Do You Have an Entertaining Twenty-first Birthday Story to Tell?
I don’t have an entertaining 21st birthday story to tell, but many people do. As my daughter Kalani’s 21st birthday approached this weekend, conversations with others led to recollections of how they wildly celebrated their milestone birthday. For many, the night ended with someone holding their hair back over the toilet or cheek-down on a bathroom floor.
What about a fake I.D.? Did you have one? I did. So did Kalani. She framed it for me and gave it to me on her birthday.
By the time I turned 21, I was like an old married woman. I’d partied and gone bar hopping for a few years already so it wasn’t a special day for me. My weekend was spent in Marshall, Minnesota at my future husband’s, and then ex-husband’s, Schwan’s banquet. For the evening formal, I wasn’t feeling well and I ended up in our room for the night. I’d been part of that circle for a while and I don’t think anyone realized I had been underaged up until then. (My ex was 11 years older than me.)
But, I could tell plenty of entertaining stories up until I turned 21. Let’s just say, I may never be able to be President.
We took Kalani out for a couple drinks with family. We started at her dad’s bar, The Wild Hare, in Brookings, South Dakota.
Her boyfriend, Hayden, planned a surprise party for her with their friends.
I secretly made kind of lewd cream cheese cookie cutouts for her while she was at work. They match her sparkly gold sash, refer to her fake I.D. from Michigan, and three (not shown) are the lyrics from a rap song that she wanted on a cake but I didn’t want to go to Hy-Vee and ask them to pipe the words on an innocent little marble cake.
The cream cheese cookie cutouts are the recipe I use all the time – they have four sticks of butter and an 8-ounce package of cream cheese so you know they are soft. The pure almond extract is what makes them taste so good.
Here they are as ugly Christmas sweaters. And Fourth of July stars.
What’s your 21st birthday story? I dare you to share in the comments below!
Sweet wishes,
Cream cheese cookie cutouts
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract, or vanilla or another extract if you prefer
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
Frosting
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
- 1 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla or another extract if you prefer
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 to 5 tablespoons milk
- food coloring, optional
- sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream 2 cups softened butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg yolks and almond extract. Gradually beat in the flour.
- Divide dough into 4 or 5 balls, shaping each into a flat disk about 1/2 inch thick; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 2 hours or overnight.
- Heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Bring dough to room temperature.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough disc to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with floured cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake until set (do NOT brown), 11-13 minutes. They will still be white, not browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat butter, shortening and almond extract until blended. Beat in confectioners’ sugar and enough milk to reach spreading consistency; beat until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
- If using food coloring, separate into small dishes for as many colors as you have. Remember to keep some white if desired. Frost cookies using a small offset spatula and scatter sprinkles over frosting. Let set for a few hours before stacking between plastic wrap in a plastic container with airtight lid.
Notes
Nutrition
Go back to the recipe by scanning this QR code:
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
