deal when it comes to a quick snack.

For Mini Fruit Pizzas, you will need…
1 box lemon cake mix
½ c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. butter, softened
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. assorted fruit, washed and sliced if needed

One thing I really like about these cookies is how easy it is to change them up. I love the flavor of the lemon with berries, but I can also see it with chocolate and cherries.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Using a teaspoon, gather enough dough to make a ball about the size of a half dollar. Roll it into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. These cookies will be soft, but the bottoms will be crisp enough for you to move them to a cooling rack once cooked through.

Now that your cookies are cooling, mix together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until well-combined. Then slowly add the powdered sugar as you continue to mix until smooth.

Ice the cooled cookies with the cream cheese mixture and, finally, top with your favorite fruits. When you are done, they look like mini fruit pizzas, hence the name.

I hope you are looking forward to a sunny and fun summer full of amazing fruits and veggies from local farmers. I know we are. From all of us at Texas Table Top, enjoy!

[box]

Recipe: Mini Fruit Pizzas

Summary: Summer cookies full of fruit flavor

Ingredients

1 box lemon cake mix
½ c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. butter, softened
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. assorted fruit, washed and sliced if needed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl until mixed well and pulling away from bowl sides.
Roll into balls approximately 1 ½ inches.
Place the balls on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Cookies will be soft, but will have a firm bottom when baked through.
Move the baked cookies to a cooling rack and repeat the process until all cookie dough is used.
Mix together cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Slowly add the powdered sugar while continuing to mix until smooth.
Ice the cooled cookies with the cream cheese mixture.
Top with fruit to create a fruit pizza.
Serve immediately or store in airtight container in refrigerator.