Fruit platter pie

This is a recipe that I got from my mom. I've seen and heard of variations, but this is more or less how my mom made it, apart from the crust. For crust, she typically used a pie crust with grated cheddar cheese on top (we love fruit and cheese!), but I used a sugar cookie recipe and reduced the sugar to only 2/3 of what was called for.

So, sugar cookie crust. Follow your recipe, press it into a pan or roll it out. Pressing it into a pan was much easier and faster for me, but it did result in a thicker crust. If you like thinner, crispier crust, I recommend rolling out your cookie dough. Bake according to your recipe and let cool.

Top it with cream cheese diluted with milk. I used light cream cheese and just added enough milk to make it really easily spreadable.

Next, add whatever fresh fruit you have available. I used blackberries, mandarin oranges, kiwi, strawberries, and bananas. You could also use pineapple, peaches, nectarines, seedless grapes....

Finally, top with the orange sauce. This is what makes it really scrumptious, and here is the recipe:

1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 T. cornstarch
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Stir together the sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Then add the juice and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp orange zest and 1/2 tsp lemon zest.