Sweet Treats!

I love treats. Especially sweet ones. As I've been going through my enormous photo library I came across this gem. It's an amazingly delicious Giant Pizza Cookie. I made it for my son, Eric's, seventh birthday. Actually, I didn't just make it for him, I made it for his entire first grade class. I wanted Eric to have something unique. Not the typical frosted cupcake from the grocery store. Those things are nasty. And the kids just lick the frosting off the top anyway.

When I made this sweet treat for Eric's class, it was back in the day when you could bake anything you wanted at home and bring it in to share. Now, it all has to be store bought. A bummer. A total, total bummer. Because I enjoy baking and sharing my specialties with others!! I guess it's their loss. Not mine. Sweet treats from the store just aren't the same.

There was a lot of time and love that went into this truly great cookie. And work of art! Plus, it was fun to construct. The cookie itself is an excellent soft oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe. So if you aren't in the mood to make something so big AND fancy--the cookies by themselves turned out real yummy. Also, when I made this giant pizza cookie, I decided to make individual ones too so that each child could have their own little mini pizza. It was super fun! And Eric's friends all thought they were crazy good! Needless to say, there wasn't a crumb left! Now go make this for your next party. Your guests will thank you!

Giant Pizza Cookie

{LET YOUR IMAGINATION GO WILD AND TOP

THIS CHOCOLATEY GOOD COOKIE WITH SOME

OF YOUR CANDY JAR FAVORITES!}

INGREDIENTS

1 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

3/4 CUP QUICK OR OLD-FASHIONED OATS

1/2 TEASPOON BAKING SODA

1/4 TEASPOON SALT

1/2 CUP (1 STICK) BUTTER OR MARGARINE, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1/2 CUP PACKED BROWN SUGAR

1 EGG

1/2 TEASPOON VANILLA

1 CUP SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS

1 CUP PREPARED MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

RED FRUIT SNACK ROLLS, GUM DROPS, CANDY COATED

CHOCOLATE PIECES AND WHITE CHOCOLATE

#1 Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt.

#2 In a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.

#3 Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

#4 Shape dough into a ball and place in the center of a round baking stone. Lightly flour your hands and pat dough into an 11-inch circle. Place baking stone in rack.

#5 Bake 14-16 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven. Cool completely.

#6 Spread cooled cookie with frosting. To decorate, use an apple corer to cut round pieces from fruit rolls to resemble pepperoni. Using kitchen shears, snip gum drops into pieces for pizza toppings. Add candy-coated chocolate pieces, as desired. Using a cheese grater with a fine grating drum, grate white chocolate over top for cheese. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter.

**Note: When I transported it to school, for a real pizza effect, I went to the pizza store and had them give me a large pizza box. The children thought is was way cool!

As I've continued sifting through all my photos, I have quite a few images of treats I've made through the years. As a result, I've decided I'm going to be changing up this blog a bit. I'm going to be posting a recipe of a sweet treat {or savory favorite family meal} I've made, that is sure to be a hit weekly. Because, like I said, I like sharing what I've baked with others. So consider it just that. I'm sharing the goodness with each of you. And you can do the same. Spread the love. The sweet, sweet love of a well-made treat.