Bat and pumpkin Halloween cookies recipe

It takes just four ingredients to make these bat and pumpkin Halloween cookies.

You can whip up a batch of them in just under 25 minutes, then all you need to do is ice them. This recipe yields around 18 cookies (depending on the size of your cutters). And the results are really impressive. You can decorate them with ready to roll or flood icing, or you can simple use icing pens to draw outlines onto the finished biscuits. The ground spice gives a lovely warm to the flavour of the cookies, which makes them feel especially appropriate now the nights are drawing in. You will need a pumpkin and a bat shaped cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits.

Ingredients

• 100g (4oz) butter, softened
• 50g (2oz) caster sugar
• 150g (5oz) sifted plain flour
• ½ tsp ground mixed spice

To decorate (optional):

• Ready to roll fondant icing in black and orange, or royal icing (see tips below)
• Icing pens in green, black and white

Method

1. To make this cookie recipe, place the softened butter in a bowl with the caster sugar and beat until pale and creamy. Stir in the sifted plain flour and ground mixed spice and mix to a stiff dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and stamp out about 10 bats and 8 pumpkins, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Place on a large lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 12-14 mins until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Decorate the cold cookies with thinly rolled-out coloured fondant icing, cut to the same size as the biscuits. Pipe faces and eyes with icing pens, or cut out faces with the tip of a small knife.

Top tips for making Halloween cookies

You can find packs of themed cookie cutters in kitchenware shops or some larger supermarket, but if not, just cut out templates from firm card.

Please note that nutritional info is per biscuit based on this recipe making 18 biscuits, and does not include the icing you use to decorate the biscuits.

How can I make these Halloween cookies without shaped cookie cutters?

Simply draw an outline of the shape of the cookie you would like to make on a piece of paper, and cut it out. Use this as a template on your biscuit dough, and draw around it with a sharp knife to cut the biscuits out.

How do I stick fondant icing to the biscuits?

All you need is a some cold water and a small brush (we use a food grade paint brush; you can get them from cook shops). Simply paint a little bit of water all over the surface of the biscuit and immediately press the fondant icing onto the top. Be quite firm, to make sure it sticks. For extra stickiness, instead of water some people prefer to use a little bit of jam, heated with a splash of water to make a glaze.

Can I ice these biscuits with flood icing?

Absolutely. You will need to line around the edge of the biscuits first, then fill the middle with icing in the same colour. For full instructions see our flower cookies recipe (opens in new tab).

How can I make my cookies look even more impressive?

Dust the top of the icing with a little edible glitter, to give a really cool finish to the biscuits. White or silver looks good over the black bats. Gold is great on the pumpkins.

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