Cookie Cake- I cheated!

It was my Dad's birthday on January 6th! He is the big 5-6! I wanted to make something homemade but still easy and I didn't want to do cake so, I decided on the next best thing...


A cookie cake!


You know, those cakes that you can get at the mall but are super expensive but so delicious that you always actually consider paying that much for said cake...well, no longer! This took less time then me calling, ordering the cake, driving to the mall, waiting to pick it up, then driving back home!


So simple- really, its like 2 steps!


-Cookie Dough
         *I was naughty, I didn't use homemade, I used Tollhouse cookie dough in the tube, and actually, I used about a tube and a half...can you guess where the other half went (yummmmm)?
-Frosting
        * Once again, naughty (Thank goodness it still isn't the season that Santa is watching, I figure he is napping off his last few months), I used store bought icing too....


Okay, okay, I feel you all judging me!! If I were at my house and being my normal cheap self, and not at my parents (who lovingly buy what I put on their shopping list) and if had about a million things to do today while a bunch of stuff is on my mind (that blog will probably come later this week...) it would be homemade. So next time I make this, it will be homemade...this time, not so much....


Cookie Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 375, or whatever your cookie recipe calls for...my cookie dough recipe called for 375.
2. Spread dough out into a circle (I would say about 1/4th inch), leaving a 2 inch border from the edge of the pan you are using- its important because it will spread out.  I used my Pampered Chef pizza stone.
3. Depending on thickness bake 10-20 minutes. My cookie took about 13 minutes then I shut the oven off and left it in there for about 15 minutes longer with just the residual heat then let it cool on the counter the rest of the way
4. When completely cool, decorate!

A cool tip that I thought of today when dying the icing was instead of mixing it in a bowl then puting it into the piping bag (which i just always use ziplock bags), I spoon the frosting from the can right into the ziplock bag then just put the food coloring in there and just smush the bag all around to distribute it evenly...one less dish I have to wash!!!! If you have been using this tip for years- dont burst my bubble lol I'm excited about my discovery!