Circus Animal Cookie Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the cookie
2 1/2 lbs ready-to-bake cookie dough
For the buttercream
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh strawberry puree (5 chopped strawberries)
1 tablespoon strawberry jam
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

To make cookie:
roll out the ready to bake cookie dough.
place elephant shaped paper template on the flattened dough.
cut out the shape, remove the extra pieces.
repeat until you have 3 elephant cookies.
bake 370F for 10 minutes.
To make strawberry buttercream:
With a hand mixer or stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 mins, until smooth & creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater as necessary.
Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating until combined.
Add puree, vanilla extract, jam and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
Place in a piping bag.
To make strawberry puree:
place about 5 chopped strawberries in a food processor and blend until pureed.
To assemble:
placed one baked elephant cookie down.
pipe small circular shapes of strawberry buttercream until the cookie is covered; repeat to the next two cookies.
once the buttercream layers are added, stack the cookies.
sprinkle on candy-coated chocolates on top.