Easter Cookie Cake

Cookie Cakes are the big rage these days 

for birthdays and parties.  You will see 

them all over the internet shaped into a

letter or a number.  

I have wanted to make one for a while and

I decided Easter would be a perfect time if

I made it in the shape of an egg.

I made a template of an Easter Egg using

parchment paper, and then rolled out

half of my dough, and cut around the

template with a paring knife.  You will need

two of your shape.  If you wanted a letter or

number, you could print it off on the computer.  

You will want at least two inches of width

to be able to decorate it with all of your goodies.

Then using a medium round tip (I used a Wilton 2 A),

 pipe on dollops

of frosting.  I will give you the cookie and

frosting recipes, but you can use any that you

love.

Repeat with the second cookie, and place it

gently on top of the first cookie, then place

in fridge for icing to harden.

Then comes the fun part, choosing and making

whatever goodies you want on the cookie cake.

This was some leftover dough I had, so I made

a four inch egg and two three inch bunnies and

repeated the above process.  Of course, one of these

was used for taste testing purposes!

I made French Macarons, meringues, pastel

chocolate dipped strawberries, white chocolate

eggs, and fresh flowers. Embellish everything

with sprinkles and edible gold.  Even the

centers of flowers can be embellished with the

gold.  I used less than one leaf of gold for

all of my goodies.

Edible Gold Leaf  It is pricey for the

whole package, but I have used mine

for years.  Don't use craft gold leaf.

I have seen cookies decorated with

 fondant shapes, chocolate balls, dipped

cookies, and even pink popcorn.  

You only need a few of each item for a large cookie

cake, so I served the macarons, strawberries and

meringues on another couple of platters.

I only made half a batch of meringues

and that was a mistake as the little ones

gobbled those down!

I striped some food coloring down sides

of the piping bag, I also changed the tips

and made some white ones with a 1M tip

and some pink ones with a Russian tip.  The

ones with the Russian tip were kind of hard

to keep small.

My next one is going to be a Mermaid Cookie Cake.

Be sure to bring the cake to room temperature

before decorating so that the goodies will

stick to the frosting.  

Sugar Cookie Recipe

3 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 C. butter, softened

1 C. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 T. flavoring, I love the Princess Cake and

Cookie Emulsion.  I can find mine at Wal Mart,

but almond, or vanilla is good.

Begin by creaming the butter and sugar

in a mixing bowl for about 5 minutes. 

Scrape down the sides a couple of time.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and

salt in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl whisk the egg and flavoring

together.  Then add it to the butter mix and

incorporate it, scraping sides again.

Finally add the flour mix into the butter

mix in three additions.  Remove the dough 

and knead it a few times to make it come

together.

I received this recipe from Amy at

The Bakeaholic.  She said she just got it

off the internet and that it is a pretty basic

recipe, but I think she made it unique

by adding the Princess Cake and Cookie

Emulsion.

Glue together two paint stirring sticks, making

a set of two of these.  Use these as dough rolling

guides to determine the thickness of your dough.

You want thick and evenly rolled cookies.  

Roll half the dough onto a parchment paper

using no flour.  Cut out your cookie shapes

and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment

paper.  Place the pan in the freezer and continue

to roll out dough.  Freeze cookies for about

half an hour.  You want them solid.

(Ok, up to this point, Amy taught us about the

paint stir sticks and rolling it out, but I decided

not to do the first refrigeration because you just 

had to let it come back to room temperature

and do it again, so I tested it with one roll and

a longer freezer time and they hold their shape

perfectly!)

Place in an oven heated to 375 degrees and

bake for 7-8 minutes.  I always take mine

out when they are just dry on the top - the 7 

minute mark.  I think what made Amy's cookies

just melt in your mouth is that she almost underbakes

them.  I am with her on that!  Now I know some

of you like your cookies brown and crisp, so 

make them as you like them, but I don't want

any golden on mine!

Let cool and frost.

I love my variation on a marshmallow cream

frosting, which reminds me of a Swiss Meringue

Frosting. It is so easy and quick and smooth.

 I am naming it:

Imitation Meringue Frosting

1 C. butter at room temperature (I always

use salted butter.  I think it gives baked goods

a better flavor.)

2 - 7 oz jars of marshmallow cream

1 3/4 C. powdered sugar

1 tsp. almond or vanilla flavoring

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl with

a paddle attachment.  On a medium low speed

mix the butter until smooth.  Add in the marshmallow

cream until well blended.  Then mix in the powdered

sugar and flavoring until well blended

With a spatula, push the frosting against

the sides of the bowl to help remove as much

of the air pockets as possible.

I am a fan of almond flavored frosting on sugar cookies,

so I always use almond.  As a matter of fact, Sam's

Club has huge bottles - 16 oz, but I only found them during

the holidays so I stocked up and bought 8 of them.

Hubby wanted to know why we had so many, and I

replied, "Because they didn't have any for months

and months and I don't want to run out!"

You know me, playing in the kitchen for an afternoon

is what I love to do, so this was the perfect project

for me.  If you want to see someone who really

plays in the kitchen (although she probably gets

paid for her goodies) follow 

Thepurplecupcake on Instagram!  I 

want everything she makes, and of course

her name grabbed me right from the start - haha!

You could do a shortcut version by buying macarons,

meringues and chocolates.  As I said,

you only need a few of each item for the whole cake.

It would still be beautiful

and truly a showstopper.  

Thanks for coming to visit.  I am still overwhelmed

that so many would still come to my little blog. 

You are all so appreciated and loved.