A little late, but still tastes great: Strawberry Pizza for Valentines

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

I know!  It’s almost March.

Here at my house, there isn’t much hullabaloo about it and I finally got around to making a dessert for my family.

We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day.

My husband calls it the “Hallmark Holiday” and feels your spouse, children or family should know everyday how much you love them.  It shouldn’t take a holiday for you to remember to tell them.

If we celebrate, it’s not with lavish gifts. 

I usually make the kids heart shaped pancakes that are colored red.  

When my husband was a child, my mother-in-law always made Strawberry Pizza.

I made it for the first time just two years ago (we’ve been married for almost 21 years). There are some things, no matter how hard you try and perfect you think it is, will never be as good as Mom’s.

Strawberry pizza reminds me of cheesecake on a sugar cookie, but you don’t have to stress over getting your cream cheese and egg cooked just right.

You don’t have to use strawberries on it either.  You can substitute with your favorite berry or fruit.

Strawberries make it fun for valentines day because you can cut them to look like little hearts.

Try it yourself!

STRAWBERRY PIZZA

yield:  16 SERVINGS  prep time: 15 MINUTES  bake  time: 15 MINUTES   total time: 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

FOR CRUST:

• 1 cup flour
• ½  cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup butter (softened)

FOR STRAWBERRY GLAZE:

• 1 cup mashed strawberries

• 4 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

• 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla

• ½ cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:

FOR CRUST:

1. Preheat oven to 325*F.
2. Cream butter in a large bowl with a mixer. 
3. Combine flour and powdered sugar with creamed butter. It may appear dry and crumbly, but if you use your hands and shape it into a ball, it will come together nicely. (When I used my Kitchen-Aid Mixer, it balled together nicely)
4. Roll dough out on a piece of parchment paper into approximately a 12 inch circle.
5. Place on a pizza pan or stone and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Let cool completely.

FOR GLAZE:

7. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with sugar.
8. Smash the strawberries.  You can use a food processor or mash them with a potato masher.
9. In a small saucepan, combine the mashed strawberries with the cornstarch and sugar mixture.
10. Cook the mixture on medium heat until it thickens and becomes glossy.  It will look cloudy at first but will become more glossy/clear as it thickens.  It will take about 5 minutes or so.  Stir constantly so it does not burn.
11. Let cool.

FOR FROSTING:

12. Cream sugar, cream cheese and vanilla together with a mixer until smooth.
13. Spread frosting on crust like you would apply pizza sauce.
14. Spread cooled strawberry glaze on top of the frosting.
15. Add sliced strawberries for decoration.

Adapted from Joanne Keerins & http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com