July 1, 2011

Patriotic Sugar Cookie Pie



Someone told me that bats don't live in Alaska.  I believed whoever it was.   Probably the same person who told me this place had good Mexican food. 

As far as I'm concerned, "no bats" was one of Alaska's few redeeming qualities.  (Just kidding...I know how much ya'll love Alaska...)

Anyway, there are bats here.  I haven't seen one *knock on wood*, but now I know it's a possibility.

I don't like bats.  If I had to pick a least favorite animal, after the moose, bear, wolf, caribou, and salmon, would come the bat.  (Again, kidding...I don't dislike all animals that live in Alaska.)

Seriously, bats are sneaky and scary and I don't co-exist well with them.

Why?

They get into your house.  In your attic.  In your walls.  And they come shooting down dark hallways at you when you're 9 years-old causing you to fall to the floor shrieking and then be scarred for life.

True story.

Until the day I left Pennsylvania, there was a bat living in my bedroom wall.  I could hear him crawling and scampering around at night.  Terrifying.

And if they get into your room and have a run-in with the ceiling fan, they'll be tossed against the wall, but you're not really sure if they're dead yet.  (They could be faking it to get you to come closer.)  So then you have to reach out, from where you are hiding under the covers, for your cell phone.  Then you have to call your parents at two o'clock in the morning.  Even though they are sleeping just down the hall, they haven't heard your desperate cries for help.

The issue is then taken care of and then you can come out from under the covers.

So that was my least favorite thing about summer in the lower 48.

My least favorite thing about summer in Alaska?

It's the 4th of July Weekend (with a high temperature of 64 degrees) and I don't have family around to make desserts, like this one, for.

I'm convinced that I would bake a lot more if I had a plethora of people clamoring for my desserts.

Any takers??


Patriotic Sugar Cookie Pie



Sugar cookie:
2 cups flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
1 T. lemon zest

-1 batch of Cream Cheese Frosting
-Several strawberries, thinly sliced
-Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or any other fruit you'd like to decorate with

Mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the egg, extracts, and zest.  Blend together.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture a little at a time until it's all well-combined.

Put the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (can be refrigerated overnight too).

Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it's about 1/3 of an inch thick.  Place a large bowl over the top and cut around it with a butter knife to get a circle.  Transfer the giant cookie to greased foil on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  You don't want it to brown around the edges.



Once cool, spread on the frosting and decorate with strawberries.  I also reserved some of the frosting, dyed it blue, and piped it on.  However, if blueberries are less than $348.00 per 6 oz. where you live, feel free to use them to get the blue element!



Cream cheese icing:

1/2 t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1 T. half-and-half, or milk
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 oz. softened cream cheese
2 T. softened butter

With a mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter.  Add the liquids and then the powdered sugar, starting with 1 cup.  Add more sugar as needed.  I needed about 2 1/2 cups to get the consistency I wanted.




*Remember* This is cream cheese frosting, so the cookie pie needs to be refrigerated until ready to serve.



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2 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious!! :)

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  2. Hi! I'm having a linky party called A Themed Baker's Sunday. Usually I have a theme every week, but this week I want to see what everyone is making for the 4th. I would love if you linked up your delicious and patriotic sweetness!
    http://cupcakeapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/07/themed-bakers-sunday-12.html
    Alyssa

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