"Pie" Cookies (and more!)

I can't believe it. This is my 100th post.

And, as an added (unplanned but lucky) bonus, I hit 100 followers yesterday on Google Friend Connect.

Amazing, really. I'm speechless.

If you'd asked me a year ago, when this blog was still in my head and not out in the world, would I think I'd make 100 posts, I would have laughed. I probably would have said "Yeah right, what would I have to say for 100 posts?"

I guess I proved myself wrong.

I want to thank you, my readers, for reading my posts. My words. This blog has given me a new passion for something I've loved to do all my life. Now, when I watch Cupcake Wars, I take notes instead of just spectate. Making it to 100 posts is a milestone for me - because this means I know I can make it to 200 and beyond. I'm not doubting myself anymore.

So let's celebrate, shall we?

{Drumroll...}

I'm having my first giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a $25 gift card to Sur la table!

I'll get into the details below. But first, if we're having a party shouldn't there be treats?

How about some pie? I mean cookies? No, wait, pie???

There's blueberry or cherry lattice pie.

Or how about pumpkin pie or banana cream?

A friend of mine introduced me to this method of decorating. She had made "pie" cupcakes at MOPS meeting and showed them to me after. I thought they were the cutest things ever and filed the method away to do at a later time. When I started thinking about this post, I figured, why not use cookies?

I used my favorite sugar cookie and icing recipes (see below). The filling is made from M&Ms.

The pie crust was piped using a #102 tip and the whipped cream was a #18 tip. These were so much fun to make. Even my daughter got in on the fun (and ended up covering her whole pie with "whipped cream" and then the rest of the M&Ms so it was a "do you want some cookie with that icing" pie).

So, now on to the fun part: the giveaway.

**Updated: Giveaway is now closed. Thank you all for participating!**

I love Sur la table. It's my favorite store. I can shop there for hours. (If you've never heard of it, it's a kitchen store very similar to Williams-Sonoma.) Whenever I duck into Sur la table "just to get something quick," my husband knows to find something else to do for a good long while. So I'm giving you some shopping fun in the form of a $25 gift card to my favorite store! (You can use the gift card for online purchases if you don't have a store near you.)

Want to win this gift card?

All you have to do is be a follower or subscriber of this blog and leave a comment below answering the question:

What is your favorite dessert?

Want extra entries? Leave a separate comment here for each entry!

1. Like me on Facebook (and then come back here and leave a comment telling me so).

2. Follow me on Twitter (and then come back here and leave a comment telling me you're a follower).

3. Repost this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook, then leave another comment here telling me you reposted. (Please include @crazyforcrust in your tweet!)

Fine Print:

Comments will close Friday, August 12, 2011.  No comments posted after that time will be included. Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced Saturday, August 13th. If you do not have an email address attached to your comment be sure to check back to see if you've won!

Good luck! And thanks for reading for 100 posts!

**Updated: Giveaway is now closed. Thank you all for participating!**

(Note: there is a print link embedded in the footer of this post. Please visit the post to print.)

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.       Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a large bowl if using hand mixer). Beat at medium speed, scraping the sides as needed, until well mixed (about 3-4 minutes). Separate dough into 2 pieces and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 1 hour, until firm enough to roll.

2.       Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with desired cookie cutters. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.

3.       Bake 6-10 minutes, depending on size of cookies. I find it best to bake one sheet at a time and rotate it 180° halfway through baking. Start your baking time at 3 minutes, rotate, and then estimate about how long they will take to cook. Cool completely.

Frosting

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar

½ cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Food color, if desired

Directions:

Combine powdered sugar, ½ cup butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix slowly with a hand mixer, adding enough milk for desired consistency. Add food coloring if you want tinted frosting. Decorate cookies.

To make "Pie" Cookies:

Separate frosting into two bowls. Tint one bowl with brown food coloring and the other with white (for pure white  "whipped cream"). Add to decorating bags. Spread a little frosting on each cookie and top with colored M&Ms for desired "filling." Pipe pie crust edge and lattice with brown frosting or whipped cream with white. Chill to harden.

Source: Recipe from Land O’ Lakes

This recipe will be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son).