Circus Animal Cookie Cake Recipes

Steps:

• To make cookie:.
• roll out the ready to bake cookie dough.
• place elephant shaped paper template on the flattened dough.
• cut out the shape, remove the extra pieces.
• repeat until you have 3 elephant cookies.
• bake 370F for 10 minutes.
• To make strawberry buttercream:.
• With a hand mixer or stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 mins, until smooth & creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater as necessary.
• Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating until combined.
• Add puree, vanilla extract, jam and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
• Place in a piping bag.
• To make strawberry puree:.
• place about 5 chopped strawberries in a food processor and blend until pureed.
• To assemble:.
• placed one baked elephant cookie down.
• pipe small circular shapes of strawberry buttercream until the cookie is covered; repeat to the next two cookies.
• once the buttercream layers are added, stack the cookies.
• sprinkle on candy-coated chocolates on top.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, butter flavoring, and almond extract and mix until incorporated.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. With the mixer on low, incorporate the flour mixture in two additions, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix just until incorporated. Form the dough into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and set out at room temperature for 20 minutes. Position two oven racks close together in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Separate the dough into four sections and roll each out separately to 1/8 inch thick. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut animal shapes out of the dough. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the parchment-lined sheets and bake until lightly golden on the edges, approximately 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.
• In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate in 10-second intervals in the microwave or place over a double boiler. Using a fork, dip each cookie in the chocolate until completely coated. (Once you're halfway through the cookies, add food coloring to the chocolate to the desired pinkness and finish coating the cookies.) Place on parchment paper, sprinkle with nonpareils, and let dry.
• For quicker drying or if you live somewhere warm, like me, place cookies in the fridge to dry. Cookies will keep stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. I kept mine in the fridge to keep them safe from the warm weather we've been having here.