Fruit Pizza Cookies (Gluten-free)
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Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies – These mini gluten-free fruit pizzas are made from gluten-free lemon sugar cookies, a light cream cheese frosting, and fresh berries. They’re beautiful and easy!
Are you more of a fruity dessert fan or a chocolate dessert fan?
I’ll be honest: I’d almost always choose the chocolate option in a dessert lineup. BUT. I am also always here for anything with berries or citrus. And these gluten-free fruit pizza cookies have BOTH.
This was a really fun recipe to put together! Instead of one big fruit 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 perfect base. 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!
what’s fruit pizza?
Fruit “pizza” is a dessert spin on traditional pizza, usually with a sugar cookie “crust,” frosting in place of sauce, and fresh fruit toppings.
the 3 components of our gluten-free fruit pizza cookies:
1. Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:
For the “crust” of your gluten-free fruit pizza cookies, you’ll use our gluten-free lemon sugar cookies. These cookies have a soft citrus note that’s so bright and fresh with the frosting and fruit. I love how soft and tender the cookies are!
2. A Light Cream Cheese Frosting:
Next, for our “sauce,” you’ll use a light cream cheese frosting. This frosting is sweet, but not *too* sweet, since its sandwiched between sugar cookies and fresh fruit. The tang is perfect and helps tie all three layers together. You’ll love it!
3. FRESH FRUIT & DECORATIONS.
Once you’ve got your gluten-free sugar cookie crust and your cream cheese frosting, you’re ready to add toppings! For a really pretty, cohesive look, I kept our fresh fruit limited to a mix of colorful berries, but there are so many lovely fruits that work well for fruit pizza. You can also make them pretty with fresh mint leaves for a pop of green and a dusting of powdered sugar.
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 and tricks for the best gluten-free fruit pizza cookies:
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. (See the video for a visual.)
CAN FRUIT PIZZA COOKIES BE MADE IN ADVANCE? Yes! The cookies can be made 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.
WHAT FRUITS WORK WELL FOR FRUIT PIZZA? Fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries), kiwi, mandarin oranges, and pineapple all work beautifully for gluten-free fruit pizza!
HOW TO STORE FRUIT PIZZA COOKIES. Before frosting, you can store the gluten-free lemon sugar cookies on a covered baking sheet or in an airtight bag with parchment paper between layers of cookies. Once frosted, store the cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator. (Covered, for best results!)
MAKE THEM DIY FOR A PARTY! Set out the lemon sugar cookies, cream cheese frosting, and fresh fruit and let everyone build their own! (See our tip box above for more details.)
more light + fresh treats to try:
- Gluten-Free Lemon Bars – Iowa Girl Eats
- No-Bake Chocolate Berry Fruit Tart – One Lovely Life
- Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie Bars
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp
Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 28–30 cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Mini Fruit Pizza Cookies – These mini gluten-free fruit pizzas are made from gluten-Free lemon sugar cookies, a light cream cheese frosting, and fresh berries. They’re beautiful and easy!
Ingredients
For The Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 185 g.) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp.)
- 2 eggs, ideally room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. lemon extract (optional)
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g.) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour*
For The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 oz. cream cheese, softened slightly
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp.) butter, softened slightly
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. 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
For The Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:
- In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Beat 1-2 minutes or until lighter and fluffy. The mixture should smell very fragrant and lemony.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg before adding the next.
- Add vanilla and lemon extract and stir to combine.
- 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.
- Scrape down the edges of the bowl and chill the dough at least 20-30 minutes, while you preheat your oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 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.
For The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- When the cookies are cool, make your frosting.
- In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together 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 to thick, you can thin it out with 1-2 tsp. milk at a time.
- 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
*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.
**I used a Wilton 1M open star piping tip for the cookies in the photos.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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