Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies
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These gluten-free fruit pizza cookies are a fun twist on classic fruit pizza, made from gluten-free lemon sugar cookies, a light cream cheese frosting, and fresh berries. They’re easy, elegant, and delicious!
I almost always choose the chocolate option in a dessert lineup (hello fudgy brownies or a great chocolate chip cookie!). BUT. I am also always here for anything with berries or citrus. And these gluten-free fruit pizza cookies have BOTH.
Fruit “pizza” is a dessert spin on traditional pizza, usually with a soft, chewy sugar cookie “crust,” frosting in place of sauce, and fresh fruit toppings. They’re a great spring or summer dessert, perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or a summer BBQ.
Instead of one big dessert pizza, we made our gluten-free fruit pizza into cookies for individual portions. I LOVE that these mini fruit pizzas are the perfect size for sharing, store well, and can even be customized per person (a great option if someone’s allergic to something!).
I love that even though this is a pretty simple, straightforward dessert, there are layers of flavor in every bite. They start with a gorgeous citrus-kissed gluten-free sugar cookie on the bottom that makes the a delicious crust. Then, we build in more flavor with a tangy vanilla frosting, and finish with fresh berries and mint (if you want). They’re light, fresh, and perfect for sharing!
Let’s take a closer look at each of these components, then I’ll walk you through how easy they are to make!
Start With Simple Ingredients
One thing you’ll love about this gluten-free fruit pizza cookies recipe is how straightforward the ingredients are. Let’s take a look:
- Butter. You’ll need butter for the gluten-free lemon sugar cookies and the easy cream cheese frosting.
- Sugar. Next up is some granulated sugar. A must for making sugar cookies!
- Lemon Zest. I find that fresh lemon zest adds BRIGHT lemon flavor to the cookies. It’s kind of the secret ingredient here that takes the cookies to the next level.
- Eggs. Some room temperature eggs blend in beautifully.
- Vanilla & Lemon Extract. I love a mix of vanilla extract AND lemon extract in the cookies, but you can skip the lemon extract if you don’t have it.
- Baking Powder & Salt. For the perfect puff and a delicious balance of flavors.
- Gluten-Free Flour. We recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure gluten-free flour blend, but if you use another brand, be sure it contains xanthan gum. Make sure to measure the flour carefully to avoid packing extra flour into the measuring cup!
- Cream Cheese Frosting. We’re making a quick cream cheese frosting with butter, softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. It’s easy and works like a charm every time.
- Fresh Berries or Fruit. My favorite combination of fruit for these fruit pizza cookies is fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, but you can also add kiwi, pineapple, mandarin oranges or halved grapes, if you like!
- Fresh Mint. For an extra pretty touch, I love to tuck a mint leaf into each mini fruit pizza. The pop of green is a gorgeous look for this beautiful dessert!
What Fruit Works Well For Fruit Pizza?
Fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries), kiwi, mandarin oranges, and pineapple all work beautifully for gluten-free fruit pizza!
My favorite combination is JUST fresh berries and mint, but you can absolutely play with different colors of fruit to match a party theme, color scheme, or event! (Try red and green fruits at Christmas, or a rainbow of fruit for St. Patrick’s Day!)
How to Make Fruit Pizza Cookies, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.
Start With The Lemon Sugar Cookie Base
- Combine Sugar, Lemon Zest, and Butter. In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it’s well combined and fragrant. Add the softened butter and cream on medium speed 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add Eggs & Vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg before adding the next. Then, add the vanilla (and lemon extract, if using!), and mix to combine.
- Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl and add baking powder, salt, and half of the flour. Stir until the flour is partially incorporated (this prevents the flour from POOFING out at you!). Pause and add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.
- Chill 20-30 Minutes. Cover the sugar cookie dough with plastic wrap and chill 20-30 minutes, while you preheat your oven.
- Preheat & Prep. Preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a medium cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 Tbsp.) to scoop 6 cookies onto the prepared baking pan.
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are golden. Note: the tops and edges of these cookies will NOT brown. If they have browned, your cookie will be crisp rather than soft. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. (Note: the longer the cookies chill, the less they spread, so remove the dough from the fridge a minute or two before you plan to scoop to keep all the cookies the same size.)
- Cool completely before frosting. Cookies can be made 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before decorating.
Make The Cream Cheese Frosting & Decorate Cookies
- Cream Butter & Cream Cheese. When the cookies are cool, make your frosting. In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat to combine. If the frosting seems too loose, add more powdered sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time. If it seems too thick, you can thin it out with 1-2 tsp. milk at a time.
- Spread or Pipe The Frosting. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies (a small offset spatula makes this easier!) or transfer the frosting to a piping bag** and pipe the frosting onto the cookies, leaving a small border around the edge where the cookie is still visible (like the crust of a pizza).
- Decorate the frosted cookies with fresh fruit and mint leaves as desired. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar for a pretty look. (use a sieve or sifter to dust the powdered sugar over the cookies).
- Store decorated cookies covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Tips For Decorating Fruit Pizza Cookies
- Choose Similar Fruit. It can be tempting to toss All The Fruits onto fruit pizza, but in my experience, this leads to flavor that’s unbalanced and not cohesive. Instead, try to work with similar fruits–all berries, or citrusy options like kiwi, pineapple, and mandarin oranges.
- Add a little powdered sugar. The final little dusting of powdered sugar makes these gluten-free fruit pizza cookies look SO gorgeous. Plus the powdered sugar creates a sort of glaze on the berries as it sits, which can help them look pretty longer.
- Are you a baking beginner? Spread your frosting! If you’re a new baker still working on your skills, it’s probably easiest to spread the frosting onto the cookies. A small offset spatula makes this extra easy, but you can also use a butter knife or small spatula to help you along.
- Intermediate or Advanced? Try Piping! If you’re ready to level up the presentation, use a piping bag. I piped my frosting on using a Wilton 1M open star tip.
- Add A Pop Of Green. To really make the colors of the berries pop, consider adding a fresh mint leaf or leaving the stems on your strawberries (they’re fully edible + easy to pick off). The color contrast really makes the colors stand out!
party tip: set the components out and let everyone make their own!
Mini fruit pizzas make a great party treat, perfect for a baby shower, birthday party, or brunch.
Set out the baked cookies, frosting, and a platter of fresh fruit and let everyone build their own! (Pro tip: you may want to make extra frosting if you go this route to account for everyone adding as much or little as they want.)
FAQ + Tips & Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies
CAN FRUIT PIZZA COOKIES BE MADE IN ADVANCE? Yes! The cookies can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Or, you can freeze the cookies (without frosting + berries) up to 1 month before decorating them. Let them thaw a touch before frosting and decorating for best results. Once decorated, the cookies will look their best when eaten within a few hours.
HOW TO STORE FRUIT PIZZA COOKIES. Before frosting, you can store the gluten-free lemon sugar cookies on a covered sheet pan or in an airtight container or bag with parchment paper between layers of cookies. Once frosted, store the cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator. (Covered, for best results!)
A TRICK FOR PERFECTLY ROUND COOKIES. If you’re making these fruit pizza cookies for an event or get-together or simply love the look of perfectly round cookies, you can make your cookies perfectly round by coaxing them into circles with a large circular cookie cutter. When the cookies are hot out of the oven, gently move the cookie cutter around the cookie in a circular motion to coax it into a circle.
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Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Recipe Card
Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies
Ingredients
For The Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:
- ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature (1 1/2 sticks, 170 grams)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 2 eggs (ideally room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract optional
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (300 grams)
For The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 oz. cream cheese, softened slightly (340 grams)
- ½ cup butter, softened slightly (113 grams/1 stick)
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar (150 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt (about 1/8 tsp.)
To Decorate:
- Fresh strawberries blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries (OR kiwi, pineapple, mandarin oranges, halved grapes, etc.)
- Fresh mint leaves
- Powdered sugar 1/2 Tbsp. or so will do!
Instructions
Start With The Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:
- Combine Sugar, Lemon Zest, and Butter. In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it’s well combined and fragrant. Add the softened butter and cream on medium speed 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add Eggs & Vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg before adding the next. Then, add the vanilla (and lemon extract, if using!), and mix to combine.
- Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl and add baking powder, salt, and half of the flour. Stir until the flour is partially incorporated (this prevents the flour from POOFING out at you!). Pause and add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.
- Chill 20-30 Minutes. Cover the cookie dough and chill 20-30 minutes, while you preheat your oven.
- Preheat & Prep. Preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a medium cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 Tbsp.) to scoop 6 cookies onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are golden. Note: the tops and edges of these cookies will NOT brown. If they have browned, your cookie will be crisp rather than soft. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. (Note: the longer the cookies chill, the less they spread, so remove the dough from the fridge a minute or two before you plan to scoop to keep all the cookies the same size.)
- Cool completely before frosting. Cookies can be made 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before decorating.
Next, Make The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Butter & Cream Cheese. When the cookies are cool, make your frosting. In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat to combine. If the frosting seems too loose, add more powdered sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time. If it seems too thick, you can thin it out with 1-2 tsp. milk at a time.
- Spread or Pipe The Frosting. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies (a small offset spatula makes this easier!) or transfer the frosting to a piping bag** and pipe the frosting onto the cookies, leaving a small border around the edge where the cookie is still visible (like the crust of a pizza).
- Decorate the frosted cookies with fresh fruit and mint leaves as desired. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar for a pretty look. (use a sieve or sifter to dust the powdered sugar over the cookies).
- Store decorated cookies covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Notes
- *GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR. I highly recommend King Arthur Baking Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for this recipe. My second favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour.
- **PIPING TIP. I used a Wilton 1M open star piping tip for the cookies in the photos.
Video
Find the recipe:
sweetsandthankyou.com/fruit-pizza-cookies/Originally shared April 2022. Updated with improved recipe notes, step by step photos and republished March 2026.
I love everything about these cookies! They feel fresh and bright