Mini Fruit Pizza Cups

One of my co-workers recently resigned to embark upon a new opportunity, so for a celebratory going away treat, I put on my Betty Crocker hat. Since my schedule was pretty full at the time with pre-vacation to-do's, I opted for a super simple (only 4 ingredients), delicious mini fruit pizza cup recipe.
 

To my (lack of) surprise, this "simple" endeavor was actually quite the feat. Here's a thorough breakdown of my efforts...  

This mini fruit pizza recipe calls for a whopping 4 ingredients:

• 1 package of sugar cookie dough
• 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 container of cool whip
• 4 cups of any kind of fruit

First, my ego thought it should buy a sugar cookie mix rather than pre-made dough, so I had to start with the tiny extra step of preparing the sugar cookie dough (not difficult, but an unnecessary added step I brought upon myself). I then sprayed a mini muffin pan and diligently molded balls of dough to each mini muffin shape (while watching tv, of course).

I baked the sugar cookie dough according to the package... and then about three times longer since my dough was not cooked. Once baked, the centers had all puffed.

So I pressed each one down (while hot) to redeem the mini muffin shape. I think I may have then cooked them a tad longer after doing such (cannot exactly recall).

Next, I was supposed to mix together the softened cream cheese and cool whip to make the filling, but... neither ingredient was thawed. I popped the cream cheese in the microwave for a light defrost. I then did the same for the cool whip... except I forgot about it, which resulted in liquid cool whip.

Ok, that was not supposed to happen, and even though I moved forward with blending the two ingredients and creating my ziploc filling bag, there was no way I could fill the cookie cups with my hot runny mess.

Reluctantly, I was forced to let the filling rest in the refrigerator over night to cool and set. Rising an hour early the next morning to finish the treats, I was happy to find my filling nice and firm.

But, of course, I had a new challenge. The night before I had loosened each cookie cup from its muffin mold with a butter knife. Rather than actually removing each cup individually, though, I lazily placed the entire muffin pan in the refrigerator over night. When I woke the next morning, ready to work, each refrigerated cookie mold was hard as a rock and stuck to the pan. There was no way to remove them without breaking them to pieces. On the verge of pure disaster, I thought quickly and decided to let the muffin pan rest in another pan of hot water while I showered and dressed for work. (I'm pretty sure there is a technical term for this, but I cannot remember it to save my life.)

When I returned, fingers crossed, the cookie cups had completely loosened and were easily removed from the muffin pan. Hallelujah.

Finally, filling time! I snipped the corner tip of the ziploc filling bag, and carefully squeezed the cream cheese mixture into each cup.

All that was needed next was fruit topping.

The recipe source pictures displayed bright, colorful fruit toppings for these deep dish mini fruit pizzas, but since strawberries are in season (and are my fave), I chose to solely use strawberries. I wish I would have diced the fruit smaller (simply for aesthetic reasons), but I can honestly say that no one cared.

You would want to eat these, right? Because I ate like five... or maybe more :)

Props. A+. High five. These bite-sized treats were a mega hit. And even though I took myself on quite a baking adventure, I would love to make these mini fruit pizza cups again. This recipe is a guaranteed winner, and I highly recommend giving it a go.

The full recipe can be found at Banner Boutique's "The Easiest Mini Deep Dish Fruit Pizzas."

Linking to: Jam Hands - Recipe Sharing Monday, Lolly Jane - The Scoop, Someday Crafts - Whatever Goes Wednesday, What's Cooking, Love? - Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Diana Rambles - Pin Me Link Party, One Artsy Mama - Shine on Fridays, Be Different Act Normal - Show and Tell Saturdays, Tatertots & Jello - Weekend Wrap Up