Skeleton Cookies – New Gingerbread
What could be better than cookies in the shape of smartly dressed men in confectionery fashion? Skeleton cookies with white chocolate pits. This chocolate version of a gingerbread cookie tastes amazing, requires much less effort to decorate, and is perfect for Halloween. I mean, these skeleton cookies are a great excuse to pop out some holiday cookie cutters earlier this year.
I always bake gingerbread in December, and as cute as it looks, it’s not an easy task. The dough is complex, requiring several spices (and every year I somehow miss another one). You need a variety of sprinkles or candies to make them colorful and festive, and you need to mix up a batch of royal icing that dries hard to send or deliver to a friend’s house. These skeleton cookies have the same holiday spirit (if it’s a different holiday) but much less fuss. All you need is a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and some melted white chocolate.
One of the reasons they are so simple is because they take advantage of the lack of color. It’s just a chocolate background and “bones”, which means no mixing colors or careful sticking of chewy buttons. Any chocolate chip cookie with cutouts will work, but I used a slightly adapted version of this King Arthur Chocolate Cookie recipe because it uses dark chocolate. They list black cocoa, but I found that Hershey’s specialty dark cocoa is the perfect dark chocolate color and has a great, rich bittersweet chocolate flavor.
I rolled out the dough to ¼ inch thick before cutting them out, and otherwise baked them according to the recipe. The trick to keep these cookies very dark is to roll them in cocoa powder instead of flour , but this trick is not suitable for all bakers: this dough is very soft and the cocoa powder is very fine, which makes it slightly sticky. If you’ve rolled thousands of cookies and feel like your skills are there, you’ll appreciate this method’s continuous cocoa aftertaste. If you’re having trouble rolling your pie dough or don’t feel comfortable handling the dough, opt for flour (and a slightly less inky black finish) to avoid disappointment. Cut out the cookies with a human-shaped cookie cutter and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about an inch apart.
Bake the cookies in a preheated 375°F oven for 10-12 minutes. Since they are dark in color, they will be hard to see when they are done. After 10 minutes, open the oven and lightly tap the center of the cookie. If it feels hard, they’re done. If not, leave them for another two minutes. Cool them on the cooling rack for about 20 minutes before decorating.
Tip: Melt a couple ounces of white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 10 seconds or so to prevent burning. When the chocolate is smooth and hot, transfer it to a piping bag (or use a freezer bag as a makeshift piping bag ) and squeeze the skeleton bone pattern out of it. More or less you make a figurine out of bones and a skull. Let the chocolate harden at room temperature or in the refrigerator and it’s ready to be mashed.
Chocolate Skeleton Cookies (King Arthur inspired)
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 pack butter (softened)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup very dark cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons flour
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until well blended and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, stir until completely dissolved.
In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder, baking powder and flour. Add dry mixture to butter mixture. Stir with a spoon until the dry ingredients are completely combined. Shape into a flat disc or rectangle, cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to firm up.
Dust your work surface with flour (or if using cocoa powder, sift a little through a sieve to coat the work surface). Roll out cookie dough to ¼ inch thick and cut out with a human-shaped cookie cutter.
Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°F. Refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes and draw the skeleton pattern with the melted white chocolate.
Makes about 1 dozen 3-inch cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature, or freeze cookies for up to 3 months before decorating. Defrost them completely on the counter before decorating.