Earlier this year, I shared the giant homemade cookie cake I made for New Year’s Eve. It was such a hit that I’ve now made it several more times, including for Whit’s golf banquet where it once again disappeared in record time. At this point, I think it is safe to say this recipe has earned a permanent spot in my entertaining rotation.
After making the golf cake, Mother and I were cleaning up and discovered we had quite a bit of icing left over. Naturally, I suggested throwing it away. Naturally, Mother objected. She informed me that perfectly good icing was absolutely not going in the trash and tucked it away in the refrigerator.
For a week afterward, that container stared at me every single time I opened the fridge. Eventually, I got a bee in my bonnet and decided the icing deserved another cookie cake!
Since Memorial Day was just the three of us, however, I drew the line at making another giant half-sheet pan version. Instead, I decided to experiment by cutting the recipe in half and baking it in a quarter-sheet pan. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous. The dough looked a smidge thin spread across the pan, and I was convinced I was about to waste time and ingredients. Fortunately, it baked up beautifully and turned out to be the perfect size for a small family gathering.
As for the icing, I simply set it on the counter to come back to room temperature before decorating. Once it softened, I divided it into bowls and used gel food coloring to create the red and blue.
Since Memorial Day felt like the perfect excuse for something patriotic, I decorated it to resemble an American flag.
The funniest part may have been how seriously I approached the proportions. After a bit of trial and error, I made myself a template to get the proportions right and tucked it away for future use. If you’re wondering, for a 9×13″ pan, make the star field approx 6¾” wide × 5″ tall. /For the stripes, I used a ruler to keep everything straight and evenly spaced. It took a little extra time but made decorating surprisingly easy. Something tells me this won’t be my last patriotic cookie cake.
The original recipe remains one of the best cookie cake recipes I’ve ever tried: The Best Cookie Cake Recipe by Pizzazzerie
A few notes from my kitchen:
- I line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal.
- I add about five extra minutes to the baking time.
- I always use real piping bags instead of plastic storage bags.
- Don’t overfill your piping bags. It makes decorating much easier.
- Use gel food coloring rather than liquid food coloring for vibrant colors without thinning the icing.
At this point, I think the recipe has officially graduated from “fun experiment” to family favorite. And if Mother happens to be reading this, I suppose she was right about saving that icing after all.
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