Spider Cookies

by Sheila Connolly

O lucky me! I get to post on Halloween, and I am so ready!

First, I have a gift for you readers who love my County Cork mysteries and are having a hard time waiting for An Early Wake, which won’t be published until February 2015. So I’ve written a short story set in Ireland, Under the Hill, which fits nicely with the Halloween theme (you’ll see why) and it’s free for all e-platforms. You can find it here:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Second, if you like cozies (pun intended), have I got a cozy for you: this skull tea cozy. You could have some really interesting tea parties with this (if anyone would drink the tea under it!). Leave a comment here before midnight (when the dead walk this night!) and I’ll draw one name.

And now, on to the recipe! I’ve talked before my love affair with Stock, the cookware shop in Dublin. The first time I saw it was two years ago in November, and they were sold out of most of their Halloween cookies cutters. (Note: they have terrific cookie cutters—intricate and sturdy and really interesting. Last time I was there I bought a tractor and a rosebud.) I made sure to put in an order well before last Halloween, so now I have a great jack-o’lantern, and a ghoulie, and a skull and crossbones, and…a spider. I had to have the spider.

I’ve used this cookie recipe before on MLK, a couple of years ago, but since these cookie-cutters are very detailed I had to modify the recipe to make the dough a bit less fragile, and easier to handle. That meant cutting down on the butter and substituting solid shortening, plus adding a bit more flour to make the dough stiffer. They still came out nice and chewy.

As for the frosting…I ordered the black food coloring (there are some sources online that say if you combine all colors of food coloring you get something black-ish, but I think that sounds like a muddy mess), but it’s not expensive. You might be able to find it at a local craft supply store.

BLACK WIDOW HALLOWEEN COOKIES

(the black widow is the only poisonous spider common in my state)

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup solid shortening

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 cup unsulfured molasses

6 cups all-purpose flour (more if needed)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 tsp ground ginger

Spices (yes, lots!)

4 tsp ground cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper (really!)

1-1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and molasses.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.  Stir into the butter-shortening-sugar mixture.

Divide the dough into thirds and wrap each piece in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least an hour (you can do this well ahead of time if you like), or even overnight.

Roll the dough 1/8-inch thick between two pieces of wax paper.

Cut the dough into shapes with your cookie cookie cutters.  Place the cookies on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until crisp but not too dark.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

[Note: spiders have skinny legs, so it’s a little tricky to transfer them. If you don’t have a spider cutter, this would work well with pumpkin-shaped cutters.)

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies, depending on their size.

FROSTING

I’ll admit I was stymied by this. I ordered the food coloring, no problem. But most of the recipes I found called for a base of Royal Icing, which in turn required Meringue Mix. I have never heard of Meringue Mix. It seems to consist of dried egg whites with a little sugar added, and it’s what makes bakery frosting firm and crisp rather than gooey. You can order it when you order that black food coloring.

In a pinch you can substitute the old reliable recipe of confectioners sugar plus a bit of milk, add powdered chocolate, then add the black color. Or you can buy some canned chocolate frosting and add the color (although this version won't harden). One tip: you might want to wear latex gloves when playing with the black frosting, or your hands may end up with some interesting blotches. Wicked stuff!

And don't turn your back on them for a minute!

New and Improved Holiday Cookies

by Sheila Connolly

I love cookie cutters, as my overflowing boxful proves.  Some were my mother's, and I can remember making cookies with her when I was young.  Later, I coerced my not-yet-husband into participating (and I have the pictures to prove it!). Of course we had all the traditional shapes—stars, bells, pine trees, Santas and so on.

I know--not very tidy

 

As if that weren't enough, I collect cookie cutters.  I've bought themed cutters for various purposes, including promotion, which explains why I have apple cutters in different sizes, not to mention cactus cutters (for Sarah Atwell).  I "rescue" antique cutters from junk, er, antique stores and flea markets.  I even have a donkey and an elephant for Election Day events. 

 

When we were in Ireland, doing the tourist thing (Grafton Street, Saint Stephen's Green), the last thing on my mind was cookware, but then through the gathering dusk (at four o'clock in the afternoon) I spied a brilliantly lit store that called to me…it's called Stock Design Store, and it has everything you could want for your kitchen—including cookie cutters.

Just a small sample at Stock--I wanted
one of everything

Now, had I been there a week or two earlier, I could have come back with one of my heart's desires:  a skull cookie cutter with eyes and nose and ghoulish grin. I did find one demon, and I had to have the tractor.  I plan to start hounding the place in early October next year for the skull—I'll be happy to pay shipping.

 

And they did have lovely coated steel cutters, so I bought a shamrock (of course) and a spider and a snowflake. (For the full range of available shapes, see http://www.eddingtons.co.uk/ under Cookie Cutters.

I wrote about my all-time favorite go-to sugar cookie recipe here before, but like many mystery writers, I started thinking "what if…?"  What if I wanted to change it up a bit?  What if I swapped in some almond flour for the regular flour, and added a dash of almond extract to the vanilla?  Maybe even tossed in some finely ground almonds to give it a little texture?  Snowflakes can be a little crunchy, right?

So here's the result:  Holiday Snowflake Cookies

 

¾ cup butter
¾ cup solid shortening

Almond flour and ground
almonds

1½ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
2 Tblsp. whole milk
3½  cups sifted all-purpose flour + 1 cup almond flour
½ cup ground blanched almonds
3 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cream the butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract until light and fluffy. Stir in the milk. Sift together all the dry ingredients except the ground almonds (too coarse to go through the sifter!), and stir in the ground almonds. Add the dry ingredients and blend well. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or put in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least one hour (this is important—it makes the dough much easier to handle when you roll it out). (This keeps well in the refrigerator, if you don't get around to rolling out all the cookies at once.)

Roll the chilled dough to ¼-inch thickness (this dough runs a little soft, so you can add flour liberally to keep it from sticking when you roll it). Cut with your favorite cookie cutters. If you wish, you may sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar, or any other decorative sprinkles you like. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. (You can combine the scraps and reroll the dough for more cookies.)

 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned (don’t overcook!). Remove from the pan and cool.

 

You can decorate before or after you bake the cookies, depending on what you like to use—sprinkles, frosting, or any combination!


These keep well in a closed container (I think the flavor actually improves after a couple of days—if they last that long!) Don’t ask me how many this makes—it’s a bunch, probably between three and four dozen, depending on how big you cut them.

You didn't really think I could leave this out,
did you?  And look at what kind of spider it is.

 

www.sheilaconnolly.com
SOUR APPLES, August 2012 -- New York Times Paperback Bestseller
ONCE SHE KNEW, October 2012 -- Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2012 #90,

Barnes & Noble Best Nook Books of 2012 #11
BURIED IN A BOG, coming February 2013