Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I mean, when else can you dress up like your alter ego and parade around in public without a second look from passers-by? Well, okay, maybe a few people did do a double take but I think they were just jealous of my turkey basting abilities.
In addition to the cool, crisp air and the ability to dress and act like a fool, I also love these chocolate mummy cookies that I found a couple of years ago on Baking Bites. They've been in my "To Try" file all this time and I was elated to run across them the other day while looking for Fall recipes. The dough was very easy to work with and held its shape during baking. Nicole recommends melting white chocolate for the mummy wrapping and for some reason I never have luck working with white chocolate. I'm sure it has something to do with the amount of cocoa butter in the chips, but either way I had to add a touch of vegetable oil while melting to get it to the right consistency for piping (note added to her original recipe below). Nicole also mentions that she has cut the cookies into animal shapes and piped skeleton bones on them. What fun! Run on over to the Halloween section of her blog and check out the rest of her spooktacular ideas.
Mummy Cookies with White Chocolate Wrapping
From Nicole at BakingBites.com
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. With a mixer on low speed (or by hand), gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until the dough just comes together and no streaks of flour remain.
Divide dough in half, shape each piece into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours (overnight is fine) until firm.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Working with half of the dough at a time, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is approx 1/8 thick. A little thicker is ok, but it should be less than 1/4 inch because the cookies will puff up during baking. Use lightly floured cookie cutters (mine were mostly 2-3 inches) to cut out various shapes from the dough. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet. Cookie dough may be balled up and rerolled a second time. Repeat with remaining refrigerated dough.
Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes, until they are slightly firm at the edges (you can check by poking a corner carefully with a fingertip). Depending on the exact shape of your cookie cutter, baking time may need to be slightly lengthened if you want very large cookies. Cool for 5-10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 3-4 dozen cookies, depending, of course, on size and shape of your cutter.
For the mummy wrapping, you will need:
Melted white chocolate, about 4-oz.
Melt the white chocolate in a small, microwave safe bowl by heating it in 30-45 second increments and stirring frequently until smooth (you may need to add a touch of vegetable oil to the chips while melting to get the correct consistency). Scrape into piping bag with a small spatula. Make the “wrapping” by piping horizontal and vertical lines along the contours of your cooled cookie shapes, as though the gingerbread person/unicorn, etc. is wrapped up in white bandages.
Allow cookies to sit for 30 minutes or so on a wire rack until the icing completely sets before eating.
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