Chocolate Bat Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale, then beat in the yolk, the vanilla and milk. Sift the flour, coffee, cocoa and salt into the bowl, then mix together to make a soft dough. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap and chill for 15 mins.
• Dust the dough all over with a little flour, then roll it between two large sheets of baking parchment, to the thickness of a £1 coin. Remove the top layer of the paper, stamp shapes with an 8cm bat (or other) cutter, and carefully lift to the lined sheets using a palette knife. Re-roll the trimmings. Cut a 1.5cm x 5mm notch at the base of each bat's body. This is about right to sit the bats on thick tumblers; if your glasses are finer-edged, make the notches thinner so that the bats stay put. Bake for 10 mins or until the biscuits feel sandy and smell rich and chocolatey. Cool on the sheets for 5 mins, then lift the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• To decorate, melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave. One biscuit at a time, brush chocolate over the bat ears and wings with a small paintbrush, then cover with chocolate sprinkles. Tap off the excess. Pipe faces and fangs onto your bats, then leave to dry. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, cocoa and salt. Divide dough in half. Flatten each portion into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 375°F. On lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick. (Keep remaining dough in refrigerator until ready to roll.) Cut with 4 1/2x1/2-inch bat-shaped cookie cutter. (If dough becomes too sticky to cut, refrigerate 10 minutes before rerolling.) Place 2 red cinnamon candies on each cookie for eyes. Sprinkle with sugar crystals. On ungreased cookie sheet, place cookies about 1 inch apart.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Mix flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate; mix well. Divide dough in half; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours.
• Place half the dough on lightly floured surface; roll into 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into bat and cat shapes with 3-inch cookie cutters, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake 10 to 12 min. or until firm around the edges. Cool on baking sheets 2 min.; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely. Decorate with gel.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg. On low speed, mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half, and form into 2 disks, each about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap disks in plastic; chill until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days.
• On a lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate for a few minutes.)
• Using 2- to 3-inch Halloween cookie cutters, cut out shapes, dipping cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking; place on a baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart.
• Bake until surface is dry to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes (if decorating, press candies into dough halfway through baking). Cool cookies 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheet; transfer to a rack to cool completely.