Think this gorgeous fruit tart came home from a fancy patisserie in a box with a ribbon on it? You won’t believe that it actually started its life as one of those blue tubes of store-bought refrigerated sugar cookie dough. A true culinary Cinderella story!
This fruit tart is so shockingly simple to make, we really could call it a fruit pizza — but that sounds so lowbrow, and anyone can see that this tart has class. You’re going to love our cookie dough hack, though — because if you can have a whole tart shell that’s just a giant sugar cookie, why would you want it any other way? And especially because it saves time and effort, so that you can devote all of your artistic energy to creating that kaleidoscopic collage of fresh fruit on top.
Instead of the usual pastry cream (which requires time spent over the stove, stirring and stirring that custard), our fresh fruit tart recipe is graced with a cream cheese filling. (Which tastes heavenly but only takes three ingredients and mere moments to whip up!) And that glaze that makes the whole thing shine so that it’s almost too pretty to eat? It’s only apricot preserves and water! Applause, please.
So gather a cornucopia of fresh fruit — we tasted the rainbow with kiwi, mandarin orange, and mixed berries, but any of your favorite fruits will do — and get creative!
Sugar Cookie Fruit Tart
Serves 10
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients
Crust & Filling:
- 1 (16.5 oz) tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Fruit:
- 3 kiwis, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup fresh raspberries
- ½ cup canned mandarin oranges, drained of juice
- ½ cup blackberries
- ½ cup strawberries, sliced
- ¼ cup blueberries
Glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons apricot preserves
- 1 Tablespoon water
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C.
- Slice the refrigerated sugar cookie dough into about 12 small discs.
- Lay the slices of cookie dough on a 10-inch round tart pan. (We used a pan with fluted edges to achieve the fluted design of the finished crust, but a standard round baking pan will do.) Press the cookie dough evenly into the bottom of the pan and up around the edges slightly to create the crust.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Allow the crust to cool completely.
- While the sugar cookie crust is baking, prepare the cream cheese filling: in a medium bowl, use a hand mixer and beat together the cream cheese, sugar and almond extract until smooth and creamy.
- Using a spatula, spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the cooled cookie crust.
- Arrange the fresh fruit on top of the filling as desired. Take a look at ours for inspiration!
- Prepare the glaze: in a small bowl, mix together the apricot preserves and water until they’re fully mixed. Use a pastry brush and brush the apricot glaze evenly over all of the fruit. Chill the tart until you’re ready to serve it.
We know you’ve got cooking skills — but you didn’t really need them to put together this sugar cookie fruit tart, did you? We want to see your fruit masterpiece, so don’t forget to share photos of how your tart turned out.