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Dino Party: Fossil Cookies

By in Cookies & Bars, Kids, Sweets 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dino Party: Fossil Cookies

This post is part of a series for a Dino themed birthday party.  To view the rest of the series head on over to the Dino Birthday Party post.

To kick-start the party once all the kids had arrived we gave them each a kite to play with and let them loose on the yard. This was one of the best ideas ever (thanks to my mom, for her brilliance), it kept the kids busy for a very long time and it doubled as a fun favour for them to bring home with them.

I still wanted to make something dinosaur-themed, for them to take home, so on their way out the door they each got a small stretchy dinosaur and a little parcel containing these fossil cookies (a.k.a. whipped shortbread with dinosaur footprints).

They were so easy to make and since I already had a dinosaur, that just happened to be laying around waiting to be gifted to the birthday boy, I had everything on hand to whip them up. And, I loved the way they turned out.

I think cookies are always a hit when given as favours and when they”re this easy (and cute to boot) it makes for a delicious, fun and stress-free way to work the theme into the favours. Plus for any savings savvy mom”s, it is definitely one of the cheaper options! ;)

Fossil Cookies

The dinosaur foot I used to make the impressions was approximately one inch across.

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature (no substitutes)

  • 1/2 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add flour and beat on medium speed for 10 minutes. Using a tablespoon, scoop out dough and drop onto parchment paper line baking sheets. Chill in the fridge until firm (about 30 minutes).

Roll each scoop into a ball, flatten into a disk with the palm of your hand. Dip the foot of a clean dinosaur toy into some flour before pressing it into the flattened dough. We”re not going for perfection here, these are fossils after all, so embrace any cracks and imperfections that form. Make sure you make a good impression because the cookies will puff up a bit as they bake.

Bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are a light golden brown. Let cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before moving to wire wracks to cool completely.

Makes approximately: 28 cookies

Perfect Party Cake and Frosting

By in Cakes, Chocolate, Sweets 29 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

cake and frosting

I know it may seem a bit presumptuous of me to put the word “perfect” in the title of this blog post but there are a couple of reasons why it’s there.

  1. The chocolate cake is light while still remaining moist and sturdy.
  2. Because the cake is sturdy it makes for easy decorating, trimming, etc.
  3. The frosting is smooth, creamy, light and not overly sweet.
  4. The frosting is easy to make smooth and holds up well for long periods of time without refrigeration.
  5. Both the cake and the frosting are absolutely delicious.

To me all those things add up to a perfect party cake. I used the recipes in my Cars themed birthday cake and the Timmy Time themed birthday cake below.

While I’m still on the search for the perfect vanilla cake I’ll be sticking with this chocolate cake and not bothering to look for any others. It really is just perfect. And, although I do think it’s possible to have more than one perfect recipe for the same thing, why look for another when I already have this one?

As far as frostings go, you really can’t beat this recipe for its ease and flavour. It is my favourite frosting to date. I’m sure I’ll try a more complicated recipe, like Swiss Meringue, for some adult cakes here and there but this will definitely be my go to. Especially for decorated party cakes.

Need some tips on stacking cakes? Check out the Cars Themed Birthday Cake post.

Chocolate Party Cake

For 6 inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time. For 10 inch cakes fill with 5 3/4-6 cups batter and bake for longer then the suggested time. 

  • 3 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups sour cream
  • 1 1/3 cups boiling water

Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Stir in water until evenly blended. Pour into 3, 8-inch round cake pans, sprayed with cooking spray and lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Makes: 3, 8-inch cakes (9 cups of batter)

Whipped Vanilla Frosting

This recipe can be easily doubled or halved to suite the amount of frosting needed for your cake. I would do 1.5 recipes to frost and fill a 3 layer 8-inch cake (as above).

  • 1 cup (250g) butter, softened
  • 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.

If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

Cake adapted from Taste of Home. Frosting adapted from Donna Hay.