Halloween Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until completely incorporated. Divide the dough in half, pat into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes to make rolling easier. Roll out 1 disc between 2 pieces of parchment to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out desired Halloween shapes with cookies cutters and arrange about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining disc of dough.
• Bake, rotating and switching the positions of the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are just turning golden brown on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, reroll the scraps between 2 pieces of parchment and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Repeat the cutting and baking process.
• For the royal icing: Beat the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 1/3 cup water in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 5 to 6 minutes. Color the icing as desired for the cookie shapes.
• To make flood icing: Remove three-quarters of the desired color icing to a small bowl and stir in 1/2 teaspoon water until flooding consistency is achieved?you can run a knife through it and it flows back to where it was in 10 seconds. Add more water, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until you've reached the right consistency. Transfer the flood icing to a piping back fitted with a number 2 round tip. Transfer the remaining thick icing to a piping bag fitted with a number 1 round tip.
• For cats: Pipe a black border around the cat with thick black icing. Fill with black flood icing and allow to harden, 6 hours or up to overnight. Pipe 2 pointy eyes on the face with thick yellow icing. Allow to harden, about 1 hour.
• For ghosts: Pipe a white border around the ghost with thick white icing. Fill with white flood icing and allow to harden, 6 hours and up to overnight. Pipe a ghost face with thick black icing. Pipe dots around the border of the ghost with thick orange and black icing. Allow to harden, about 1 hour.
• For pumpkins: Pipe an orange border around the edge of the pumpkin with thick orange icing. Fill with orange flood icing and allow to harden, 6 hours and up to overnight. Pipe two orange lines down the pumpkin with thick orange icing. Pipe on a green stem with thick green icing. Pipe vines with thick green icing. Allow to harden, about 1 hour.
• For candy corn: Pipe a white triangle border around the top third of the cookie with thick white icing. Pipe a trapezoid in the middle portion of the cookie, bordering the white triangle, with thick orange icing. Pipe a larger trapezoid that outlines the lowest third with thick yellow icing. Fill the white triangle with white flood icing. Fill the orange trapezoid with orange flood icing. Fill the yellow trapezoid with yellow flood icing. Allow the flood icing to harden, 6 hours and up to overnight.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugars together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat again to combine. Stir in the flour and baking powder with a wooden spoon until you have a stiff dough, then fold in the chocolate chips.
• Divide the dough into 20 pieces and roll into balls. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, well spaced out so there's space for spreading (you may need to bake them in batches). Press the tops of the cookies down very slightly using the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake the cookies for 10-12 mins until golden around the edges, then leave to cool on the baking sheets for 10 mins. Transfer to wire racks and leave to cool completely.
• To make the spider cookies, lay 10 of the cooled cookies out in front of you. Spoon the melted chocolate into a piping bag and the royal icing into another, then snip off the ends using scissors. Pipe a dot of royal icing onto the back of two Maltesers, and arrange these onto one of the cookies to create the head and body of the spider. Repeat with the remaining nine cookies and the rest of the Maltesers. Pipe eight spider legs around the bodies of the spiders using the chocolate. Pipe two small dots of royal icing onto the heads to create eyes, then pipe very small dots of chocolate over the eyes to create pupils. If you like, decorate the bodies with the royal icing.
• To make the bat cookies, lay the remaining 10 cookies out in front of you. Separate the cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, and carefully scrape the cream filling off the chocolate cookie pieces. Cut the chocolate cookie pieces into semicircles using a small serrated knife. Stick a caramel-filled chocolate onto the middle of each cooled cookie using the royal icing, then use a little more to stick a chocolate cookie semicircle on either side of the chocolates to make the bat wings. Pipe eyes onto the chocolates using the royal icing and melted chocolate.