Halloween Recipe: Black Cat Cookies

I made these cookies with the little guy I nanny for. And they may or may not have been used as a bribery tool. :-) You see the little guy doesn't eat very much. His mom packs his lunch for school, but he rarely eats unless it's mac n' cheese or dinosaur shaped nuggets. He likes peanut butter and jelly but he goes to a peanut-free school, so that's not an option. She usually packs him leftovers from the dinner before but they end up coming back home, untouched. So in an effort to get him to eat either at school or at home- I don't care where he eats, the goal is to get nutritious food into him- I told him we could make these together. It worked!

Now it only worked for a week, but for a week, he ate pretty well. He always likes to get into the kitchen with me and bake and I've told him as a reward for being a good eater, we could bake up a treat a couple times a month. We'll see how that goes. He's been sick this week but we're going to bake up some pumpkin muffins for a Halloween party this Friday- he's dressing up as a pirate! I'll share the recipe soon, because they're simple and delicious! Back to the black cat cookies...I found these cuties at Coleen's Recipes, but I think the recipe originates from Taste Of Home. Coleen made these last year and I'm glad she shared them again this year because they're fun, tasty and definitely kid friendly!

The cookie dough is very stiff and uses quite a bit of cocoa, but it all works out. If you have a stand mixer, use it. If not then you will need some elbow grease for this one. The recipe states it makes 24 black cat cookies, but I thought they were kind of big and could be made a little smaller to stretch out the recipe to feed more people if necessary. I intended to use m&m's for the eyes since I don't like candy corn, but the little guy does so that's what I used. I think they're cuter this way anyway. They're crunchy on the outsides from being rolled in the sugar before baking and they're chewy on the inside. And if you let the kids help with this one, each cat will be unique and different. Just be sure to use caution when applying the candy because the cookie sheets are hot!

Black Cat Cookies adapted from Coleen's Recipes and Taste Of Home

Printer Friendly Version

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar (plus more for rolling)
• 2 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 48 candy corn candies
• 24 mini m&m candies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time then and vanilla.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture until well incorporated.

Divide dough into 24 even pieces. Roll each piece of dough into 1-1/2-in. balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, then flatten with the bottom of a juice glass. (I flattened them with my palm, then coated them in sugar). Place 3 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (You can grease your cookie sheets and forgo the the parchment paper, but since I only had one cookie sheet to work with, it was easier to remove the parchment with the cookies still on it to cool, while I baked another batch).

Pinch the top of the cookie in two places to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven.

Remove from the oven and immediately press on candy corn for eyes and m&m's for the noses. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. (If using parchment paper, slide the whole sheet to the rack to cool before moving the cookies since they're fragile when warm). The candy will set at the cookie cools.