Whatcha Makin' Now?: Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake and Henry the Puppy

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake and Henry the Puppy


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It’s been a busy couple of weeks.  We picked up our new puppy, Henry, from a breeder in Minnesota.  Isn’t he cute!?!?   He is adjusting well and has a ton of energy.  I’m sure I will be sharing many more pictures.



Then, a week later, my mother-in-law and father-in-law dropped off Ted for us to dog sit.  They are off to Hawaii for spring break.  Jealous. 


(Yes, Ted is chewing Henry's tiny bone in the above picture.  He looks pretty guilty too.)

Luckily, Ted is a great dog!  Calm, sleeps a lot, and okay spending time in his kennel.  Reminds us that all this puppy ‘fun’ is worth it. 

We tried to get them to ‘play’ but Ted was kind of like, “I’m too old for this crap.” 

Needless to say, it’s been interesting going from a no dog house to a 2 dog house. 

It was also my husband, Jacob’s, birthday on the 23rd!  We both took Friday off to celebrate and be lazy.  

Thursday we visited our local pub for beer and nachos. 



Friday morning, we used a Groupon and had an awesome brunch. 



For this birthday cake, Jacob requested a cookie cake from the store.  And that just wouldn’t fly with me.  Really?  You want me to BUY a cake when I love to bake.  I decided to give me a little of both.

I found a recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart, for basically a cookie cake on crack.  You make 5 or 6 big cookies, and then layer them with frosting between each layer. 


For the frosting - I stopped at our local grocery store and visited the bakery.  Much to my surprise they sell their cake frosting for $1.99/lb.  Score.  I thought that was pretty darn cheap.  I purchased 2 lbs of white cake frosting and a ½ lb of blue decorating icing.  (After the fact, 1 lb of the white frosting would have been enough.)



This does take a little time because you cook each cookie layer separately so plan accordingly.  I didn’t stress too much about the layers being perfectly round.  Once baked, it was super quick to slap the layers together.


The finished product was delicious!  The cookies were still soft but firm enough to layer without breaking.  I think the frosting helps keep it soft for cutting/serving too.  You do not need a big slice of this bad boy – a little sliver will do ya. 

Jacob did admit that this was great and better than the store bought.  Duh, Jacob. 

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Cookies: (Makes 5 or 6 layers)
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1  tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Mix butter, brown and granulated sugars until combined and fluffy.  Add in vanilla, eggs, and yolks and mix until combined. 

Reduce speed and add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the heavy cream.

Stir in chocolate chips.

For each of the 5 or 6 layers, drop 1 level cup batter onto center of a baking sheet lined with parchment (keep unbaked dough refrigerated).  Using a small offset spatula, spread into an 8-inch circle.  Bake until golden brown, about 12 – 15 minutes.  (Watch the first one a little closer just so you don’t over bake.)

Transfer to wire rack; let cool.  

Frosting:
Purchase from local grocery store bakery to save time
OR use…
40 ounces (5 packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar in mixing bowl on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Spread onto 4 cookies. Stack cookies, placing unfrosted cookie on top.

If frosting is too soft, you can refrigerate until set. Serve at room temperature. 

Tonight - we head to a Roller Derby game!  We've never been but were given free tickets.  Should be fun!!!  

Thanks for stopping by.