This is the famous taffy apple pizza from Pampered Chef. I modified the cookie base to make it homemade.
When I was fresh out of college, I was not a very good cook or a very good baker. Some of my friends invited me over for a Pampered Chef party. I had no idea what that was, so it was my first foray into the world of direct-t0-consumer parties. I remember having a good time and being astounded by all the tools, gadgets and accessories one could use in the kitchen. Soon enough, I hosted my own Pampered Chef party.
One of the recipes at either my party or one of my friends’ was this taffy apple pizza. It was a pre-made sugar cookie that was topped with a peanut butter cream cheese spread. Then, the pizza was topped with freshly sliced apples and drizzled with caramel sauce. Although I wasn’t a peanut butter fan at the time (and still am not), I liked the dessert.
In fact, I was asked to make this dessert in my younger years. Every party I went to, friends would ask me to make this pizza. I fondly remember one set of friends who said that they would stretch out the pizza as much as they could to make it last longer. That is, they would cut smaller and smaller slices each day so they wouldn’t finish it.
Sadly, once I discovered my passion for baking, I stopped making taffy apple pizzas. Instead, I opted for other things like cakes, brownies and ice cream. However, since we had a plethora of apples from our recent apple picking adventure, I figured that it was time to resurrect this dessert. My husband did a taffy apple pizza chant because he was so excited.
The one major revision I made to the original recipe was to utilize a homemade sugar cookie base. You can absolutely use a store-bought refrigerated sugar cookie dough if you are short on time. Just roll it into a giant cookie and you’re set.
I hope you enjoy this ‘blast from the past’ recipe from my old archives.
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: N/A (since I am weird and don’t eat peanut butter)
Taffy apple pizza
Ingredients
Cookie base
- 1 and ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Peanut butter spread
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese softened
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 2 medium apples peeled, sliced and cored. I like using Fuji apples but you can use Granny Smith, Braeburn or Honeycrisps
- ¼ cup caramel topping I used the store-bought kind, but you can certainly make your own
- cinnamon for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
Make the cookie
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet or baking stone with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing until everything just comes together.
- Transfer the dough to your prepared baking sheet. Grease or flour your hands or a rolling pin and shape it into a large circle about ¼ inch thick all the way around.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 11-14 minutes or until the side starts to turn a light golden brown. The cookie may look underbaked, and that's OK. Do NOT overbake this or else your cookie will be hard and crunchy.
- Allow the cookie to cool completely while you prepare the peanut butter layer.
Make the peanut butter spread
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla together on medium speed until smooth and lump-free.
Assemble the pizza
- Once your cookie base has cooled completely, spread the peanut butter mixture evenly on top - going all the way to the edges of the cookie.
- Arrange the sliced apples on top. Drizzle on some caramel topping and sprinkle on some ground cinnamon if desired.
- Slice and enjoy!