Halloween Cut-Out Cookies
This recipe was inspired by the traditional butter cookies, called Einfache Ausstecher, that my Bavarian grandmother used to make for our family when I was growing up. To make it extra special for Halloween, I updated Oma’s recipe, transforming the cookies into festive and tasty sandwiches filled with Chocolate Much Better Butter.
Makes approximately 18 large sandwich cookies or 3 dozen individual cookies.
Ingredients
3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 small eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
Smidge salt
4 ounces Chocolate Much Better Butter™
Tools
Halloween cookie cutters of choice
Thin cardboard or heavy cardstock
Scissors
X-acto knife
Vegetable oil
Paring knife
How to Make Halloween Cookie Cut-Outs
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Ingredients
3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 small eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
Smidge salt
4 ounces Chocolate Much Better Butter™
Tools
Halloween cookie cutters of choice
Thin cardboard or heavy cardstock
Scissors
X-acto knife
Vegetable oil
Paring knife
How to Make Halloween Cookie Cut-Outs
Preheat the oven to 350°F
In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix well. In the center of the dry ingredients form a well. Place the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the well. With a hand mixer or electric mixer on low, beat just the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until they’re the consistency of a porridge. Don’t worry if a bit of flour gets into the mixture.
Add chunks of softened butter into the ‘porridge’ and mix until combined well. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients from around the edge of the bowl until all ingredients are combined and smooth.
Divide the dough in half. Place each half between two pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Roll out evenly (approximately ⅛-inch thick) until it fills nearly the entire area of the parchment paper while smoothing out any creases. Keeping paper in place, layer rolled dough on a cookie sheet, and refrigerate until cold, 20–30 minutes.
Divide the dough in half. Place each half between two pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Roll out evenly (approximately ⅛-inch thick) until it fills nearly the entire area of the parchment paper while smoothing out any creases. Keeping paper in place, layer rolled dough on a cookie sheet, and refrigerate until cold, 20–30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Take a piece of cardboard or cardstock and trace the exterior of the cookie cutter. Draw large triangles for eyes and nose and a simple mouth design. Use scissors to cut out the exterior pumpkin shape and an X-Acto knife to cut out the facial features. Rub vegetable oil onto the back of the board/paper.
Working with one portion of dough, peel away parchment paper, cut out cookies, and transfer to the cookie sheet. Roll the dough scraps and continue cutting cookies until all the dough is used. Put pumpkin stencil on cookie cutouts and use a paring knife to cut out interior shapes. Cut faces on only half the cookies, keeping the other half as solid bottoms for the finished cookie. As you work, you may need to refrigerate the dough if it becomes too soft to handle.
Bake in the preheated oven for 6–9 minutes or until the edges of cookies start to appear golden brown. Transfer to wire racks and cool. Spread a thin layer of Chocolate Treat Much Better Butter on the solid cookie and top with the pumpkin face cookie. Enjoy!
Have fun! --tina
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