What to do with a big bowl of cookie dough or The Great Birthday Binge of 2011
The good thing about having a birthday two days away from your spouse’s is that it feels like your birthday is three days long. You get to share a cake, too.
Guess who makes it every year? Moi. And If you ask Steve he’d probably say he’d rather have a giant bowl of fruit instead of a cake. (But between the two of us, and our girls, we finished off our “cake” in three days. The man has a love-hate relationship with baked goods. As do I.)
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| See? She never gets dressed. I really am a supermom. |
I also wanted to take a treat to the doctors and staff where hubs works. (The girls over there are like my sisters. For reals.) So I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and made some Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars with half of it. The other half was made into cookies… and destined for something mind-blowing.
Am I right?
Yes.
That, my friends is six layers of chocolate chip cookies with six layers of lightly sweetened mascarpone whipped cream. It sits for several hours in the fridge and gets all cozy-like. Then you can cut it like a real cake.
A few tips to remember, in case you attempt this yourself — use mini chocolate chips in the cookies and bake them a couple minutes longer than normal so the whole thing doesn’t turn to mush. I also swapped the whiskey for vanilla extract in the cream. I even halved the recipe, using 7 cookies for each layer, and it was still huge! Again, here’s the recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake.
I couldn’t stay out of it for three days. I also had a sugar hangover for three days. I have mixed feelings about the cake no longer sitting my fridge.
Friday was Steve’s birthday, which is much better than having your birthday on a Wednesday. Because he didn’t have to work, we went up to Tahoe to spend the afternoon.
It’s been, like, a week since I’ve posted a real recipe. I unintentionally took the week off, but next week I’ll be back with lots of veggie-packed stuff you can actually use.
Good grief, I need to detox.
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Oh Mandie — August 21, 2011 @ 4:03 am
My birthday is in less than a month. I'll be making this as a treat for myself!
Holy mother of all sweetness!
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Kathryn — August 21, 2011 @ 4:34 am
Wow, that "cake" looks amazing! I don't blame you for not being able to leave it alone! That would be nice to be able to share a birthday cake and save the calories, though. This time of year is bad for us in the sugar department as well. But Jon and Josie's birthdays are almost two weeks apart, so we still end up making two cakes.
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BiteSizedJessica — August 21, 2011 @ 5:22 am
I love your post. The cake looks incredible and also is pretty…cookies are my favorite dessert and you turned them into a comforting and classic birthday cake. Your family is beautiful as well! Happy birthday to you and your hubby.
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Natalie — August 21, 2011 @ 5:28 am
Mandie – Do it! I've been thinking about other kinds of cookies to do this with. (Because my 2yo wants this for her bday in November. I'm trying to keep her focused on it so she doesn't change her mind.) Gingersnaps maybe? Mmm.
Kathryn – Ya, two weeks is just far enough apart to warrant two cakes. Maybe two small cakes? :)
BiteSizedJessica – Thank you! By the way, I love your name. I picture a cute little 5' gal that I want to stick in my pocket. Thanks for dropping by!
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Karly — August 21, 2011 @ 11:41 am
Sounds like you both had great birthdays! That cake sounds amazing…I've been looking everywhere for chocolate wafters to do the same thing, but I never thought to use chocolate chip cookies! Genius! :)
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Dalila G. — August 21, 2011 @ 2:14 pm
Wowza Natalie!!
What an awesome cookie-cake! :-)
I have to agree with the sugar-after effects. LOL!!
It does sound simple to make, think I'll have to give this one a try.
I could probably do double duty on housework with that much sugar in me. Hubby would definitely want this cookie-cake for the guys when they gather in the man-cave….our garage.
Seems like every male in the neighborhood ends up here.
Lovely pictures of your family!
Have an awesome Sunday!
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Joanne — August 21, 2011 @ 4:26 pm
Aww happy birthday gorgeous! You totally deserved that cake although I know what you mean about the love/hate relationship. but it's only once a year, right? Gotta live it up!
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Ann — August 22, 2011 @ 12:44 am
Happy Birthday! You're right that IS a mind blowing cake!
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Janssen — August 22, 2011 @ 12:47 am
Happy birthday! And thank you for providing me with the answer for what I'll be making for MY birthday next month.
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Erin — August 22, 2011 @ 2:30 am
Oh my goodness I want this.
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Natalie — August 22, 2011 @ 2:35 am
Karly – Ohh… chocolate wafers. I think you should try that.
Dailia – Thank you! I wish I had extra energy. When I eat a lot of sugar I feel like sitting on the couch and eating more sugar. lol.
Joanne – Aw, thank you! Yes, eating clean the rest of the year deserves a good birthday binge. (And really makes you want to go back to eating better!)
Ann – Thank you!
Janssen – You're welcome. You'll love this ;)
Erin – Go make some cookies, quick!
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Natalie — August 22, 2011 @ 2:36 am
(I mean DALILA. I can read. Sometimes.)
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Amy from She Wears Many Hats — August 22, 2011 @ 2:37 am
Brilliant!
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Natalie — August 22, 2011 @ 2:39 am
Amy – I thought so, too! Gotta give those ladies in the Martha Stewart kitchens some credit for this one. :)
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Kallie — August 22, 2011 @ 2:45 am
Yum! And happy birthday to you both!
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Terri @ that's some good cookin' — August 22, 2011 @ 6:45 am
Natalie, how's about you make me a B-day cake for my next birthday? This one looks so fun!
Oh, and happy belated birthday. The picture of you and your daughters in the 30-something post is precious.
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Dalila G. — August 22, 2011 @ 2:29 pm
LOL!! No worries Natalie.
You should hear how people really muck up my name when they try to say it! :-)
Have a wonderful day!
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Dea-chan — August 22, 2011 @ 4:32 pm
Its funny, cookie cakes are "in". I want one for my wedding cake, and the july edition of Martha Stewarts magazine had pretty much that exact recipe.
Im glad to have confirmation that its tasty as I was a little afraid to try it!
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DancingMooney ♥ — August 22, 2011 @ 8:40 pm
Oh man that looks dangerous! Dangerously good! :)
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Jolene - EverydayFoodie — August 24, 2011 @ 6:08 am
Now THAT is my kind of cake!!!!
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marla {Family Fresh Cooking} — August 25, 2011 @ 12:17 pm
Such a happy post! Love the cake and happy birthday to you both :)
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Carly — August 28, 2011 @ 12:08 am
It must have been fate that I stumbled a crossed your blog to find this amazing chocolate chip cookie cake! It looks absolutely amazing and would have been a shame if I went on living not knowing that this existed:) Thanks for the recipe, can't wait to try it!
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danasfoodforthought — August 30, 2011 @ 2:07 am
Happy Birthday!
Who doesn't have a love-hate relationship with baked goods? It's delicious, evil looking treats like this cake that perpetuate that!
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gwen — June 25, 2013 @ 2:29 pm
In a not-so-brilliant moment, I decided to bake this for my boss’ office bridal shower—which means I’ll be lugging an icebox cake, full of whipped cream, on the El train during rush hour. (Those photos won me over!) Crossing my fingers the cake will survive the commute if I freeze it overnight beforehand…
I’ve actually made this once before for a friend’s birthday, but I didn’t have a chance to eat a slice then! :(
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