Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza

Ohhhhhhh MUH WORD you guys.  This.Is.Amazing!  It's everything you want in an apple, Fall dessert.  Like, everything.  

1 roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

2 Honeycrisp Apples, diced

1 1/2 (ish) cups of Club Soda

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 jar Smuckers Caramel Sauce (the kind in the glass jar)

1 (8oz.) block cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

cinnamon

2 tbsp. half-n-half or heavy whipping cream, if necessary

Preheat your oven according to the sugar cookie dough instructions.

Spread the dough in an even layer over the bottom of a 9" spring form pan.

Bake for 11-15 minutes.  Mine took longer than this.  If the dough is still super jiggly (technical...I know) in the center, put it back in.  You want it to be set, but still nice and soft.  Mine probably baked for closer to 20-25 minutes, but I kept checking it until it wasn't super jiggly anymore.  Allow the baked cookie to cool COMPLETELY.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the butter and beat again until smooth and well incorporated.  Scrape down the sides.  Add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar into the cream cheese/butter mixture.  Once all of the powdered sugar has been absorbed, beat on medium-high speed until it's soft and creamy, about 5 minutes.  If it's too stiff, add some half-n-half or heavy whipping cream to make it the consistency of icing.

Once the cookie is completely cooled, spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cookie crust.  Spread it almost to the edges, like you would pizza sauce on a pizza.  *Note* I didn't use aaaallll of the cream cheese mixture...I had a little bit left over.  Sprinkle the cream cheese mixture with as much (or as little) cinnamon as you like.

Now...what is the club soda for?!?!  I did NOT know this before I made this recipe.  Get ready to have our mind blown.

Take your club soda and pour it into a medium size mixing bowl.  As you're dicing the apples, put them INTO the Club Soda.  Once they're all diced, let them soak in the Club Soda for 3-5 minutes.  This will prevent them from turning brown!  And it works REALLY well!  I had always used lemon juice and I never liked the taste of the apples after using it.  I like sweet, crisp apples.  The Club Soda doesn't leave any after taste AT ALL!  Once they've soaked, dry them off with a paper towel and sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese mixture.  

Next, sprinkle your toasted pecans on top of the apples.

Then, take your caramel sauce (I warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds so it drizzled prettier) and pour a generous drizzle aaaaalllll over the entire pizza.  

Release the spring form and remove it from the pan.  For me, it was easier to serve the pizza from the bottom of the spring form, but you can remove it if you like.

ENJOOOYYYY!

*If you've never toasted pecans, it's super easy.  Chop them up into nice chunks...not too small.  Put them in a dry skillet and turn the burner on Medium-Low.  Keep an eye on them because once they start to toast, they can burn quickly.  I sprinkled cinnamon on my pecans as they toasted and OH MY WORD my house smelled like Christmas!