|
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 roll (18 ounce) refrigerated sugar-cookie dough
1 can (16 ounce) plus 1 cup vanilla frosting
Yellow, green and orange paste or gel food color
1 can (16 ounce) plus 1 cup chocolate frosting
Two 8 x 2-in. cooled, baked cake layers
Orange and clear coarse sugar (optional)
Chocolate sprinkles (jimmies, optional)
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup finely ground (in blender or food processor) chocolate wafers or chocolate sandwich cookies
Have ready baking sheet(s), 1 1/2- to 3-in. pumpkin and ghost cookie cutters, a 2 1/2- to 3-in. cat cookie cutter, wooden toothpicks and five 1-quart-size zip top freezer bags.
Knead flour into cookie dough until completely blended. Roll out with a rolling pin to a scant 1/4 in. thick. Cut out about twenty 2 1/2- to 3-in. fence pickets, tapered from about 3/4 in. wide at top to 1/2 in. at bottom. Cut an inverted v at top of each. Cut out cookies with cutters; reroll and cut scraps. Place about 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheet(s). Cut out pumpkin features with the tip of a pointed, small knife. Insert toothpicks into bottoms of cookies that will be set into top of the cake.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Tint 1/4 cup vanilla frosting yellow and 1/4 cup green. Spoon each into a zip top bag; seal bags. Put half the remaining vanilla frosting in a microwave-safe bowl; tint orange. Spoon 1/4 cup into a bag; seal bag. Spoon 1/4 cup of the remaining untinted vanilla frosting into a bag and 1/4 cup chocolate frosting into another bag. Seal bags; set aside.
Place pumpkin cookies on a wire rack set over a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Heat orange frosting in bowl in microwave on high 5 seconds or just until thin enough to pour (don't over heat). Pour over cookies, covering them completely (reheat frosting if needed). Transfer cookies to a flat surface; let stand at least 1 hour until dry. Repeat with untinted vanilla frosting for the ghosts; 1/4 cup chocolate frosting for the cat. Dust fence pickets lightly with cocoa powder.
Meanwhile, on a serving plate, using remaining chocolate frosting spread about 1/2 cup between cake layers. Remove, cover and reserve 1 Tablespoon frosting. Use remaining frosting to coat sides and top of cake.
Working with 1 color frosting at a time, snip a tiny tip off corner of bag. Pipe outlines, leaves, features, spider webs and spiders as shown in photo. While wet, sprinkle cats tail with sprinkles, outlines on pumpkins and ghosts with coarse sugar. Let dry completely.
Insert cookies with picks into top of cake; arrange fence pickets and other cookies around sides, gluing in place with reserved 1 Tablespoon frosting. Sprinkle cookie crumbs at base of cookies on cake and around bottom of cake.
Planning Tip: The cake layers may be wrapped and frozen up to 1 month. The cookies and fence pickets can be baked and the cookies and cake frosted up to 2 days ahead. Store separately, loosely covered at room temperature. Add cookies to cake shortly before serving.
|