Caramel Apple Pizza (Sugar Cookie Crust)

Caramel Apple Pizza is a dessert pizza with a sugar cookie crust, apple spice sweetened cream cheese layer, and topped with fresh apples, pecans, and caramel. It’s the iconic dessert – caramel apples – in a pizza.

For more caramel apple 🍎🍏 desserts be sure and try Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars and No Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake.

Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza Recipe

Dessert pizzas are so fun to make and even better to eat! Whether it’s a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza, S’mores Pizza, or a Fruit Pizza your family will love a giant pizza for dessert.

Or you can celebrate the Holidays with a variety of my dessert pizza recipe such as a Christmas Cookie Pizza, Peeps Cookie Pizza, or a 4th of July Brownie Pizza.

If you can’t tell I love dessert pizzas. They usually start off with a cookie crust and then they’re topped with a variety of toppings and normally a cream cheese layer as the ‘pizza sauce’ that holds everything together.

This caramel apple version has a sugar cookie crust, an apple pie spiced sweet cream cheese layer, topped with chunks of tart Granny Smith apples, pecans, and a caramel drizzle. Tastes just like the iconic dessert – caramel apples – in a fun, portable, handheld dessert pizza.

How To Make Caramel Apple Pizza (Printable Recipe Card)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 12-inch round pizza pan with cooking spray.

Slice the sugar cookie dough roll into 1/4-inch slices and lay them over the pizza pan, then press them evenly together on the pizza pan to form the crust.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. When done baking, remove from the oven and place it onto a wire rack to let it cool completely before continuing and adding the toppings.

In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and apple pie spice until smooth and fluffy; about 1-2 minutes.

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the cooled pizza crust.

Core and peel the apples, and then cut them into chunks or thin slices. Evenly spread the apples over top the cream cheese layer.

Top with the chopped pecans and drizzle the caramel sauce over top. Serve immediately to prevent the apples from getting browned. Enjoy!

How To Store Leftover Caramel Apple Pizza

If you’ve got leftovers, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh for about 2 days – after that, the apples will start to look a little sad. To slow the process of the apple browning, try soaking the cut apples in lemon juice water (pat them dry with paper towels) before placing them on the pizza.

If you want to make it ahead, bake the cookie crust a day in advance and store it (covered) at room temperature. Mix the cream cheese layer and keep it chilled separately in an airtight container. Assemble the pizza and toppings right before serving to keep the apples from browning and the crust from getting soggy.

Tips For Success

• Add the pizza toppings right before serving to prevent the apples from browning. You can prepare the crust up to 24 hours ahead of time and store at room temperature until ready to serve. Just prior to serving, prepare the cream cheese mixture and add the toppings.
• If you are not planning on serving right away, or you know you’ll have leftovers, I suggest soaking the apple chunks or slices in water + lemon juice. This will help prevent the apples from browning too quickly. I fill a bowl with cold water and then squirt in a generous amount of bottled lemon juice. Make sure that you use a paper towel to dab the apples dry after they have been soaking. You don’t want to add extra liquid on top of the pizza.
• You can also prepare the sugar cookie crust, let it cool completely, and spread the cream cheese layer over top. At this point, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Right before serving you can add the apples, pecans, and caramel.
• For the best crisp and tart taste, use Granny Smith apples only in this recipe. The tartness perfectly balances all the sweetness in the dessert pizza. Other decent options are pink lady, fuji, or gala apples.
• You can chunk the apples into small pieces or slice them thin.

More Apple Dessert Recipes

• Crockpot Apple Crisp
• Snickers Apple Salad
• Oatmeal Cookie Apple Crumble
• Easy Apple Dumplings
• Cinnamon Streusel Baked Apples
• Applesauce Bread
• Apple Cider Pudding Cake