American Flag Cookie Cake

Y'all, Fourth of July is tomorrow!  It is one of my favorite holidays.  I love dressing up in red/white/blue and spending time with my friends and family.  This year, I will be in Nashville for the wedding of a good friend of mine from college so I decided to celebrate with my good friends and coworkers a day early.  

It didn't take me long to find exactly what I wanted to make... an American Flag Cookie Cake.  The recipe I found was easy, quick, and just looked so dang good.

Ingredients

The Cookie

1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour

11 tablespoons of unsalted butter (softened)

1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)

The Toppings

4 oz of cream cheese (room temperature)

8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (room temperature)

3/4 cup of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup blueberries

3 cups raspberries

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Equipment

9x13 rimmed baking sheet

Directions

The Cookie

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Whisk together flour and brown sugar.  

3.  Using a fork (or a pastry blender), mix in the butter until it is the consistency of wet sand.

4.  Press the cookie dough firmly in the bottom of your baking sheet. 

5.  Cook for 10-15 minutes until it is golden.  

6.  Take out of oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool down. 

7.  If you have a platter that you want to serve your cake on, transfer it now.  (I left mine in the pan.)

The Frosting

1. Using a mixer (I used a hand mixer), mix the cream cheese until it is smooth.

2. Add the butter and mix until they are combined.

3.  Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. 

4.  DO NOT OVER BLEND or it will become runny.

Decorating

1.  Spread the cream cheese in an even layer covering the entire cake.

2.  Position the blueberries in the top left corner to make the blue portion of the flag.  (I did 10x10)

3.  Position the raspberries in horizontal rows leaving about a 1 inch space between each row. 

4.  Put the white chocolate chips between the blueberries to make the stars. 

Either serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve!

Original Source: Just A Taste http://www.justataste.com/2014/06/american-flag-cookie-cake-recipe/

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I love brightening peoples day with little gifts or, in this case, some pumpkin coffee cake.  Who doesn't love pumpkin during fall?  Thankfully, I remembered that I had pinned this cake last fall and decided to make it last week for my awesome coworkers.  It's super easy and incredibly yummy.  

The recipe says it serves 18 but I am pretty sure I had 30+ people eating it on Thursday.  

Ingredients

⅓ cups Water
1 can Pureed Pumpkin (15 Oz)
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 box Yellow Cake Mix (18 Ounce Box)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup Brown Sugar, Divided
½ cups Flour
4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
¼ cups Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl mix together the water, pumpkin, eggs, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix until just combined.

Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and pour batter into pan.

In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and melted butter. Use your fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the glaze, combine the other 1/2 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved.

When cake is finished baking, poke holes in the top with a toothpick. Pour glaze over the cake, making sure to cover all surfaces. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy this wonderful recipe and let me know how you like it!

Original source of recipe: Pretty.Good.Food.