Graduation is time for celebration and celebrations call for cake! My son Andrew does not eat cake but he loves cookie cake! I have made cookie cakes before using Nestle Cookie Dough that I bought at the grocery store but this time I wanted to try one from scratch. I found a recipe at the Food Network site and with my Mom’s help we gave it a go! This recipe is from Emeril Lagasse. This is the first recipe of his I have ever tried and it was a huge success! I did make a few changes by using all semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet and white chocolate it called for. I also omitted the nuts. I used a buttercream icing to decorate the cake and found the paper decorations in the scrap book section of JoAnn’s.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
• Sweetened cocoa, for garnish
• Sweetened whipped cream, accompaniment

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 14 inch, light colored, round pizza pan with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. Thanks Mom!

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, beating well after the addition of each. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix with a wire whisk. Add to the butter mixture, mixing to incorporate.

That’s Mom adding the vanilla extract to the mix.

Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if you are using them.

Spread across the bottom of the prepared pan. Now, we were not sure if we were supposed to cut the circle to fit just the bottom of pan and we decided to leave room up the side. It turned out to be helpful when I was moving the cookie around when I took it out of the oven. As you can see, this picture of the cookie cake was taken in the oven. With Mom visiting, I skipped a lot of photos! The recipe calls for a cooking time of 20-25 minutes. I checked it at 20 minutes and it was still too mushy in the middle so I let it cook for a total of 25 minutes. The cookie will look golden brown on the edges and the center will be still slightly soft. We  used the toothpick test in the middle and it came out clean. The cookie cooled in the pan for 10 minutes and then I transferred it to a wire rack to cool completely.

We did it!! The icing got a little smushed while sitting on the counter but I was really happy with the result!

I took this photo just so you can see the depth of the cookie. Look at those chocolate chips! The cookie was moist and so delicious! I will be using this recipe for cookie cakes from now on! Thanks Emeril! You can find the original recipe here. Big Thanks to MOM for helping out in the kitchen. It was really wonderful having you visit and so much fun having you participate in this blog post! I had to giggle when I was taking the photo of the ingredients. The vanilla was turned to the side and Mom said ” Don’t they need to see the word Vanilla?”

It’s all good. ~Donna

Oreos are my favorite store bought cookie. When I was pregnant with my first child, I sat and ate a bag of Oreos. Really. Dunked them in milk and enjoyed every minute of it. Never mind I weighed 202 when I gave birth. I am no where near 202 now nor have I attempted to eat a whole bag since. I rarely buy Oreos anymore but around the Holidays I came across them on Jessica’s blog How Sweet It Is.  Visit her site! She has loads of yummy treats.

The ingredients are simple. Oreos and Cream Cheese. They super easy to make and so delicious!

One package Oreo’s and one 8 ounce bar of cream cheese. I used the food processor to blend them together.

Hello. I love you.

Whip those Oreos into crumbs, then add the cream cheese. I cut the cream cheese into blocks first. The beer is not included in the recipe but it’s Blue Moon and quite refreshing while you are whipping up desserts. That’s my husband getting in on the Oreo action.

This is what the mixture will look like when it’s all blended together. Gooey Chocolate!

I rolled the Oreo’s into small balls and put them in the refrigerator for half an hour to cool. Once cooled I then dipped them into the Double Chocolate Flavor of a melted Ghirardelli Dipping Bar!

I was popping these lovelies in my mouth!

I topped them off with sprinkles and they were good to go! (The white balls in the back are a type of Spanish cookie…when translated into English =  Nun Farts…but that’s for another post)

These Oreo Truffles were off to a party and were a huge hit! All gone real quick. That’s how it’s done and it’s all good!

~Donna