Our 4th of July Cookie

Kayleigh's Cookie

It’s getting to be a tradition around here.  This colorful pizza-sized dessert was first baked for our friend’s 5^th of July birthday and served at her cabin in the mountains.  So fun and festive was the giant red-white-and-blue cookie, Kayleigh has baked it every year since 2008 to celebrate America's Independence Day.  In the heat of summer and in our non-air-conditioned home, we appreciate the fact that bakes quickly enough as to not heat up the kitchen too much.  The extra heat is a good excuse to whip up several batches of frosty blended lemonade…another summer celebration treat which we enjoy as long as someone has recently brought up a fresh 20-pound sack of ice for the water cooler.

Our Berries

This year we used a combination of our own homegrown berries and some store-bought ones since it is early in our berry harvest season.  The base is a simple spritz-cookie-dough which is spread out in a pizza pan, baked then topped with sweetened cream cheese and fresh berries.

A Patriotic Work of Art!

Kayleigh’s "4^th of July" Cookie

Cookie dough:

1 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. almond extract

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour

Topping:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. almond extract

Assorted fresh berries such as:

1 cup blueberries

1 cup raspberries

1 cup strawberries

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy in an electric mixer.  Beat in the egg and flavorings.  Gradually add flour and mix until dough is smooth.

Press out dough on 12” pizza pan (lined with foil if pizza pan is perforated)

Bake at 325’ for approx 25 minutes until very light golden brown on edges.  Cool cookie completely before topping. (Cookie can be baked the night before.)

Mix the cream cheese, sugar and extract in the electric mixer until topping is smooth.  Spread topping evenly over the cookie, then decorate with an assortment of fresh fruit.  Enjoy this cookie the same day and refrigerate any leftovers.