Keep the unsalted butter near 67°F and beat it with the granulated cane sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until the mix turns pale and slightly fluffy. Then beat in the large egg and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract for 30 seconds. Add the all-purpose flour and baking powder and fine sea salt. Mix on low for 20 to 30 seconds, then fold the last dry streaks by hand with a rubber spatula. Stop as soon as the dough looks thick and uniform. Overmixing here makes the crust tougher. The dough should feel soft but not greasy, and you shouldn't see loose flour at the bottom. If the butter climbs above 72°F, the dough can spread too much in the oven. Keep the butter cool enough so the cookie holds its shape.

Heat the oven to 350°F and press the dough into an even 12-inch round that stays about 1/3 inch thick through the center and slightly thicker at the rim. Use your fingertips to nudge the edge outward instead of packing it hard. Bake for 14 to 17 minutes and rotate once at minute 9. The Halloween Fruit Pizza Sugar Cookie crust should look set but still pale in the center while the outer half inch turns light golden. Go past 18 minutes and the crust can dry out after cooling. (My first batch baked 20 minutes. It sliced cleanly but lost that soft center.) Let the crust cool in its pan for 30 minutes until it drops below 80°F. You'll smell toasted butter and vanilla while the edge firms and the center settles. Cooling first keeps the cream cheese layer from melting into the cookie.

Let the full-fat brick cream cheese and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter soften to about 65°F for 20 minutes so they blend without cold lumps during beating. Beat them together for 60 seconds until smooth. Then add the powdered cane sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and the finely grated Navel orange zest. Beat for another 60 to 90 seconds and scrape down once halfway through. For Halloween Fruit Pizza Sugar Cookie, spread the topping over the cooled crust in loose swirls and leave about a 1/2-inch golden border. If the crust is still warm, the topping loosens and turns slick. The cream should hold soft ridges and smell lightly of orange and vanilla. It shouldn't pool near the edge. Keep the topping near 65°F so it spreads cleanly without becoming runny.

Pat the Clementine mandarin segments and blackberries and halved Thompson seedless grapes and blueberries and thin Hayward kiwi slices very dry, then keep them near 40°F until decorating. Arrange the fruit over the cream cheese layer for 5 to 7 minutes in loose curved bands with uneven spacing. Start with orange segments near the center and add dark berries around them, then tuck green grapes and kiwi into open spots. Leave small patches of cream visible. If wet fruit sits on top, juice can bleed and make the surface watery. The finished Halloween Fruit Pizza Sugar Cookie should look colorful and casual rather than patterned like a grid. Fruit should overlap in a few spots but stay distinct. Dry fruit keeps the creamy topping thick and clean.

Chill the decorated pizza at 40°F for 20 to 30 minutes so the creamy topping firms enough for clean slices without turning the cookie base hard. Then transfer it to a serving plate and cut 8 wedges with clean downward strokes. Wipe the blade between cuts and rotate the pizza a little each time so the fruit shifts naturally instead of dragging across the topping. Don't chill longer than 2 hours before serving if you want the crust at its best texture. Longer chilling slowly softens the baked base under juicy fruit. A Halloween Fruit Pizza Sugar Cookie wedge should show a soft pale cookie center and a distinct cream layer under the fruit. The edge stays lightly crisp. Chill briefly because the topping sets before fruit moisture reaches the crust.