My funny husband does not enjoy cake. Or pie. Or any kind of deliciousness that most people enjoy. I know what you're thinking, and don't worry... I argue with him about it all the time. Who doesn't like cake or pie? Or BROWNIES?? But, I digress. He had a birthday. And I had an itch to bake since I don't often get many opportunities to do so. I found a bunch of recipes that I kind of mixed all together. Mostly just from browsing good ol' Pinterest.
I think the part I liked most, other than for maybe the third time in my entire life having a batch of cookies come out perfectly the first time, is the "pizza sauce". It's orange cream cycle. Thanks to Menchies Frozen Yogurt, I have rediscovered my love for orange and vanilla aka cream cycle. My thoughts were, "hmm, I somehow want orange and vanilla in here...". The trick to the "sauce" is vanilla pudding mix! Whodda thunk?
Also, I must apologize now... Some of us are still trying to figure out our fancy camera. And by some of us, I mean me. Also doesn't help when you have two lights out in your kitchen.
Ingredients for the cookies:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I added a full teaspoon... rebel!)
1 3/4 cups flour
Directions for cookies:
Preheat oven to 300F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as possible, stirring in any remaining flour. Shape dough into 1 inch balls (mine were much bigger). Places balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are set, do not let edges brown! Cool on wire rack after about 5 minutes of resting on the cookie sheet.
Pick your fruit you want, and have it all cut up and ready to go. I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges and kiwis. But you can use whatever you'd like.
Ingredients for the Cream cycle "Sauce"
1/2 brick of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup Cool Whip, softened
2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
Splash of orange juice (or orange extract if you really want an orangey flavor)
Directions for "Sauce"
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. With a wooden spoon, mix in Cool Whip until combined, then add the vanilla pudding mix. At this point it will thicken up thanks to the pudding mix. Add in OJ and mix. If it's still super thick, you can add a little more OJ or Cool Whip, but it should still be pretty thick so the fruit sticks.
To assemble them...
Spread a little of the cream cycle sauce on each cookie. If you want to... you can even add a little...
NUTELLA SUPRISE!
After you have the sauce on each cookie, add some of each fruit to each one, pressing lightly so the fruit stays on.
Then take a bunch of pictures of them
*Word to the wise- these should be covered and refrigerated to keep the fruit from going bad and the sauce from separating. It also keeps the cookies from going soggy.
