I know, it’s not Wednesday – but Halloween is this Wednesday and it wouldn’t be very sporting of me to share a recipe at the last minute, now would it?
Especially one as cute as this.
I had an excess of candy eyes, as I do this time of year, and was smitten with the many “monster cookies” I’d come across on Pinterest. And I knew the perfect cookie to use – these easy, delicious lemon crinkle cookies.
You need a soft cookie for this recipe, so that you can easily press the candy eyes in when they come out of the oven (do NOT bake the cookies with the eyes, as they will melt/dissolve). And I needed a non-chocolate dough so that I could dye them these cool colors.
The lemon crinkle dough was perfect – it comes together quickly and easily, with no chilling time, and the hit of lemon nicely offsets the richness of the cookie. And while the candy eyes are super adorable, they also lend a pleasant crunch in contrast to the soft cookie.
Have a happy, safe and (not too spooky!) Halloween!
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
zest and juice of one lemon (keep separate)
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
food coloring (I prefer the gel to the liquid – the colors are more vibrant and the gel doesn’t affect the texture of the dough – for this recipe I used Wilton “Leaf Green“, “Violet” and “Sky Blue“)
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
candy “eyes” (any size, or mix ’em up for extra creepiness!)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest in your mixer till light and fluffy; scrape down the sides. Add the lemon juice, egg and vanilla and beat again; scrape down the sides. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat again till ingredients are well combined.
Remove 2/3 of the dough, divide into 2 balls and set aside. Add the green food coloring to the dough in your mixer and beat till the color is completely incorporated, adding more if needed till the desired shade is reached. Repeat with the reserved dough balls and food coloring.
Divide each ball into 8 pieces (for a total of 24) and roll into balls. Working with one ball at a time, coat generously with confectioner’s sugar, re-roll and place on your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, or till just turning crinkly on top.
Remove baking sheets from the oven and place on wire racks. Working quickly, place your candy eyes on top of the cookies, pressing gently to adhere. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 more minutes, then transfer to the wire racks to cool completely.
This delicious recipe brought to you by Sheri Silver
https://sherisilver.com/2018/10/29/monster-cookies/
All of my cookies and Halloween treats can be found on Pinterest!
Hi! I'm Sheri!
Welcome to my little corner of the web where you’ll find easy, delicious recipes, the best kitchen hacks and simple tips for turning your home into a clean haven that is free of toxins. So glad you’re here!
