Kids’ Kitchen: Apple Pie Dessert Pizza
At the end of every season, I get a wave of delayed inspiration for all of the delicious treats and meals that I wish we had made – but we quickly move on to the new season and it’s offerings. This Apple Pie Dessert Pizza came to me a little too late last year, but am I ever glad I wrote it down!
Originally, I think I envisioned fresh apples on top of an actual pizza crust but when I said the words “apple pie pizza” to Ella, she quickly changed the course of this recipe – and I’m glad she did!
Our apple pie dessert pizza is somewhat similar to Pizza Hut’s dessert pizza that is always on offer whenever I treat Ella to their lunch buffet – however, instead of a pizza crust, ours uses our fool-proof pie crust. (The same one you’ll find in our Kid-Made Apple Pie Recipe.)
However, you can definitely make this apple pie pizza with store-bought butter puff pastry (or pie pastry) and it would turn out just as delicious. The real magic happens on top of that crust – a quick apple pie topping, fresh cream cheese frosting, and hint of caramel drizzle.
We made this right before my parents came over for a cup of tea and it was such a hit that they took the pizza home with them when they left! (I’m lucky to have gotten any pictures of it!)
This would also be delicious served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for some apple pie pizza a la mode.
If you’re looking for a delicious, kid-made dessert that is just perfect for fall, you really can’t go wrong with this recipe. I expect we will be making a few variations of it in the months to come.
How to Make an Apple Pie Pizza
First, gather your ingredients:
- Pre-made butter puff pastry/pie pastry (or our pie crust recipe here)
- 3 apples
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 Tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 cups icing sugar
For the garnish:
- Ghiradelli caramel ice cream topping
- Walnuts or pecans, optional
- Ice cream, optional
Preheat your oven to whatever temperature called for by your pastry crust (or 350F if using homemade dough).
First, have your child chop up the apples into 1″ cubes. We had to work on not chopping them too small – Ella was excited to show off her dicing abilities, but if the pieces are too small they may burn in the oven.
Add the apple cubes to a saucepan with the butter.
Saute for about 4 minutes before adding the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Cook for another 3 minutes until a soft caramel forms.
Carefully pour the apple pie topping onto the pizza and spread it around for even distribution.
Try to keep a crust of at least an inch all around.
(Ella didn’t want to lose any of that caramel-y goodness, so she turned up the edges of the crust to trap the filling in. This isn’t a necessary step, but it is great for fine motor development!)
Place the pizza in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
While the pizza is baking, whip together the cream cheese frosting ingredients.
Add less icing sugar at first and taste as you go to adjust.
We used less icing sugar so we could have a more pronounced cream cheese flavour.
Add more milk or cream if you want a thinner frosting consistency.
Let the pizza cool slightly before frosting, unless you don’t mind the frosting melting.
Place the frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto the pizza in whatever pattern you prefer. (I let Ella cut the piping bag which resulted in a rather large cream cheese drizzle, which I didn’t mind at all. Cut a smaller hole if you want a thinner design.)
Finally, drizzle on the caramel ice cream topping and any additional garnishes you desire.
Cut with a pizza slicer and serve!
Kitchen Tools Used to Make this Recipe:
- Pizza pan
- Cutting board
- Kid-safe chopping knife
- Saucepan
- Spatula
- Heavy or nonstick mixing bowl
- Hand mixer
- Piping bag
- Pizza slicer
For an overview of what we keep in our kids’ kitchen cupboard, check out this post.
Grab your free printable version of our apple pie dessert pizza recipe here:
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Kids’ Kitchen: Apple Pie Dessert Pizza
Ingredients
- Pre-made butter puff pastry/pie pastry (or our pie crust recipe here)
- 3 apples
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 Tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 cups icing sugar
For the garnish:
- Ghiradelli caramel ice cream topping
- Walnuts or pecans, optional
- Ice cream, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to whatever temperature called for by your pastry crust (or 350F if using homemade dough).
- First, have your child chop up the apples into 1" cubes.
- Add the apple cubes to a saucepan with the butter.
- Saute for about 4 minutes before adding the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Cook for another 3 minutes until a soft caramel forms.
- Carefully pour the apple pie topping onto the pizza and spread it around for even distribution.
- Try to keep a crust of at least an inch all around.
- Place the pizza in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
- While the pizza is baking, whip together the cream cheese frosting ingredients.
- Add less icing sugar at first and taste as you go to adjust. (We used less icing sugar so we could have a more pronounced cream cheese flavour.)
- Add more milk or cream if you want a thinner frosting consistency.
- Let the pizza cool slightly before frosting, unless you don't mind the frosting melting.
- Place the frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto the pizza in whatever pattern you prefer.
- Finally, drizzle on the caramel ice cream topping and any additional garnishes you desire.
- Cut with a pizza slicer and serve!
Do your kids love helping in the kitchen? Let us know if you end up trying this delicious apple pie pizza recipe with them!
Check out the rest of the posts in our monthly kids’ kitchen series here.
Check out these other delicious Fall Desserts that Kids Can Make!
Pumpkin Scones | Royal Little Lambs
Apple Peanut Butter Bites | A Little Slice Of Us
Caramel Apple Nachos | The Gifted Gabber
Yummy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins | Living Montessori Now
Apple Muffins Recipe | Mess for Less
Apple pie is the favorite food of my children. Therefore, I often make this pie for them on the weekend. However, it may be sweeter than I think.
Thank you for your comment – you can reduce the sugar by half, if desired.