Halloween Cookie Cutouts

I just love Halloween!  I love the fall air and the changing of the leaves.  What I love most is all the cool foods you can make.  There are truly no rules and the ideas are endless. 

This year I took a stab at making rolled fondant cookies.  Even though I am a pastry chef and baker rolled fondant has always scared me.  Plus it wasn't that convenient to find all the ingredients in my town.  What's a girl to do? Hit the web-find a recipe with ingredients I have on hand and start baking fearlessly.

I love the results and it was easy.  I adapted the recipe slightly to suit my taste. Carson my son loves these cookies so much and so do I.

Shortbread Cookie Cutouts

2 cups butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. lemon extract (optional) 4 cups all-purpose flour pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.      Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla and lemon; add flour and mix well. Divide dough into 4 and flatten into disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes before rolling.     Place dough on a surface dusted with flour. Dust the top of the dough with flour and roll to 1/4 inch thick using a rolling pin. Cut shapes with desired cookie cutter. Place on prepared cookie sheets.     Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, edges will be brown. Shortbread is dry biscuit style cookie.     If using fondant cut outs place fondant on warm cookies or cool and brush with corn syrup then place fondant on top.  Otherwise cool cookies and ice with your favorite frosting.

 

Fondant

1 stick Regular Crisco or 1 cup 1 cup Corn Syrup 1 tsp. Almond ½ tsp. Salt 1 2-lb bag powder sugar

In Kitchen Aid mixer with bread kneader attachment – knead until all ingredients until mixed (this will look terrible).     Pour on to counter and knead for 5-10 minutes until fondant comes together and is workable.     Add paste food coloring (from a craft store – cake decorating section) – Knead in food coloring with your hands, be sure to use plastic gloves.     Roll out the fondant between 2 pieces of parchment or on a silicone baking mat.  Roll to 1/8 inch.   Use the same cookie cutter to cut out the fondant shape. Remove excess fondant but leave the shapes alone on the parchment paper so you do not stretch or distort them.     Put the fondant shapes that are on the parchment paper onto a tray. Put the tray into the freezer.     As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, take the fondant out of the freezer and put on the cookie. If more than one layer of fondant (like a wing) add all layers as soon as it comes out of the oven.     Let cookies dry overnight on the counter.  The next day, take a dry paper towel and blot off excess oil from the decorated cookie.     Cooled Cookie Method: Make and bake cookies as directed.  Cool completely.  Roll the fondant shapes adding powdered sugar as need to make the fondant workable.  If the fondant gets to dry rub shortening on your hands and knead the dough some more.  Brush cookies with corn syrup and top with fondant cut out.  Add other decorations now.   Cookie baked and cooled.  Brushed with corn syrup before adding fondant.  Fondant rolled out. The eyes are mini chocolate chips.   Fondant applied. Cats are covered in chocolate ganache.  Taste better than black food coloring.

Eyes are added when ganache is still wet.