I have really mixed feelings about healthy desserts.
That being said, today’s dessert is a rock star of a raw dessert that closely resembles our family favorite, Fruit Pizza. There’s no sugar cookie crust here – wahhhhh! But honestly, I’m going to blow your mind and my own mind right now: I don’t even miss it. This alternative crust is my new dessert base staple – it’s raw and full of nutrition and SERIOUSLY YUMMY thanks to the dates, almond butter, vanilla, and pecans. I pinkie promise would not feed you this idea if it did not taste deliciously desserty.
So with the sweet, soft, chewy crust taken care of, let’s fill those little crusts up with some heavenly —> coconut cream cheese frosting! <— and some fresh, bright fruit. And suddenly things are looking reeeeal good for us in the raw, nutritious, can’t-stop-love-it-so-much healthy dessert department.
But like I said, mixed feelings. No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas can stay, but on the other hand, I think every obnoxious dessert healthification that I have ever been involved with has been a complete train wreck. If you want a full run-down of some of these epic fails, they’re all yours – eat your heart out. Except eeww.
Can we talk about something semi-related for a minute? That would be how I’m going to keep a container of this coconut cream cheese filling in my fridge for the rest of summer because it is fruit’s best friend. And my best friend. It’s like something otherworldly.
So when you’re making this recipe and you have the crusts chilling in the freezer and you have your juicy fruit laying right there on the cutting board and you’re sitting in front of the bowl of freshly whipped coconut cream cheese filling, and you’re asking yourself if it’s okay to dunk your face in it? The answer is yes. You most definitely have permission to pre-dessert your dessert with a little appetizer of fruit and coconut cream cheese “dip.”
Okay, I’ve already talk-typed too much today. In my mind I am capable of writing a short post – in reality I have to say everything for five hundred paragraphs.
In addition to meeting people at three very delicious restaurants today for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (there could be worse problems), I have a bunch of things to do before Sunday when we leave for a little getaway with Bjork’s family. I can’t wait to show you pictures of the place we’re staying – it’s unreal with lake views and patios galore. Squeee!
So I’m out, in like, two paragraphs. So much to prepare! like all the snacks!
Bottom line with these No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas is that they’re a great way to enjoy dessert without feeling like you just killed your body with a refined sugar overload. Wait, though: I do not judge regular sugar cookie and powdered sugar frosting fruit pizza eaters AT ALL! You guys. It’s like our favorite food ever. But these non-regular No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas are where we’re at right now – natural sugar and sweetness and creaminess and yummy crust shells that are mind-consumingly delicious with lots of feel-good ingredients to make you feel glowy and healthful and awesome.
One last note: I tried to decorate these with cool fruit patterns and I basically had a nervous breakdown. Bjork told me to get out of the house. Not joking. I was completely beside myself for not being able to slice fruit and arrange it prettily on top of a mini no-bake mini fruit pizza while also taking pictures. Like why are my fingers big clunky logs? Some things like fruit arranging are better left to my patient sister – check out her gorgeous fruit pizza design for inspo and/or just prop your fruit on top, like I ended up doing in an effort not to smash everything in frustration.
I bet you wish you were there for that moment. Special times with fruit pizza decorating.
Happy weekend, friends!
No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas
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Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes -
Yield: 6 large or 12 small
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No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas – a raw, nutritious, chewy crust topped with a coconut cream cheese filling and decorated with fresh fruit! All the yum with no refined sugar.
Ingredients
For the crust
- 15 medjool dates, pits removed
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup almond meal, hazelnut meal, ground oats, etc.
- 1–2 tablespoons chia seeds, flax, etc.
For the filling and toppings
- 8 ounces Neufchatel (reduced fat cream cheese), softened
- 3/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon honey (raw local honey = best!)
- fruit toppings of choice like raspberries, strawberries, kiwi, and mango
Instructions
- For the crust/dough, place the dates, almond butter, vanilla, salt, and pecans in a food processor. Pulse a few times and push the mixture down with a spoon between pulses to help it move through the food processor (maybe not necessary if you have an awesome food processor, which I do not). When the mixture is mostly smooth and sticky like a dough, transfer to a bowl and mix in your nut meal and chia/flax to help the mixture bind together. You should end up with one large dough ball and you should be able to touch it without getting it stuck all over your hands, although your hands may be greasy after working with it. Press this dough into mini muffin tins, regular muffin tins, or individual tart molds. Freeze for 1-2 hours to help them hold their shape.
- Heat the coconut milk to incorporate the fat and the water. When it’s smooth, set aside to cool. After it has cooled to room temperature, beat the cream cheese, coconut milk, and honey with an electric mixer until smooth. Cut up your fruit into small slices.
- Remove from the molds and fill with a few spoonfuls of the filling and top with sliced fruit. Store finished fruit pizzas in the fridge.
Notes
The crust turns out differently every time I make it, and it’s really adaptable to whatever grains or nut meals or seeds you have and want to use in it. Try to just make it by feel rather than by following the exact measurements listed here – it usually turns out best when you just try to achieve that dry-to-the-touch dough consistency.
Sometimes it’s hard to get the crust mixture going through your food processor – it depends on how moist your dates are. It can help to add a tiny bit of water, but if you do, you’ll really need to add some almond meal, flax, etc. to make up for that extra moisture.
You can also store these in the freezer but I would recommend freezing just the crust and the filling and letting it thaw out before topping with fresh fruit.
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Prep Time: 20 mins
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Cook Time: 2 hours
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Category: Dessert
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Cuisine: American
Keywords: mini fruit pizzas, healthy fruit pizza, no-bake fruit pizza
The little tart pan that I used had 4 servings (see picture) – I could have made 6 of that size with the amount in this recipe. If you used a muffin tin or a mini muffin tin you’d end up with more like 12 servings. Nutrition facts are for 1 fruit pizza when making 12.
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