Fantastic Fruit Pizza

This Fruit Pizza is the absolute best! Unfortunately I never got a really good picture befor it got devoured. This Fruit Pizza has the perfect crust...slightly chewy, not too sweet and of course anything toppped with cream chees...well you can't go wrong. Did I mention this is actually a healthy pizza? You see the top layer is fruit. I know, totally cancels out the "bad" stuff below.

I orignally received this recipe from my mother in law and have tweeked and adapted it to our tastebuds. I promise you this is a guarenteed success to whatever function you bring it to.

THE CRUST is almost cookie like. For those of you who don't like coconut please try it one time in this recipe. I promise you will not find it overpowering...it actually helps in keeping the crust chewy and not brick like. The original recipe calls for the crust to be patted into 2 9x12" pans - which is good if you want to stretch the recipe. I personally prefer 1 9x13" pan (of course you really should use Pampered Chefs Bar Pan - it's amazing!). I like the crust to be quite thick. As you can see after blending it in the food processor it's pretty dry looking. No worries, as you pat it into the pan the butter softens and becomes very pliable. Tip - Use parchment paper, it makes it very easy and neat to slide your crust out to use on a pretty serving dish. This time I cut mine in half and then one half again into half. This lets me put 2 quarters into the freezer and not gorge on it too much!

THE FILLING is glorious! Cream cheese and Coolwhip - so simple but so very good. I woul dlike to try this with real whipped cream but have a strong suspicion that the filling woul dend up becoming runny and be able tot hold the top layer properly. I highly reccomend that you use the name brand Philidelphia cream cheese and CoolWhip for the filling for best results.

THE FRUIT must be good quality - in summer fresh sun ripened is unforgetable and in the winter you make do witht he best the stores offer or use your canned fruit. Our favorite combination right now is strawberries, raspberries and kiwi. Use whatever you love. Here I used fresh strawberries and pitted bing cherries. Decided not to use the nectarines. You can choose to either slice and arrange the fruit or do a dicing of all the fruit and gently combine it before spreading over your filling. TIP - do not place fruit directly to edge of filling!

THE GLAZE is homemade and is as easy as those bitter mixes but so much better. Use any fruit juice you desire. I like pineapple because it keeps the fruit fresh looking and also provides a nice taste contrast. When ready to glaze do so gently with a spoon for maximum control. The glaze keeps the fruit in place so be sure to cover the entire layer of fruit including that border I mentioned above. TIP - do not let the glaze drip over the crust or seep underneath, because you will get a soggy crust. If your glaze is too thick simply whisk in some hot water to thin it.

And there you have! The best Fruit Pizza on earth!

Fantastic Fruit Pizza

Crust:

1 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups loosley packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/3 cup quick cooking oatmeal

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sweetend shredded coconut

Mix suar and butter until blended, add remainig ingrediants and blend. Pat to the edge of your baking pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Do NOT overbake!

Filling:

1 block cream cheese

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tub of the large CoolWhip container - thawed

Mix first three ingrediants well. Fold Cool Whip gently in. Once crust is completely cooled, spread to edge of pizza. Top with your choice of fresh fruit as much as is desired.

Glaze:

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup pinapple juice

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp cornstarch

Mix first three ingrediants and bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch with small of water or juice until a medium thin consistency is reached. While boiling, slowly stir in cornstarch but keep whisking glaze! Let boil 1 minute or until glaze thickens. Take off heat but keep stirring. Do a taste check to ensure the cornstarch flavour has been completely mixed in. Allow to cool. Spread over pizza and place in fridge to allow it to set up and flavours to mingle. Enjoy!