The Ultimate Patriotic Fruit Pizza: Easy Sugar Cookie Crust & Berry Cheesecake Perfection

Celebrate Independence Day with a truly unforgettable dessert: this incredible 4th of July Fruit Pizza! Featuring an effortlessly delicious sugar cookie crust, a rich and creamy cheesecake topping, and an abundance of vibrant fresh berries, this patriotic treat is as delightful to look at as it is to eat. It’s the perfect centerpiece for any July 4th BBQ, Memorial Day gathering, or a casual summer get-together. While traditionally made with all-purpose flour, we’ve also successfully tested this recipe with two popular brands of gluten-free flour, ensuring everyone can enjoy a slice of this seasonal favorite.

Craving the creamy texture of cheesecake and the patriotic colors of red and blue fruit but prefer to skip the oven? You might enjoy this Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Salad. It offers a similar flavor profile and festive fruit medley, but without the baked crust. However, we truly believe the minimal 15-minute baking time for this fruit pizza is absolutely worth it. Unlike many desserts where the topping is the star and the crust merely an afterthought, this recipe ensures every bite is a harmonious blend of textures and flavors. You won’t find yourself leaving any of this crust behind!

Both our test kitchen and everyone who tasted this dessert agreed: this is the new essential summer recipe. Its simplicity, combined with its ability to highlight the season’s freshest fruits, makes it an instant classic. We recently enjoyed one for Mother’s Day, and we’re already searching for another excuse to bake it again soon!

Effortless Decoration for a Stunning Patriotic Display

If intricate cake and cookie decorating isn’t your strong suit, this fruit pizza is your new best friend! It’s incredibly simple to make it look elegant and festive, requiring absolutely no specialized decorating skills. The key lies in strategic placement of your beautiful red and blue berries, transforming a simple dessert into a show-stopping patriotic masterpiece.

To begin your design, arrange a neat circle of sliced strawberries around the outer edge of your cooled, topped fruit pizza. Next, create a prominent star shape in the center using either blueberries or carefully cut pieces of strawberry. Once these two elements are in place, you’ll find it easy to fill in the remaining space with alternating circles of blueberries and the inner ring of strawberries, ensuring a balanced and visually appealing pattern. This method provides a clear guide, making it foolproof to achieve that classic American flag-inspired look.

The Irresistible Sugar Cookie Crust

The foundation of this amazing fruit pizza is a sugar cookie crust adapted from our popular Cheesecake Cookie Cups recipe. After experimenting with numerous crust variations as a base, we revisited that tried-and-true recipe, sensing its potential for a truly excellent fruit pizza crust. Initially, when made as written, the crust proved to be too cakey and crumbly, mirroring the results of several other unsuccessful attempts.

However, a simple adjustment made all the difference. By adding a bit more butter during the second iteration, the dough was transformed. The result was a perfectly chewy sugar cookie crust that was neither cakey nor crumbly. This extra butter not only improved the texture but also provided the necessary richness and structure for the crust to hold up beautifully under the creamy weight of the cheesecake topping. It creates a satisfying contrast with the light topping and fresh fruit, making every bite a delight.

The Dreamy Cheesecake Topping

This fruit pizza boasts a topping that strikes the perfect balance between richness and lightness. It’s similar in flavor to a classic cream cheese frosting, but with a unique twist: we incorporate 1/3 cup of cold heavy cream, which is beaten in to lighten its texture significantly. This addition creates an airy, whipped consistency that is far superior and less dense than a pure cream cheese frosting would be for a fruit pizza. The lighter texture allows the fresh fruit flavors to shine through without being overpowered.

If you prefer an even airier topping, you can increase the heavy cream to 1/2 cup. This will yield a topping with a consistency closer to whipped cream, while still retaining that delightful cream cheese tang. Should you find yourself without heavy cream on hand, another creative option is to use a recipe that lightens the topping with alternatives. For instance, this excellent Fruit Pizza recipe uses marshmallow fluff and Cool Whip to achieve a similar light and fluffy result. Whichever method you choose, this creamy layer provides the ideal foundation for your festive fruit display.

Key Ingredients for Your Patriotic Fruit Pizza

Creating this delicious 4th of July fruit pizza requires a handful of common baking ingredients, most of which you likely already have in your pantry. Here’s a detailed look at what you’ll need and some tips for each component. The recipe card below provides exact measurements, but this section gives you a deeper understanding of the role each ingredient plays.

All-Purpose Flour (or Gluten-Free Blend): The backbone of our chewy sugar cookie crust. For precise results, especially with gluten-free options, weighing your flour (188 grams) is highly recommended. See our notes below for specific gluten-free brand recommendations.
Baking Powder: Provides a slight lift and contributes to the cookie-like texture of the crust, preventing it from becoming too dense.
Salt: Essential for balancing sweetness in both the crust and the topping. A little salt enhances all the other flavors.
Unsalted Butter, softened: Crucial for the rich, tender, and chewy texture of the crust. Using softened butter ensures it creams properly with the sugar.
Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the crust and aids in achieving that perfect crispy-chewy edge. It’s important for both flavor and structure.
Lemon Zest & Lemon Extract: These provide a bright, fresh, and zesty flavor to the sugar cookie crust, complementing the berries beautifully. You can customize this, as discussed in the “Don’t want lemon?” section.
Large Egg, room temp: Acts as a binder in the crust, adding richness and moisture. A room temperature egg incorporates more smoothly into the batter.
Cream Cheese, room temp: The star of our creamy topping. Ensure it’s softened to room temperature for a lump-free, smooth consistency. See our international notes for tips if you’re outside North America.
Powdered Sugar: Sweetens the topping and gives it a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture without any grittiness.
Vanilla Extract: A classic flavor enhancer that adds depth and warmth to the cheesecake topping.
Heavy Cream, cold: Whipped into the cream cheese mixture, it lightens the topping significantly, making it fluffy and luxurious without being overly heavy.
Fresh Strawberries & Blueberries: The essential decorative elements for your patriotic theme. Choose ripe, firm berries for the best flavor and appearance. Their natural sweetness and vibrant colors are key to this dessert’s appeal.

Frequently Asked Questions & Baking Tips

Can I use store-bought sugar cookie dough for the crust?

Absolutely! Using pre-made sugar cookie dough is a fantastic shortcut if you’re short on time. You’ll need approximately 1 pound (453 grams) of store-bought dough. Our homemade recipe yields around 523 grams of dough, so using slightly more than a pound of commercial dough is perfectly acceptable to ensure good coverage and a substantial crust. However, we recommend not using less than a pound to maintain the proper thickness and structural integrity of the pizza base.

Can I reduce the sweetener in this recipe?

You can certainly try to slightly reduce the powdered sugar in the cheesecake topping if you prefer a less sweet dessert. However, we strongly advise against altering the amount of granulated sugar in the crust. The sugar in the crust plays a crucial role beyond just sweetness; it’s vital for achieving the desired texture and structure. Reducing it would likely result in a crumbly crust that is difficult to cut and handle, potentially turning your beautiful fruit pizza into a messy endeavor. Stick to the recipe for the crust’s sugar content to ensure a perfect base.

Can I use different types of sweeteners?

While the idea of sweetening everything with natural alternatives like honey or maple syrup is appealing, it unfortunately wouldn’t work well in this particular recipe. Liquid sweeteners, such as honey, maple syrup, or agave, would introduce too much moisture into the crust dough, leading to a strange, cakey, and potentially soggy texture after baking. They would also make the cheesecake topping much too runny, which is definitely not what you want on a cookie crust.

Similarly, alternative granulated sugars like coconut sugar would likely not yield the desired tasty crust or a smooth, creamy topping. We have not experimented with keto sweeteners, as this recipe involves traditional flour, for which there isn’t a direct keto substitute. Therefore, we cannot confidently say if keto sweeteners would perform adequately here.

For the best and most reliable results, please use granulated sugar in the crust and powdered sugar (also known as confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar) for the topping. These are the sweeteners we have thoroughly tested, and we guarantee they will work perfectly to give you the delicious fruit pizza you desire. Enjoy! 🙂

Step-by-Step: How to Make Your Fruit Pizza

These photos offer a visual overview of the process, but for the complete, detailed recipe, please refer to the recipe card further down the page. Preparing this fruit pizza is simpler than you might think, breaking down into a few easy steps: making the crust, preparing the topping, and finally, decorating with your favorite fresh berries.

Essentially, you’ll start by preparing a classic sugar cookie dough. This involves combining your dry ingredients separately, then creaming together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Incorporate the egg and flavorings, then gradually add the dry ingredients until just combined. Overmixing the dough can lead to a tough crust, so stop as soon as it comes together.

Once your dough is ready and adequately chilled, you’ll press it evenly into your chosen pan. This forms the perfect base for your fruit pizza. After pressing, it’s off to the oven for a quick bake. While the crust is baking and subsequently cooling, you can begin preparing the creamy cheesecake topping. This timing ensures both components are ready to assemble without delay.

Once the sugar cookie crust has cooled completely – this is a crucial step to prevent the topping from melting – spread your freshly prepared, fluffy cheesecake topping evenly over the surface. Then comes the fun part: decorating! Arrange your beautiful red strawberries and blue blueberries in your desired patriotic pattern. This final step transforms your simple baked cookie into a festive and irresistible dessert that’s ready to impress your guests.

Flavor Variations & Fruit Selection

Exploring Crust Flavor Profiles Beyond Lemon

While lemon zest and lemon extract add a wonderfully bright and fresh note to the crust, it’s not the only flavor option! If you prefer a different aromatic profile, you can easily substitute the 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon extract with 1 teaspoon of almond extract and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Remember to also omit the lemon zest if you choose this route. Almond extract, particularly, pairs magnificently with both blueberries and strawberries, creating a rich, subtly nutty undertone that complements the berries beautifully.

When selecting your flavor extract, consider the other fruits you might be using. Almond extract is generally fantastic with most berries and stone fruits (like peaches or cherries). However, it might not be the best complement for more acidic or tropical fruits such as kiwi, pineapple, mandarin oranges, or grapes. Always keep your overall fruit medley in mind to ensure a harmonious flavor experience!

Creative Fruit Combinations for Your Pizza

Beyond the classic strawberries and blueberries for a traditional 4th of July theme, there are many other delightful fruits you can add to your fruit pizza to customize it or broaden its appeal:

For a continued red, white, and blue theme, consider incorporating raspberries, blackberries, or pitted, halved cherries alongside or in place of some of the strawberries. Their deep hues add visual interest and varied textures.
If patriotic colors aren’t your primary concern, the possibilities are endless! Try adding slices of vibrant green kiwi, sweet and juicy sliced peaches (especially in season!), tropical pineapple chunks, bright mandarin orange segments, or even halved grapes. These fruits can introduce a variety of flavors and textures, making your fruit pizza truly unique.

Should you find yourself with an abundance of leftover fruit, consider whipping up these charming Fruit Tartlets. They’re not only an excellent way to use up excess produce but also make another fantastic and individual-sized dessert option perfect for Independence Day celebrations!

Fruits to Thoughtfully Consider or Avoid

While fruit pizzas are wonderfully versatile, some fruits are best used with caution or avoided altogether due to how they interact with the dessert over time:

Bananas: These sweet fruits brown notoriously quickly once sliced and exposed to air. If you plan to serve your fruit pizza immediately after decorating, a light brush with lemon juice can help prevent browning for a short period. However, if you’re not serving it right away, we generally don’t recommend using bananas, as their appearance can quickly diminish.
Melons (especially Watermelon): While technically possible, adding melon to a fruit pizza is generally not recommended. Melons, particularly watermelon, have a very high water content. This excess moisture can quickly seep into the cheesecake topping and sugar cookie crust, making the entire pizza soggy and compromising its desired texture. Furthermore, the sometimes subtle flavor and softer texture of melon may not complement the more robust flavors of berries or the creamy topping as well as other firmer fruits do. If you insist on including melon, use it very sparingly and ensure it’s diced into tiny pieces to minimize its impact on the pizza’s overall texture and longevity.

Preparation, Storage, and Transportation Tips

Do I need to chill the dough?

Chilling the sugar cookie dough for at least an hour isn’t strictly mandatory for baking, but it is highly recommended. The dough can be quite sticky right after mixing, and chilling it makes it significantly easier to handle and press evenly into your pizza pan. If you’re pressed for time, a quick trick is to form the freshly mixed dough into a disc on a piece of plastic wrap, cover it, and then place it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Be careful not to leave it much longer, or it will become too firm to work with. Should that happen, simply let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes until it’s pliable enough to handle.

Is a pizza pan essential for baking the crust?

Not at all! While a pizza pan, particularly one without holes, serves as an excellent guide for forming a perfectly round crust, it’s not required. You can absolutely press the dough into a circular shape directly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Just be sure to avoid pizza pans with small holes, as these are designed for crisping pizza crusts and wouldn’t be ideal for containing the buttery cookie dough, which could potentially leak through.

Make-Ahead & Storage Guidelines

This fruit pizza is wonderfully versatile when it comes to preparing ahead of time, making it ideal for entertaining:

Sugar Cookie Dough: You can prepare the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance and keep it refrigerated. If you need a longer lead time, the dough freezes exceptionally well for up to 3 months. Just remember to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before you’re ready to bake.
Cheesecake Topping: The creamy topping can also be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until the day you plan to assemble and serve the fruit pizza.
Assembly: For the freshest taste and most vibrant appearance, we highly recommend spreading the topping and arranging the fruit on the cooled crust on the day of serving. This prevents any potential sogginess and keeps the fruit looking its best.
Leftovers: If you have any delicious leftovers, the best way to store them is by cutting the pizza into individual slices and placing them in an airtight container. This method is generally more effective than trying to cover the entire pizza with plastic wrap, which can sometimes stick to the topping.

How to Transport Your Fruit Pizza

Fruit pizzas are excellent for potlucks, BBQs, and picnics because they hold up well during transport. The baked cookie crust is firm and thick enough to be easily transferred from a pizza pan into a cake carrier, which is the ideal way to transport it if you have one. The topping, being a softer cheesecake mixture, does not fully harden. If plastic wrap is placed directly onto the topping (rather than hovering over the fruit), it will likely stick.

With our suggested decoration method, where fruit covers most of the topping, there are fewer areas where plastic wrap might stick, primarily just around the edges. This is often unavoidable. If a cake carrier or a large pan that can be covered without direct contact to the topping isn’t available, an alternative is to bake and cool the crust, prepare the topping in advance, and then assemble the fruit pizza directly at your party location. This ensures it looks pristine for serving.

Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Options

We understand that dietary needs vary, which is why we meticulously tested this fruit pizza recipe with two different brands of 1:1 gluten-free baking blends. We’re thrilled to report excellent results, allowing more people to enjoy this delightful patriotic dessert!

Our top recommendation is King Arthur Flour Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour. When used in this recipe, it yielded a crust texture almost indistinguishable from the all-purpose flour version – perfectly chewy and delicious.
The runner-up was Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour. While still very good and enthusiastically enjoyed by all our taste testers, this blend resulted in a crust with a tiny hint of sandiness, which was just enough to detect it wasn’t made with traditional wheat flour.

If you don’t have access to these specific brands (they are readily available online, including Amazon!), it’s crucial to use a gluten-free flour blend specifically formulated as a 1-to-1 substitute for all-purpose flour. This means flours like almond flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour, oat flour, or plain rice flour are *not* suitable substitutes, as they have different absorption properties and would require significant recipe adjustments. We haven’t tested other 1:1 gluten-free brands, so results may vary. If you do try another brand, please share your experience in the comments below – we’d love to hear how it turns out!

For those who need a grain-free option, the dough from our Almond Sugar Cookies might serve as a suitable base. This recipe produces about 738 grams of dough, so you would only need to use approximately two-thirds of it for a fruit pizza crust, baking the remainder as delicious almond cookies. Please note, however, that we haven’t extensively tested this specific application, so we can’t guarantee a 100% perfect result. Nevertheless, it’s a promising alternative for a grain-free celebration. For another festive July 4th dessert with a gluten-free option, be sure to check out these delightful Patriotic Trifles!

Important Notes for International Bakers

If you’re reading this from outside the US or Canada, you might be wondering why a “4th of July” fruit pizza would be relevant. The answer is simple: American expats like myself also enjoy celebrating Independence Day with delicious, festive desserts! Feel free to skip this section if you reside in the US or Canada; this advice is specifically for the rest of the world.

A common difference in dairy products internationally concerns cream cheese. Outside North America, cream cheese is often sold in soft tubs designed for spreading, rather than the firm, brick-style blocks prevalent in the US and Canada. This difference in consistency can significantly impact your cheesecake topping.

To ensure your topping achieves the perfect consistency with tub-style cream cheese, you’ll need to remove excess liquid. For the 8 ounces (225 grams) of cream cheese required for this recipe, purchase a 300-gram package. Brand isn’t critical here; economical store-brand options from supermarkets like Aldi or Lidl work just as well as Philadelphia brand.

Place the cream cheese in the center of a clean tea towel or several layers of cheesecloth (avoid using flimsy paper towels, which may tear). Gently but firmly squeeze out the excess liquid until you have exactly 225 grams of cream cheese. This step is crucial: if you skip it, your cheesecake topping will likely be too runny, and consequently, your delicious sugar cookie crust will become soggy. Mastering this simple trick opens up a world of possibilities for baking with cream cheese abroad, including making these delightful red, white, and blue bars!

There you have it! We sincerely hope you’ll enjoy making and sharing this fantastic Fourth of July fruit pizza. If you give it a try, please let us know how it turned out in the comments section below. Happy baking and celebrating! 🙂

5 from 20 votes

4th of July Fruit Pizza

Author
Erin Dooner

Course
Dessert

Cuisine
American

Servings
8

Prep Time
30 minutes

Cook Time
15 minutes

This 4th of July Fruit Pizza has an easy sugar cookie crust, cheesecake topping and berries on top.

Ingredients

For the crust:

▢ 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour or for gluten-free, see notes
▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt (I used 1/2 teaspoon fine Himalayan pink salt)
▢ 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
▢ 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
▢ 2 teaspoons lemon zest
▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
▢ 1 large egg (50 grams, out of shell) room temp

For the cheesecake topping:

▢ 8 oz (225 grams) cream cheese* room temp
▢ 1 1/3 cups (160 grams) powdered sugar
▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ pinch of salt
▢ 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream cold

For decoration:

▢ 1 pound (453 grams) strawberries – you need 20-26 small or medium strawberries, which is 11oz / 312 grams
▢ 6 oz (170 grams) blueberries – you need 52-57 blueberries, which is 155 grams / 5.4 oz

Instructions

Before beginning:

Rinse and lay the berries out on paper towels so that they’ll dry. Place some paper towels on top to really soak up any water. This will prevent the topping from getting runny.

Make the crust:

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until well combined.
Beat in the lemon zest, lemon extract, and egg until incorporated.
Gradually add in the flour mixture on low speed. Beat just until combined.
Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour. You can make and refrigerate it for up to 3 days in advance. If chilling longer than an hour, you’ll need to let it sit at room temp until soft enough to handle. You can also freeze it and use it within 3 months. Then thaw overnight in the freeze.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease a 12” (30.5 cm) pizza pan (don’t use one with holes). If you don’t have one, you can use a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray.
Press the chilled dough into the prepared pan to form a 10” (25.4 cm) circle.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the crust has lightly browned.
Remove to a wire rack to cool completely – about 1 hour.

Make the topping:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer at medium speed until completely combined.
While still mixing, now on low, gradually add the heavy cream.
Once it’s well incorporated, turn the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form – about 2 to 5 minutes. The topping can be made 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated until the day of serving.

Decorate:

On the day of serving, spread the topping over the cooled crust.
Place the fruit over the topping into whatever pattern you’d like.
Serve within 12 hours for best results. The crust doesn’t get soggy, but will be a little softer after the first day. Also, the fruit won’t look as nice and certain fruit might bleed a little bit.

How to store:

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The topping doesn’t harden, so the plastic wrap will stick to it around the edge of the fruit pizza. It’s best to place the fruit tart in a cake carrier, large pan, etc., and then cover the pan with plastic wrap.

Notes

For a gluten-free version, use 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) King Arthur Flour Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour or 1 1/2 cups (207 grams) Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour.
If you’re located outside the US or Canada, chances are you have cream cheese packaged in small tubs meant for spreading on toast, rather than the brick-style variety sold in North America. Here’s what you’ll need to do: for the 8 ounces (225 grams) of cream cheese required for this recipe, purchase a 300-gram package of cream cheese. Store-brand options from Aldi, Lidl, etc., work just as well as Philadelphia brand. Place the cream cheese in the center of a clean tea towel or cheesecloth (not merely a paper towel), and gently squeeze out the excess liquid until you have 225 grams of cream cheese.