Halloween Cookies

Halloween Cookies

BOO! Happy Halloween and Samhain Wishes! I made these vanilla and chocolate cookies on Sunday and Monday. I recently purchased some new cookie cutters for these cookies: vampire and skull couple from Semi Sweet Designs, pumpkin with hat, raven, and a witch broom to add to my collection. I also made: coffin, tombstone with wafer paper designs, jack o' lanterns with wafer paper designs, rectangle to make the ouija with wafer paper designs and a small heart to make the planchette, candy corn, candy corn to make the candy jack o' lantern bucket, bat, cat, cauldron, witch hat, witch face, skull, Jack Skellington, round cutter to make eyeball monsters, Frankenstein, large candy corn to make the bride of Frankenstein, mummy, spider, and spider web. For the Vanilla Sugar Cookie recipe visit my post, Holiday Sugar Cookies. See below for the chocolate cookie and royal icing recipes.

Halloween Cookies

Jack O' Lantern Wafer Paper Cookies and a pumpkin with hat

Jack O' Lantern Wafer Paper Designs and a pumpkin with hat

Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

2 cups Granulated Sugar

2 Large Eggs

3 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

4 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour

1 ½ cups Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Coffins

Skulls

Spiders and spider webs

Directions
Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt in large bowl and combine with spatula; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment on low to medium speed. Mix until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds more.

Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down bowl with spatula and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Skull, Cat, Jack O' Lantern, Ouija, Tombstone

Ghost, raven, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein

Ghost, raven, bat, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, sugar skull couple

Add vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute.

With the mixer off add the flour mixture, cover the mixer with a kitchen towel, and turn the mixer to low speed and incorporate.

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around the paddle attachment.

Form disk shape and cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled the dough overnight.

Mummy

Tombstone Wafer Paper Design Cookies

Cats

Heat oven to 350°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll out with the rolling pin until the desired thickness is reached.

Cut out shapes and repeat until you have used all the dough.

Place onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Pumpkin with hat, Frankenstein

Ghosts, Mummy, Dracula

Sugar skull top hat, candy bucket, Jack Skellington, eyeball monster, cat, Uni-candy corn

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until center of cookie no longer looks wet. My cookies baked in 11 minutes.

Let cookies cool in baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely; about 1 hour.

Let cookie sheets cool completely before you bake again. I put the cookie sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat until you have baked all the cookies.

Ghosts

Ouija Board with Planchette Cookies

Bats and a raven

Large Batch Royal Icing
Ingredients
8 Egg Whites

8 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

12 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon Water (or more as needed)

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar; set aside.

In a bowl, add egg whites.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice.

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Jack Skellington

Eyeball Monster Cookies

Candy Corn

With the mixer off add the sifted powdered sugar, cover the mixer with a kitchen towel, and turn the mixer to low speed and beat until smooth.

The consistency using this recipe is thick and great for borders and detail work.

If you need a both a border and flood-like consistency keep reading below.

If you only need flood consistency icing, just add 1/2 teaspoon of water and mix for 5-10 seconds, and repeat until you reach the right consistency. Be careful that your icing does not become too runny or you may have to start over.

I found the best way to make royal icing is to first separate the icing in plastic containers with lids according to the different colors I need. I save the containers when I order a pint of soup from Chinese takeout. These containers are great for icing. You can also use Tupperware.

Witch Hats, Witch Face, Witch Broom and Cauldrons

Vampire; cutter from Semi Sweet Designs

Cute Sugar Skull Couple; cutter from Semi Sweet Designs

Keep the containers or Tupperware covered until you are ready to color. Royal Icing hardens fast.

I used Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Food Color in lemon yellow, sunset orange, super red, and leaf green. I used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in super black and Wilton Icing Color in super white. To make grey, I used one drop of super black.

I separated the icing in plastic containers with lids according to how many different colors needed for tinting.

I needed border icing for each color, so I transferred them into my Sweet SugarBelle Icing Bottles.

Then with the remainder of the icing, I use a spritz bottle with water in each container. I spritzed just one or two times in the container and combined with a small spatula.

This works for me and I get the flood consistency I need. I then transferred the flood icing into my icing bottles.

By doing it this way, you also have the same color for both the border and flood consistency.

To sketch onto some of the cookies I used Chefmaster Food Decorating Pens.

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein

Ouija Board and Planchette

Some of my Halloween Cookies

I outlined the cookies, and waited a few minutes and then filled them.

Be careful not to add too much icing or you will have overflow.

I use a cookie stick to reach edges, and the tip to pop any air bubbles. I also use paint brushes to reach the edges and have a Wilton Scraper on hand to fix and boo-boos.

I let the cookies dry overnight.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Ghosts - Vanilla Sugar Cookies

AmeriColor Super Black, Wilton Super White, and Chefmaster Colors I used

Sweet SugarBelle Icing Bottles and Tip Covers

Please keep in mind if you are baking and it is humid, you may need more time for the cookies to dry.

Add Halloween colored sprinkles, confetti, sugar pearls, silver dragees, skulls, ghosts, pumpkins, etc... over wet icing.

For the wafer paper directions visit my post, Sunflower Cookies:
https://twofrys.blogspot.com/2018/10/sunflower-cookies.html

To make the Ouija cookies, I was inspired by:
https://thesimple-sweetlife.com/ouija-board-cookies/

For the candy bucket tutorial, visit:
www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2014/10/halloween-candy-bucket-cookies/

To make the witch hat cookies, I was inspired by:
https://thebearfootbaker.com/2018/10/witch-hat-cookies/

For the uni-candy corn cookie tutorial, visit:
http://www.bakeat350.net/2016/10/uni-candy-corn-cookies.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Apple Ridge Orchards

Apple Ridge Orchards, Warwick, NY

My family planned this outing a few weeks ago and when I woke up I looked out my window it was raining but heard on the radio that it was going to stop in a few hours. I was happy we ended up going since the rain was gone by the afternoon. I have never gone apple picking before so I was excited. I hadn't been feeling well the last few days with what I thought was allergies that turned into a cold. Good thing I bought something in the morning to help, and I felt better by the afternoon.

Pumpkins

Sugar Pumpkins

Apples

Due to the rain, the grounds were muddy and some spots were slippery so I walked with caution. My family had a nice time except my Mom. She was too cold and had trouble walking in the muddy grounds with her cane. After a short while she had to sit in the car and just wait for us but I cannot blame her. She is 88 after all. Other than that, everything went great.

The sugar pumpkin and 2 small gourds 

Pumpkins and gourds

Mini Gourds

Small gourds and pumpkins 

We ate a bite from Brian's Backyard BBQ and it was yummy. My Mom ordered ribs, my sister in law got the pulled pork and the rest of us got flame-broiled burgers. The apple cider donuts were so good! I only bought half a dozen and should have purchased more. I ate the last one this morning with coffee.

Tractor

Pumpkins

Pumpkins and hay bales

Allen and Sophia

There were lots of pumpkins to choose from and small and large gourds. I purchased a small sugar pumpkin and 2 small gourds. Adorbs!

Me with lots of pumpkins

Allen hanging out with the pumpkins

Pumpkins

Apple picking was fun as well but due to the mud, you had to watch where you were going.

Allen and the scarecrow

Apple trees

Allen picking an apple

Allen with his apple

Brian's Backyard BBQ

My sister in law took my nephew to the petting zoo and he enjoyed it. There were cute piggies running around the grounds and I also saw geese.

Apples

The Apple Ridge Orchards store

BBQ Sauce

Popcorn, mixes, salsa, etc...

Maple syrup, popcorn, peaches, salsa

The farm stand/shop had great products from the apple cider, apple cider donuts, apple butter, jams and preserves, local honey, BBQ sauces, applesauce, sweet pepper spicy relish, popcorn, maple syrup, mixes, and more...

Cool selection of mixes

Maple syrup, jams, jellies, preserves, applesauce, dips

Local honey

Apple cider donuts going fast

There are lots of activities for kids to partake in and the view is stunning. I really enjoyed my time here.

Geese

Geese close-up

What we purchased in the country store and we brought home apples

For further information, visit Apple Ridge Orchards:
https://appleridgeorchards.com/

-Sophia/Two Frys