Sugar Cookie Bar Variations: Strawberry Lime Sugar Cookie Pizza

Hope you guys are having a nice day. I have had a great day. After prayer, Jordan took me by the new Nike store so I could get a new workout shirt and pants! Very fun. I have been trying to be really good about exercise this year, especially in the winter because I was feeling pretty stir crazy and lethargic. Exercise always helps this, and I find I'm much happier when I get in several workouts in a week. Bonus: it's actually been really fun to have somewhere already paid for to go [we got Scoopons for a local gym for $30 for 3 months!] since things can get a bit pricey here in Melbourne.

Now, to the food. Sorry about the incredibly long title! After I posted the sugar cookie bar recipe, I wanted to follow it up with a couple of variations I've made this year. I probably liked them better than the original recipe, and they are definitely more fancy! I made this a long time ago now and took it to a STINT dinner we were having, and everyone loved it! It's spring and strawberry season here, so I should really make it again since they are so cheap!

To make this variation on the traditional bars, mold the dough into a deep dish pizza pan. Alternately, you could use a jelly roll pan or any other pan with sides. This would just make the dough different heights. I decreased the amount of dough for these, but it still leaves a pretty thick cookie base for this fruit pizza with sweetened cream cheese as your "sauce." Since I love lime and strawberry flavors together, this was a fun combination for me to try. However, you could put any type of fruit you had onto this base and it would be awesome. Also, I think the more lime the better. I didn't put in as much as I could have in this - so feel free to add more. It would probably be delicious and more of a key lime cheesecake flavor. YUM.

Here's the recipe:

STRAWBERRY LIME SUGAR COOKIE PIZZA

Ingredients

For the dough:

170 grams butter (or 1 1/2 sticks or 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Zest from one lime (or two or three!)

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking soda

For the topping:

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature, or softened in the microwave

56 g or 1/4 cup butter at room temperature, or softened in the microwave

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

4-5 tsp lime juice (or more)

Zest from one lime

Pint of strawberries

Directions

Grease pan lightly with butter. To make the cookie dough, cream sugar and butter together in large bowl on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in vanilla and zest. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. *Note: I like to do this step in a wire mesh strainer hooked to the top of my mixing bowl so that it sifts the flour at the same time, but you could also do it in separate bowl.* Add flour mixture to wet ingredients on low speed until just incorporated.

Press into deep dish pizza pan, or other pan with sides. *Note: you may need to adjust baking time if in a different pan.* Bake at 350 F (or 180 C) for about 10-15 minutes, until edges begin to brown and center is set. Let it cool completely before frosting.

To make the topping, cream together cream cheese and butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add sifted confectioners sugar and lime juice alternately. Stir in zest. If you choose to add more lime juice than the recipe calls for, you may need to add more sugar to reach the desired consistency. Spread evenly over the cookie base, leaving a bit of a border. Slice strawberries and arrange on top for a pretty presentation!