several halloweens ago, a thoughtful friend (i think it was capnscurvy) clipped a recipe from the mercury news for black cat cookies. i made them for the halloween party we threw that year, and loved them. but as halloweens are a full year apart, i have to admit that i almost completely forgot about the recipe after the first go with it.
i also have to admit that when i first read through the recipe, and saw that it said to “pinch top of cookie to form ears,” i was convinced that this would never create a realistic enough kitty cat face, and sent mike on a fruitless expedition across the greater santa cruz area to try to find a cat cookie cutter while i prepped the dough. the recipe only takes minutes to create, though, so i had to wait patiently for his return, and also learned to trust the directions – it really does make a realistic (and cute!) looking kitty face.
this year, when a good friend decided to throw a party on hallow’s eve, i faintly recalled these whimsical and tasty treats and offered to whip up a batch. i was truly shocked when i pulled out the recipe to see that it was cut out from an article published in 2005. how does time fly like that?
i was also shocked when the recipe took even less time than i remembered from all those years ago. there is no need to be afraid of making these black cats – and if they cross your path, just eat them! happy halloween everyone!
black cat cookies
adapted from an article published in the mercury news on 10/26/05, which featured the recipe on allrecipes.com by kathy stock
yields 2 dozen cookies
- 1c butter, softened
- 2c sugar (i used 1c white, 1c brown)
- 2 eggs
- 3t vanilla extract
- 3c all-purpose flour
- 1c cocoa (i love ghirardelli’s)
- 1/2t baking powder
- 1/2t baking soda
- 1/2t salt
- 48 pieces of candy corn (or more, in case you nibble as you go!)
- 24 red-hot candies (i used half of hot tamales)
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- cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla
- combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and gradually add to the creamed mixture
- roll dough into 24 1.5″ balls (i made around 27), and place on lightly greased baking sheets
- flatten each cookie ball with a glass dipped in sugar
- pinch top of cookie to form ears
- press a fork twice into each cookie to create whiskers
- bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350º oven
- immediately press in red hots for nose and candy corns for eyes, then transfer to cookie racks to cool, then consume at will
4 thoughts on “happy halloween!”