Schools out! (Insert loud cheers and high-fives here.)

Time for sunshine, swimming, picnics, bbq, campouts, and (best of all) no homework. If you’re celebrating the glorious start to summer, like my family is, then I have the perfect treat: Watermelon Fruit Pizza. Don’t let the name fool you though. There’s no actual watermelon in this recipe. I simply used grapes and strawberries on a sugar cookie crust to look like a watermelon. You could also use red apples, cherries, raspberries, kiwis, green apples or honeydew melon. Any combination of red and green fruit would work. (Ironically, watermelon wouldn’t be a very good choice. It’s too…. well, watery.)

If you ask me, watermelon is the most iconic symbol of summer. It’s simple, refreshing, and sweet. Everything that summer should be.

Ingredients

• Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough
• Green food coloring
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup green grapes (cut into halves)
• 2 – 3 cups diced strawberries
• 10 ounce jar of strawberry preserves
• 1/4 cup black M&Ms or raisins

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add green food coloring to one tube of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough. Mix well.

Step 2

Spray the bottom of a cheesecake pan or small pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray or line the bottom with parchment paper. Spread the dough evenly in the pan. Bake for 16 – 20 minutes. Allow crust to cool.

Step 3

Mix the cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla together in a bowl. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Step 4

Cut the green grapes in half and dice the strawberries. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Step 5

When the sugar cookie crust is cool, remove it from the pan.

Step 6

Spread 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of the cookie crust and around the top edge. Put the remaining cream cheese mixture in a piping bag to pipe between the fruits once you have them in place.

Step 7

Line the outer edge with green grape halves.

Step 8

Fill the center with diced strawberries.

Step 9

Using a spoon, spread the strawberry preserves lightly over the top of the diced strawberries. You may not need to use the entire jar. I used about 1/2 cup.

Step 10

Pipe the remaining cream cheese mixture in a line between the grapes and the strawberries.

Step 11

Place the watermelon “seeds” randomly on the strawberry-filled center. I used black M&M candies, but you could also use raisins.

Step 12

Serve up a yummy slice of summer!