PEEPS^® Decorated Cookie Cake

INSTRUCTIONS

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Cookie Cake Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add salt and both sugars and stir until combined. Set aside.
3. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add in PEEP® Chicks and melt for 20 seconds. Note: Use extreme caution when heating PEEPS^® Marshmallow; they may be hot. Handle with care.
4. Add melted PEEPS^® Marshmallow into bowl with sugars and melted butter, stir to mix in the marshmallow. You will see some marshmallow chunks but try and incorporate as best you can.
5. Crack your egg in a small bowl to prevent shells in your dough and add egg into mix along with the vanilla and stir.
6. In a small separate bowl, whisk flour, and baking powder together. Then, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.
7. Add in white chocolate chips.
8. Press dough evenly into a 12-inch springform pan. Smooth down top for an even surface before baking.
9. Bake on the middle rack for 24-26 minutes. Will be golden to medium brown when baked.
10. Once baked, pull out the pan. Take an offset spatula and gently flatten the top of the cookie cake so we have a flat surface to decorate on. This will compress the cookie a little.
11. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes to firm up and then remove the springform from the edge and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before removing from springform bottom and frosting. Master tip- You can make ahead and chill dough for up to 2 days before baking. You can also bake the cookie cake and freeze for up to two months before decorating.

All butter-American Buttercream Directions:

1. Cream your butters and salt in a stand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
2. Once creamed, add your vanilla. Mix again for a minute.
3. Scrape down sides and mix again for 30 seconds.
4. Sift your powdered sugar to make sure there are no clumps and add it in. Place a towel over your mixer to prevent a powdered sugar storm.
5. Once mixed, add in your milk, starting with 1 Tbsp. You can always add more but you can’t take it out. Continue to add more than the recipe states if it’s too thick. Remember, temperature and humidity factor in. If you find its too soft, add in ¼ cup extra powdered sugar to thicken it up. Be careful because it will begin to taste like straight powdered sugar if you add too much.
6. Mix until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes on medium to high speed. Be sure not to over-whip your buttercream because air bubbles will form. Don’t panic, you won’t ruin the buttercream if it whips longer. Store unused buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.
7. To color buttercream, divide into 6 parts to color pink, yellow, green, orange, white and brown. Use gel food coloring, they have white as well. Only takes a few drops.  Add frosting into piping bags fitted with plastic couplers.

Decorating Instructions

1. Divide cookie cake into 8 even slices
2. Carrot- Take tip 21 and orange buttercream and start in the corner of the first slice and pipe back and forth with a steady stream of pressure until you fill ¾ of the slice making a big carrot. Then use tip 21, with green and pipe the carrot fronds coming from the center of the carrot.
3. Bunny- Use tip 21 and pink buttercream and pipe two large ears and then a round face. Take tip 5 with brown buttercream and pipe two eyes and a dot for the mouth, reminiscent of the iconic PEEPS^® Bunny!
4. Nest- Take light brown buttercream and tip 21 and pipe on buttercream in the shape of an oval. Then in a braiding motion, pipe along the border to make it look like a bird’s nest. Add on some sprinkles and a PEEP^® Chick in the center of the nest.
5. Lamb- Use white buttercream and tip 21 and pipe on circles of buttercream to make the body of the lamb. Take brown buttercream and tip 5 and pipe on ears and the face.
6. Basket- Take pink buttercream with tip 21 and pipe a shell border for the bottom of the basket and then fill in the basket with the same pattern. Use tip 21 and green buttercream and pipe on some grass for the center of the basket. Use pink buttercream to create a handle on the basket. Cut the head off a PEEPS® Bunny and add it on, coming from the grass so it looks like the bunny is peeking out. Add sprinkles.
7. Grass- Take tip 21 and green buttercream and pipe in an oval shape, bursts of buttercream and then keep piping to fill the center in completely. Add sprinkles and a PEEPS® Bunny on top for decoration.
8. Chick- Take tip 21 and yellow buttercream and make the chick’s head in half an oval shape with a jagged bottom. Fill in with bursts of buttercream. Take white buttercream and the same tip and pipe the egg bottom and a jagged top to connect with the chick’s head so it looks like the chick is coming out of a shell. Fill in the egg with bursts of buttercream. Take tip 5 and brown buttercream and make two eyes. Then use yellow buttercream again with tip 21 and pipe on a yellow beak, reminiscent of the iconic PEEPS® Chick!
9. Easter Egg- Use tip 21 and pink buttercream and pipe a border for the egg using bursts of buttercream. Pipe rosettes to fill the center or make circles of buttercream until the center is full. Use yellow buttercream and tip 21 and pipe zigzags across the egg. Then use green buttercream and pipe dots on the egg for decoration. Add sprinkles.
10. Slice and enjoy!!

If you want to bag and gift the slices, allow 12-24 hours for the buttercream to crust over, dry and then slice up the cookie cake.  Put each slice into cellophane bags and tie a ribbon around the top to close the bag. The buttercream can still smash so they must be handled with care!