Looking for a fun twist on pizza night? Make a Cookie Pizza that looks just like a classic pepperoni pie — but tastes completely sweet! This creative dessert pizza recipe features a soft sugar cookie crust topped with white chocolate ganache “cheese,” strawberry preserves “sauce,” and realistic candy toppings like fruit leather pepperoni, candy sausage, green peppers, and olives.
It’s the ultimate sweet treat for parties, family pizza nights, birthdays, or anytime you want a show-stopping dessert that makes people smile.
A Nostalgic College Creation
I first made a cookie pizza back in college, baking it in the lounge of my dorm. I didn’t have fancy tools back then, so every topping was cut by hand — candy pepperoni, green peppers, olives, and even mushrooms. Sharing it with my friends was so much fun; they were amazed at how much this sweet pizza looked like the real thing!
For this updated version of the cookie pizza, I decided to add candy sausage and skip the mushrooms.
Candy Toppings That Look Like the Real Thing
One of the best parts of this dessert pizza is creating the realistic toppings. Here’s what I used:
- Strawberry fruit leather for pepperoni slices
- Green gumdrops for green peppers
- Peanut butter and chocolate-coated rice cereal clusters for sausage
- Soft black licorice for sliced black olives
I’ll admit — I hesitated to use black licorice at first. I wasn’t sure the flavor would work on a sweet pizza. But it turned out to be perfect! Not only does it create realistic olive slices, but the flavor actually blends beautifully with the sugar cookie crust, strawberry preserves “sauce,” creamy white chocolate ganache, and the other candy toppings.
If black licorice isn’t your favorite, you can easily make olives using homemade 2-ingredient black candy clay (modeling chocolate) instead. In fact, you can create all the toppings with candy clay if you prefer working with it over pre-made candy.
The Perfect Pizza Night Dessert
This sweet cookie pizza is:
- Fun for kids and adults
- Perfect for themed parties
- Great for birthdays and sleepovers
- A creative baking project
- A conversation-starting dessert
If you’re looking for a unique dessert pizza recipe that looks savory but tastes sweet, this Cookie Pizza is guaranteed to impress.
Recipe
Fool your friends and family with a realistic-looking Cookie Pizza. Top a sugar cookie crust with strawberry preserves (pizza sauce), white chocolate ganache (melted mozzarella cheese), and candy pepperoni, green peppers, olives, and sausage. Looks just like the real thing and makes a fun dessert for any occasion.
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup butter, softened slightly
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg white
- 4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup strawberry preserves
- 5 strawberry fruit leather strips, cut into fifteen 1 inch rounds for pepperoni
- 2-3 small green gumdrop candies or taffy, cut into small strips for green peppers
- 1 soft black licorice stick, cut into slices with holes for olives
- chocolate-coated rice cereal nuggets
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Spray a 12 inch round pizza pan with baking spray.
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Line the pan with a parchment paper round if you plan to remove the cookie pizza from the pan before serving.
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Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
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Cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
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Mix in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until well combined.
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Stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.
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Pinch off about ⅓ cup of dough and reserve it to make the outer crust.
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Press the remaining dough into the pan in an even layer.
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Brush some egg white around the top edge of the cookie.
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Roll the reserved dough into a log and arrange around the top edge of the cookie, smoothing out any seams.
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Bake the cookie on the bottom rack of your oven for 16-20 minutes until the center looks baked through and the edges are golden brown.
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Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
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If you lined the pan with baking paper, remove the cooled cookie from the pan, peel off the paper, and set it on a serving platter, in a pizza box, or on a cutting board.
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Combine the white chocolate and heavy whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl.
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Heat on high power for 1 minute.
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Allow the bowl to sit in the microwave for 2 more minutes.
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Remove and stir until smooth.
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If needed, heat for 10 second bursts of high power, stirring after each until melted.
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Spread the strawberry preserves “pizza sauce” over the pizza crust.
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Drizzle the white chocolate ganache “cheese” over top.
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Cut the pizza into 8 slices.
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Arrange the strawberry fruit leather pepperoni, the green candy peppers, and the black licorice olives over top of the pizza slices.
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Sprinkle the chocolate coated rice cereal nuggets over the whole pizza creating the look of sausage.
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Store at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Video
I recommend topping your cookie pizza the day you plan to serve it.
If you need to make this dessert ahead of time, you can bake the cookie and store it at room temperature up to three days in advance. Or you can bake it sooner, and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Store any leftover cookie pizza in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Before serving, allow the slices to come to room temperature; otherwise, the candy toppings may be too firm to bite into.
If you can't find chocolate-coated Rice Krispies Cereal, you can make your own by stirring some Rice Krispies Cereal into melted chocolate. Spoon out just a few pieces of chocolate-coated cereal and drop them onto a parchment-paper-lined pan. Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.
Candy Clay
You can make pizza toppings, including olives, mushrooms, sausage, pepperoni, peppers, and more, using candy clay.
If you’d like to have the ultimate guide to working with Candy Clay (modeling chocolate), be sure to get your printed or e-book copy of Candy Clay Creations. This 102-page book is filled with tips and tricks for making and working with candy clay, along with 17 step-by-step tutorials for decorating cupcakes, cookies, and more using candy clay. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to make festively decorated treats.
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Sarah says
do you have instructions for this recipe? it is sadly not in the Dixie site anymore.
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for letting me know that Dixie Crystals removed the recipe. I have added the recipe to the blog post along with the video. I don't have any step-by-step photos, but you can watch the video to see how the recipe and candy pizza toppings are made.
Enjoy!
Minuja says
Hi Beth - I am going to use your method to make pizza cookies. Question: Will the leather fruit and jelly candy get soggy if I add them to wet icing? Will the color bleed? Or do I glue them on afterwards?
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Minuja, I didn't have any trouble with the candy getting soggy or bleeding on top of the white chocolate ganache. I'm not sure how they will hold up if you use icing instead of ganache. I have not tried that. You could wait until the icing dries slightly before adding the toppings. Just don't wait too long or the toppings won't stick. You could "glue" them on after the icing dries too.
Alicia says
I love this! I'm planning to make mini versions for my daughter's birthday and then have the kids decorate their own. What are the tools you use for making the holes in the olives? And how long would you cook a smaller (like 3 inch) cookie? Thanks again!
Beth says
Hi Alicia, I use round plunger cutters to cut small holes in the candy olives. You can find them on Amazon (ad) https://amzn.to/39mXEsr. If you make small 3-inch cookies, you'll want to bake them for 10-14 minutes. Start checking them at 10 minutes. They should just start to brown around the bottom edge. Have fun! I hope your daughter enjoys her special birthday treat.
Alicia says
Great! Thank you so much!
Edna says
I made a cookie pizza for my son's 42nd birthday. It was half chocolate chip and white chocolate chip, cherry fruit rollups for pepperoni, melted whit chocolate chips for chrese and color spray for pizza sauce.
Beth says
That sounds amazing! I hope your son enjoyed it.
Denise says
I’m using chocolate chip cookie dough, could I still make the crust part the same as in this video (like with the egg whites?)
Beth says
Yes, I think you could do that. Just know that chocolate chip cookie dough might spread more than the sugar cookie dough. To make it look more like crust, you can make your dough and separate out some before adding in the chocolate chips. That way you won't have chips in your pizza crust. Have fun and enjoy!
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets says
Your cookie pizza looks so yummy! And I love your how-to video with the Italian music!
Beth says
Thanks so much, Karen. I just had to have Italian music playing in the background!
The Partiologist says
I cannot believe how much this looks like a real pizza and how fun would it be to serve on April fools day!!
Beth says
Thank you! It would make a perfect April Fools Day treat. 🙂