Say hello to our Where the Wild Things Are dessert: a giant chocolate chip cookie! This is the dessert I made for the Little Mister’s Wild Thing-themed birthday party. As a one-year-old, cookies are easier for him to grasp than cake, and he seems to prefer the flavor. Plus, a cookie is much faster to decorate than a whole cake, which was a big deal to me since I was already making deviled eggs and fruit salad for the party.

I used the Tollhouse giant cookie recipe in conjunction with my own buttercream recipe to make this dessert. The words are made by dipping Trader Joe’s cinnamon schoolhouse cookies in colored icing. I LOVE how it turned out, especially the Wild Thing in the middle. We ate it up, we loved it so! 😉

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Where the Wild Things Are Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

“Then from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat…”

— Where the Wild Things Are

INGREDIENTS:

• For the Cookie
  • 2 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • You will also need a pizza stone or pizza pan.
• For the Frosting
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 6 cups sifted powdered sugar, separated
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp milk, separated
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • black, yellow, and pink food coloring
• For the Letters
  • Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Schoolhouse Cookies
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • yellow and black food coloring

Makes 1 giant chocolate chip cookie

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. 1. To make the cookie, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in the flour mix. Stir in the morsels.
      2. Rub a sheet of plastic wrap with flour. Gather the dough together in the middle of the plastic wrap and flatten it out into an 5-inch disk. Wrap the disk in the plastic wrap and chill for 1-3 hours.
      3. Preheat oven to 375°. Unwrap the dough and place it in the center of a pizza stone or pizza pan (if using a pan, line it with parchment paper first). Lightly dust the disk with flour and roll with a rolling pin until it reaches 3 inches from the edge of the pizza stone. Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown and baked through to the center. Allow to cool on the pizza stone. When cool, slowly slide a large knife or offset frosting knife under the cookie and gently rotate it to separate the cookie from the stone.
      4. While you wait for the cookie to cool, you can decorate your letters. To start, mix the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth to make icing. Divide equally into two small bowls. Dye one bowl with yellow food coloring and the other with black. Dip your letters face-down in the icing and place them face-up on a sheet of parchment paper to dry. You can use a toothpick to clean up the edges and remove icing from the open space in the center of certain letters. I chose the message “Happy Birthday Wild One” and dyed my letters in alternating colors, but you can do it however you like!
      5. To make the frosting, beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk and beat until combined. Alternate beating in the remaining milk and powdered sugar.
      6. Place about 2/3 of the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe frosting in a continuous looping pattern around the edge of the cookie.
      7. Arrange your letters as desired around the inner edge of the frosting. Having them in place will help prevent us from making the Wild Thing in the center too big. You can remove them after you’ve piped the outline of the head if you want, then glue them down when you’re finished. I chose to leave them in place.
      8. Separate your remaining frosting into 4 bowls, making sure the last bowl has a few more tablespoons of frosting than the others. Dye 1 bowl black, 1 yellow, and 1 pink. Leave the bowl with the extra frosting white.
      9. Using the instructions in the captions below, draw your Wild Thing (if you do not have enough round piping tips, you can place the frosting in a large, seal-able plastic bag and cut the corner to the appropriate size):
         
         

         Transfer the white frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe and smooth a filled oval in the center of the cookie. Pipe 2 curved horns at the top and pinch the ends to create points.

         

         Transfer half of the black frosting to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip. Pipe short, pointed lines around the oval. Pipe slightly longer lines at the bottom where the chin would be to create a goatee.

         

         Transfer the other half of the black frosting to a piping bag fitted with a writing tip. Pipe a wide curved line along the bottom half of the oval and add upside-down triangles for teeth.

         

         Transfer the yellow frosting to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe and smooth 2 filled circles above the mouth.

         

         Transfer the pink frosting to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe and smooth a filled wide triangle with rounded corners between the eyes.

         

         Using the leftover black frosting with the writing tip, pipe 2 filled black ovals over the yellow circles. These will be the pupils. Position them so that the Wild Thing is looking down and too the right.

      10. NOTE: If you’re nervous drawing the Wild Thing freehand, I recommend tracing your lines before each step with a toothpick to be sure that your shapes are the size you want.
      11. Use leftover frosting to glue your letters into place. All done!

          

      12. Serve to your favorite Wild Thing!

          

    

   Check out my other Where the Wild Things Are recipes!

   

   King of the Wild Things Pull-Apart Pizza Crown

   

   Max’s Boat Deviled Eggs

   

   What the Wild Things Eat: Tropical Fruit Salad