Eat N' Park Smiley Cookie (ish) Recipe

So for a long time, I have had a deep and abiding love for Eat N' Park.  Maybe it was partly due to the perfect french fries that come on the salad, or the cranky old women that waitressed late at night.  Perhaps it was partly because that's where I've always met up with friends (back before there were coffee shops on every corner).  But one of the things that has made me forever an Eat N' Park fan was the Smiley Cookies.  So delicious, so cheery and such a large cookie that was never ever meant to be shared. 

And I have the recipe.

OK, so I googled for the recipe, found one that was ok and modified it.  But when I took a couple into church today, I got good feedback, so here it is!

Cookie:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
5 1/2 cups flour
6 tsp baking powder

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp light corn syrup
food coloring

• Cream sugar, shortening, eggs, milk and vanilla
• Add flour and baking powder (mixture will be stiff - you may need to use your hands)
• Roll out dough and cut into shapes (you may need to add extra flour or sugar to make it easy to roll out.  I rolled mine on a floured and sugared surface to about 1/8 inch thick)
• Bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes
• For icing, stir powdered sugar and milk until smooth
• Beat in corn syrup and vanilla until icing is smooth and glossy.  If it's too thick, add milk or corn syrup)
• Decorate and enjoy!

I recommend making two batches.  I was supposed to be baking cookies for my small group I lead, but there's not going to be enough left by then, so I'm just going to eat this batch and make them a pie.  :)

Carrot Cake Recipe

So I mentioned that for our anniversary of the day we met, I was making homemade carrot cake.  Found this recipe and LOVED it!  I think next time, I'll substitute some applesauce for oil so it's a little healthier (but seriously, how can I make it healthy with icing made of cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar? Ha!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 cups grated carrots (fully packed)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing

• 1/4 cup butter
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 lb powdered sugar

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 45 mins

1. Beat oil and sugar, then add eggs.
2. Add and mix the rest of the cake ingredients in the order given Beat for 1 minute.
3. Pour into 3 9-inch cake pans.
4. Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes.
5.  Icing: Mix butter and cream cheese together until smooth, then add sugar a little at a time.  Beat until smooth.