Merry Karaoke Bar Cookies

Slap a Santa hat on the karaoke machine and fire it up. These Merry Karaoke Bar Cookies will have you singing in no time. Except, they take a little time to make. It’s a process. One that involves mixing bowls, an oven, a freezer, and more strong Kraken arms, so find yourself a merry Kraken that can stir a formidable paste of butter and flour—if you don’t have a mixer with a stand and paddle blade attachments, which I do not—and I don’t seem to mind? Not when you live in the state of Washington and can just pull a fresh Kraken from the Puget Sound and then return it with a care package of Krispy Krill—or whatever it is Krakens are into.

This recipe starts with a sturdy base of shortbread cookie dough. Any recipe will do. I found one on the internet that calls for butter, flour, powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, and vanilla extract. Instead of refrigerating the dough for an hour, I pushed the mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan and baked it at 375F for 30 minutes.

After letting the cookie base cool completely, I whipped up some whipped cream (one cup of whipping cream + 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar) and added chopped pistachios and just a bit of festive green food color. I spread the mixture onto the cookie base and let the whole thing freeze for about an hour.

Next, I chopped up some raspberries and added them to some freshly whipped cream, along with just a drop or two of red food coloring. Then, as you might guess, it went back into the freezer for another hour. (That’s why you have the karaoke machine. Make lots of requests. Let the Kraken stay a while.)

When that mixture had set up, I melted some chocolate chips in the microwave and spread them onto the top layer. And then, back into the freezer it went, for another hour.

Results: Much like the weekend before Christmas—and an actual karaoke bar—there’s a lot going on. The flavors kind of blend together, but you also get a burst of raspberry every once in a while. The mixture can be a bit runny still, but oh, well. That shortbread crust is amazing. Yum.

Serve these with:

–Christmas sea shanties (for the Kraken)

–A ladle of caramel liqueur

–Buckets of snuggly slippers

–A 12-hour CD set of “No Silent Nights in Margaritaville”

–A chest of chestnuts

–Caravans of reindeer backup dancers

Your Turn: What’s your favorite thing to make that is worth the wait?