My Twist on a Fruit Pizza
I have a confession to make - I am a little addicted to Food Network. My first introduction was through my husband with the show Chopped. He was a huge fan, but I'll admit I was skeptical at first. After a few weeks, though, I was hooked on that show and a slew of other evening programs. Over the past few months, I've also started watching some of the cooking demonstration shows during the day. I've learned how to cook delicious (and quick) meals with Rachel Ray, saved some money with Melissa d'Arabian, gone to "Flavor Town" with Guy Fieri, spiced things up with Bobby Flay, and drooled over dishes with Paula Deen. Each of the chefs presents such a unique style, and I love to see their personality come through in their cooking, presentation, and even their kitchen. My new favorite show to watch, though, has to be The Pioneer Woman.
On the surface, the Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) and I have nothing in common. I don't live on a ranch, I don't have four kids (or any yet for that matter), and I don't know too many cowboys. But, something about her personality makes her seem like an old friend. Her calm, easy composure makes the dishes seem simple and doable. I'm now a fan of not just her show, but her blog as well! A recent episode I watched was "The Sleepover Six." In the show she made some delicious looking fruit dessert pizzas. They were sugar cookie dough covered in a cream cheese/marshmallow creme mixture, and then topped with fruit. I instantly knew I wanted to make that!
I decided to attempt the same concept, but didn't want to replicate it exactly. Don't get me wrong, I was drooling over the mini pizzas. I will definitely be making some soon. When I find a delicious idea online (or TV), though, I want to add at least a small twist of my own. I don't want to replicate an idea or recipe in its entirety for you readers. So, instead of sugar cookie "pizzas," I decided to create small cookie cups. I really wanted to try her cream cheese mixture (it sounded so good), so I kept that recipe the same. To make this snack quick (and easy), I went with packaged cookie dough. I definitely want to try out her cookie recipe, but I went for a quicker approach this time. As I mentioned in Monday's post, I have two cakes and a cupcake topper order for this weekend. But, now I have yet another cupcake topper order as well, so I am staying pretty busy making fondant pieces.
All in all, I was happy with the outcome. This snack is perfectly proportioned and scrumptious! I love the combination of the fruit with the creamy, mouth watering topping. The Pioneer Woman did not disappoint! The sugar cookie is a perfect compliment to the fresh fruit. The only change I would make is I needed a tad more cream cheese topping to complete all 24 cups. I wasn't sure how much to use and just estimated. I generously added the topping, so it may be possible to cover all 24, but I only got 20 finished.
Here's the recipe for my fruit cookie cup.
Fruit Cookie Cup Ingredients:
- Package of 24 sugar cookies (or dough to make them)
- Topping:
- 4 oz cream cheese (1/2 package)
- 7 oz Marshmallow Creme (1 small container)
- Fruit of your choice (kiwi, strawberry, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, etc)
Fruit Cookie Cup Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Coat mini cupcake pan with generous amount of cooking spray
- Press individual cookies into each hole, press down and smash into even dough layer all around
- Bake for around 15 mins (each oven may bake differently), check at around 10 mins
- Let the cookie bowls cool in the cupcake pan on a wired rack (cups that haven't fallen in the middle should fall while cooling, just touch down slightly if it doesn't fall)
- After completely cooling, pop out using butter spreader or knife
- Create the Pioneer Woman's cream cheese topping by beating together 4 oz cream cheese and 7 oz marshmallow creme
- Put the mixture into piping bag with 1M tip
- Pipe cream cheese mixture into cups, filling and then covering the top
- It's best to cover these with topping and fruit just before serving. If you need to prepare them in advance, cover with the topping and then refrigerate. Get them out about an hour before serving to warm back up, and then finish off with fruit.
- Cut up fruit for the cups (kiwi, strawberry, banana, raspberry, blueberry, etc)
- Place fruit on top and serve!
I hope you try out these delicious fruit cups, I'm sure you will love them as much as I did! Don't forget to check back Friday as I introduce my new series that I'm contributing to another blog. Per my new posting schedule, I'm posting on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, but this week I will have a bonus post on Saturday! I'll explain more then, but I've just started participating in a a group where each month I'm given a blog to read and replicate one of their dishes. It's a secret, so I can't give away anything about the recipe, but it is delicious! This Saturday is the reveal day, so check back to read all about this sweet dish.
Also, if you'd like a sneak peek of the cakes I'm making this weekend, follow me on my social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram). Later, I'll be sharing tutorials and posts about these cakes on my Monday series of tutorials and cake design.
