Halloween Cookies
Halloween cookies can be an exciting addition to any occasion. They can be baked for school functions, home parties, church events, neighborhood gatherings, or family nights. In fact, Halloween cookies can bring the whole family together as they work to see who can make the goriest, most disgusting creations. Halloween cookies can be particularly exciting for young children, and some are so simple and easy they can do most of the work themselves. It does not matter whether the cookie dough is purchased or homemade; a little creativity goes a long way when it comes to unique Halloween cookies.
For children, it is best to stick to simple shapes and provide several cookie cutters from which they can choose. They can easily make and decorate round cookies in the following ways:
• full moons
• spider webs
• jack-o-lanterns
• eyeballs
Put out bowls of raisins, nuts, candy corn, chocolate chips, and colorful sugar sprinkles, and then stand back and watch as the children rush into full Halloween creativity mode. They can also attach licorice legs to chocolate sandwich cookies and use a dab of frosting to stick on red hot eyes for the scariest spiders ever. In a similar manner, children can create creepy ants by using Nutter Butter cookies and attaching legs and eyes.
A great idea to get older children and teenagers started is to make severed hands. The following items will be needed:
• a paper pattern of their splayed hands down to the wrist
• cookie dough
• butter knives
• red gel icing in a tube
• almonds
The hand patterns can be placed on the cookie dough and traced with a butter knife to form hands. Almonds should be pressed into the tip of each finger to serve as nails. Once the cookies have been baked and cooled, the children or teens can add red gel icing to the tips of the fingers, around each nail, and to the ends of the wrist. Party guests will be thrilled when they see these bloody severed hands displayed at a Halloween event.
Of course, Halloween cookies do not have to be unhealthy to be delicious and fun. With a little planning and thought, even cookies can be somewhat nutritious. Pumpkin cookies are a great idea, and most cookie recipes will work just as well if the baker substitutes applesauce for up to half of the fat in the recipe. Many cookie recipes can be made using olive oil rather than vegetable oil without affecting the taste, and honey makes an excellent sweetener. Almonds and walnuts are healthy additions to cookie batter or can be used as a part of the decorating process, and raisins or chopped apples work as well. Some recipes work well with just egg whites and egg substitute will sometimes work as well.
Why not set aside a night for making Halloween cookies with the whole family this year? Creating these spooky treats with the kids could be the start of a new tradition that can be passed down through future generations of young ghouls and goblins for a howling good time.
