thebigfatnoodle

Get your scary on #2: cookie monsters

Posted by thebigfatnoodle on October 25, 2011 · 19 Comments 

cookie monsters or monster cookies? 

I bought new toys.

They are cookie cutters.

But not just any cookie cutters.

They are PAC-MAN cookie cutters (I know, I know, I’m such a child…).

I couldn’t resist because look, see for yourself, aren’t they cute??? 🙂

PAC-MAN. nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom

On the back of the box was printed a basic butter cookie dough recipe, and as I have never ever tried a recipe off the back of any box (not even the ones off cereal boxes or packets of flour), I thought, what the heck? Let’s give it go. Besides, I thought these could be another Halloween idea for my father-in-law’s Fright Night event.

PAC-MAN cookie dough cut outs ready for the oven

I’m really pleased because this is a genuinely simple recipe and so easy to make, especially if you have PAC-MAN cookie cutters, hehehehe :).

Butter cookies generally don’t keep well so if you like your cookies with a bit of a crunch, it’s best you eat them within a few days. At least I think so but I can’t say for sure because our cookies never made it past day 2. To stop my husband from eating them all, I actually brought some to work and dished them out to my colleagues. My husband was genuinely not happy about that but it had to be done. My colleagues, on the other hand, were very, very happy.

For a back-of-a-packet recipe, these were awesome – buttery, crisp, crumbly and not too sweet. I can’t wait to make some more, as soon as I buy more butter – gulp! These use a LOT of butter but they are butter cookies after all…

All I did to make them Halloween friendly was to make a basic fondant icing to coat the cookie monsters, and then I unleashed my inner kindergarten by drawing silly monster faces using nothing more than Dr Oetker‘s icing pens. Art never was my forte but I’m pretty happy with these results.

Now not blowing my own trumpet but that's a perfectly baked butter cookie, and really, really yummy! 🙂

Drenched in fondant icing

I should have taken more photos of the various designs (each one unique no less) but by the time I remembered to take any more, my husband had already eaten about five, or six, or maybe even seven. He’s still refusing to answer me or even look at me properly…

Cookie monsters!!!!

Cookie monster dough (it makes about 20-30 cookies, I can’t be sure as I forgot to count and my husband had already paid a couple of visits to the kitchen…)

This is a 'can't go wrong' cookie dough recipe.

200 grams softened butter at room temperature

150 grams castor sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon maple syrup (this wasn’t in the recipe but I decided to chuck it in)

1 egg

300 grams plain flour

Cream the butter and sugar together till pale, light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla, egg and maple syrup.

Sift the flour into the mix.

Beat the mix until smooth and doughy.

Remove from the bowl, wrap in cling film and then refrigerate to chill the dough (about 40 minutes to an hour).

Meantime, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (I wanted a light bake so I actually baked my cookies at 170 degrees because I have a very hot oven).

Batch one - baked at a lower temperature to stop them from turning too golden

Dust your worktop, roll out the cookie dough to about 3-5 mm thickness and then use your cookie cutters to cut out your cookie shapes.

On an oven tray lined with baking parchment, set your cookies out about 1-2 cm apart and then bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until pale and golden on the edges.

Batch 2 - higher temperature, crunchier finish. The two round blobs were the chef's treats, hehehe 🙂

I baked my first batch for just 10 minutes as I wanted a softer biscuit for the first batch, and then I baked the second patch for longer to get them more golden and crunchier!

Preparing for the costume party 🙂

To create monster designs, make some fondant icing,coat the cookies and once dry, start painting.

Easy to make. Really, really, really easy to eat.

Lots of love

thebigfatnoodle