Sink your teeth into the ultimate caramel apple pizza dessert. This loaded sugar cookie is covered in all the ooey-gooey chocolate caramel toppings you can imagine.
Yesterday was a momentous day for our Peanut: after two years, her braces finally came off!
For sure, the thing she missed the most from this list of things you shouldn't eat with braces was the ooey-gooey caramel we all love.
I wanted to surprise her when she got home with the ULTIMATE in chewy, crunchy desserts for her to sink her freshly bracket-free teeth into.
As I strolled through the candy aisle at the grocery store to see what I could collect, I started dreaming about the insanely over-the-top candy-coated caramel apples they sell at the gourmet candy shops in tourist towns. You know, the kind you need a knife and fork to work your way through.
I decided to take some of our favorite chewy caramel treats and make a completely loaded caramel apple pizza. It turned out perfectly and was so ridiculously easy.
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Why This is the Best Recipe
There are so many delicious chewy caramel recipes to choose from but I think this is the best taffy apple pizza recipe because:
- Prepared Sugar Cookie Dough: You can bake it quickly using a sugar cookie mix or sugar cookie dough from the grocery store.
- Fresh Apples: The pizza is topped with real chunks of fresh Granny Smith apple.
- Tons of Candy Toppings: Mix and match your favorite Halloween candy options for the top.
Ingredients
An easy party dessert like this taffy apple pizza should be quick to prepare. To make my easy recipe, all you need is:
- Sugar Cookie Mix: A pouch of cookie mix OR you could use prepared sugar cookie dough from the fridge aisle
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla
- Granny Smith Apples: I think these tart apples are the perfect balance for the sweet ingredients but you can use any apple you love.
- Lemon
- Caramel Tub: The thick fruit dip kind from the produce section of the store.
- Your Favorite Candies: See my notes below for suggested toppings
Bake the Sugar Cookie Crust
The crust is made out of a giant sugar cookie.
I used a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix to save some time.
I simply dropped the entire batch of cookie dough onto a pizza stone and rolled it out.
Bake the sugar cookie at 350°F for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy. Let it cool completely before you try to top it.
If you really wanted to take the time, you could make the sugar cookie dough from scratch, but I'm not sure that would be worth it!
Make the Cream Cheese Sauce
You need something to help all those chopped Granny Smith apples to stick to the cookie crust.
I made a super easy cream cheese frosting with brown sugar and vanilla to add a new twist to one of our all-time favorite cream cheese frosting.
The consistency is much thinner than normal frosting and is perfect for spreading all over the apple pizza crust.
NOTE: When you first make the cream cheese frosting, the brown sugar will leave a gritty crunch to the texture.
Don't worry, as the pizza sits in the fridge, the sugar dissolves into the frosting.
Prep the Apples
To keep your fresh apples juicy and crispy and avoid having them turn color as your taffy apple sits out for serving, you need to prep the diced apples.
I recommend green Granny Smith apples because the tart flavor helps balance all the other sweet ingredients.
Wash the apples thoroughly but do not peel them. The colorful skin adds a visual pop to the apple pizza.
Dice the apples and add them to a mixing bowl. Squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the top and gently stir to coat.
The lemon juice will help prevent the apples from turning brown and that little bit extra of tartness from the lemon will also help balance all the other candy and caramel flavors.
Best Taffy Apple Pizza Toppings
This is where we had the most fun.
There are oodles of options for your own candy-covered caramel apple pizza, but I was specifically looking for things my little lady loved the most.
I also wanted ingredients that would provide the greatest chewy-crunch.
I went with:
- Chopped up Rolo candies
- Chopped up Heath toffees (found in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips)
- Drizzled caramel apple dip from the produce section: This dip is MUCH thicker than traditional caramel sauce found in the ice cream aisle. The drizzle held its shape so well on the pizza, even after spending a couple of hours in the fridge. I spooned a few dollops into a plastic baggie and then snipped the corner to pipe it onto the apple pizza.
Fun Topping Ideas
Mix and match any of these to make a perfect-for-you apple pizza:
- Chopped Snickers (would taste JUST like our Snickers Salad recipe!)
- Chopped pecans
- Mini chocolate chips
- Mini M&Ms
- Butterscotch chips
- Broken pretzel pieces
- Chopped peanuts
- Reese's Pieces candies
- Peanut Butter chips
- Chopped Reese's peanut butter cups
- Chopped Twix cookie bars
You could almost take anything from your kids' Trick or Treat baskets and chop it up for this apple pizza.
It would make such a fun Halloween dessert, too!
Serving Suggestions
This sweet taffy apple pizza would make such a fun Halloween party dessert but it is delicious for any fall holiday or special event.
You could even have the kids help bake it for the party, or at the least help decorate the top!
More Apple Recipes
Don't miss some of our favorite apple recipes to make with your kids this fall:
📖 Recipe
Taffy Apple Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pouch of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix plus 1 stick of butter & 1 egg to make the dough
- 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese
- 1 ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large Granny Smith apples
- 1 tablespoon juice from 1 fresh lemon
- 1 tub of prepared caramel apple dip from the produce section
- ½ cup chopped Rolo candies
- ½ cup chopped Heath bar bits
Instructions
Bake the Sugar Cookie Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the sugar cookie mix according to the package instructions.
- Drop the dough onto a pizza stone and roll it out smoothly to form the round pizza crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and crispy. Let it cool completely before topping with frosting.
Make the Cream Cheese Icing
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugars together until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and continue to beat until the filling is light and smooth. Spread evenly over the pizza crust.
Assemble the Taffy Apple Pizza
- Chop the green apples into small bite-sized chunks. Add the apples to a clean mixing bowl and gently toss with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. This will help keep the apples from turning brown. Sprinkle the apples evenly over the top of the pizza.
- Spoon several large dollops of caramel apple dip into a plastic baggie. Snip a tiny corner from the bag and use it to pipe the caramel in a pretty pattern over the pizza.
- Sprinkle the Rolo candies and Heath bits over the top of the pizza.
- Store the pizza in the fridge until ready to serve. Tastes best the day you make it.
Recipe Notes
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Erica
Oh wow! This recipe just screams AUTUMN to me. You can never go wrong with apples and caramel! I took my kids to an apple orchard for fall break this week and now I’m dying to try this recipe!