Cookie Cat

Ingredients

 * classic vanilla ice cream
 * strawberry ice cream (pink, without little bits)
 * 1/2 of a 15.25 oz. box of chocolate cake mix (~1 1/2 cups cake mix)
 * 1 large egg
 * 1/4 cup shortening OR room temperature butter
 * 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
 * 1 and 1/2 tsp. water

Directions

 * 1) Place a sheet of parchment paper on a tray with sides. Sit the containers of ice cream out long enough to be spreadable but not so long that they get too melty. Work quickly! Spread a strip of vanilla ice cream about a 1/2" thick & half as wide as your cat head cookie cutter. Next, spread an equal-sized strip of strawberry ice cream right next to (touching) the vanilla. Repeat this pattern again so you have vanilla, strawberry, vanilla, strawberry. Now cover the tray with plastic wrap & place it in the freezer overnight.
 * 2)  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl & mix until just combined, about 2 minutes. Wrap the resulting dough in plastic wrap (try not to eat it all) & chill it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Tear off a baking tray sized sheet of parchment paper & dust it with flour. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the cookie dough to about 1/8" thickness. Cut an even number of cat head shapes about 1" apart & gently pull away the unused dough in between. Roll it up in a ball again to use for the next batch. Cut circles for eyes out of half of the cat heads, using a toothpick to "pluck out" (ouch!) the dough circles if needed. Place the parchment paper with the cookies on it onto a tray & bake for about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven & let cool for a minute & then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the cookie process until you're out of dough (or you could freeze the dough for another time, or eat it directly, or roll it into balls & then roll the balls into powdered sugar & bake).
 * 3) Once the cookies are cool, flip over all of the cat heads that don't have eyes so that their undersides are facing up. Next, pull out the tray of ice cream from the freezer & remove the plastic wrap. You'll have to work quickly! Starting at the bottom of the ice cream tray, press the cat cookie cutter into the ice cream equally between a strip of vanilla & a strip of strawberry. While the cutter is still in the ice cream, use a butter knife to scrape away the excess ice cream from the side of the cutter closest to you. Now remove the cookie cutter & slide the knife under the cut out to transfer it to one of the upside down cat head cookies. Make sure the ice cream cut out is centered & then place one of the cat faces (the ones with eyes) on top & gently press down. Repeat this process for all of the cat head & cat face cookie pairs. Wrap the cookie cats individually & tightly in plastic wrap & put them in the freezer so the ice cream can harden overnight (don't worry, the cookie part will become the perfect texture). When you're ready to eat one, remember to start with the ears!