Grilled Fruit Pizza

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

There are few people who love a backyard BBQ quite like Kylee Wierks loves a BBQ. First of all, I love eating outside. In fact, I think we should all eat every meal outside. The ambiance significantly effects how much I enjoy the food, and there's just something about the fresh air that makes food taste better.

Secondly, BBQ food is probably my favorite food. I loved grilled meat, I love grilled sides, and I love grilled desserts! Yes, you read that correctly. I said I love GRILLED DESSERTS! Believe it or not, the grill is not just for burgers, steaks, and corn. You can (and you should) make desserts on the grill!

Using the grill does wonderful things for the texture and flavor of your desserts. Bonus: you don't need to turn on the oven, so you won't heat up your home!

Fruit desserts in particular are just magical, hot and sugary but not completely terrible for you. You can grill just about any fruit your heart desires. So I decided to grill all of my favorite fruits and make a fruit pizza!



Fruit pizza was always one of my favorite summer desserts when I was growing up. You know the kind with a sugar cookie crust and cream cheese frosting? My mom would always make it for the Fourth of July and other summer holiday parties.

I wanted to make a more savory version with actual pizza dough. Just use your favorite homemade or store-bought pizza dough or flat bread, it's completely up to you. Then top it with a sweet cream cheese spread and your favorite grilled fruit.

Grilling fruit is easy peasy, I promise! Just make sure to coat the grates or the grill pan well with oil or no-stick spray because the fruit is prone to sticking. Also, I recommend using fruit that is just barely ripe because you don't want it to get too mushy on the grill. One thing to keep in mind is sturdier fruits like pineapples and peaches take more time to grill (about 3 minutes each side) than something like strawberries or kiwis (2 minutes or less each side). My suggestion is to grill just a few pieces at a time until you get a feel for how long it will take.

The pizza is best served warm, and it still tastes great the second day!



Grilled Fruit Pizza
Yield: Serves about 10 people
Ingredients

• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Variety of sliced fresh fruits (I used 1 peach, 1 pineapple, 6 strawberries, handful of blackberries)
• Pizza dough (I used Wewalka bistro dough, but you can use any pizza dough or flat bread you like)
• Optional: Mint leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Use mixer to cream together cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy or about 1 minutes. Set aside.
2. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Lightly coat grill grates with non-stick spray or oil so fruit doesn't stick.
3. Add sliced fruit to grill and grill for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. More delicate fruits like strawberries will take less time than peaches and pineapple. Set grilled fruit on plate.
4. Place pizza dough on grill and cook for about 4 minutes or until bottom is browned. Flip and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
5. Spread grilled pizza dough with cream cheese mixtures and arrange fruit on top.
6. Garnish with mint leaves if desired and serve warm.