OUIJA COOKIES & DIVINATION CHIC: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, my spooky party people.

The day has at last arrived, so clearly that means we had to do some supremely spooky baking to go along with it!

This time starring: ouija planchettes & crystal balls

Goth sugar cookies

You know when you’re obsessed with something, but would never actually do it? That’s how I feel about ouija boards. Obviously it’s not in a ‘wears lululemon every day yet never sets foot in a gym’ kind of way. More just like loving the look and all the old-world vibes, yet knowing it’s always best to simply NOT MESS WITH THE REALM.

With it being the end of October we’re still plowing through the 31 for 31 horror movie marathon. Which means hours of watching naive casts of characters make the absolute WORST decisions possible – including haphazardly messing with ouija boards. 

((looking at you, showboating psychic Brock Davies))

But that aside, have you ever checked them out on Etsy?? Seriously, some of them are outright works of art. And because of that, I am all about having one as decor in the house! Especially considering the rich and crazy history of spirit boards in general, it always makes for a great conversation piece. But, whatever you do…

Hide. That. Planchette. 

Because when your friends get drunk at 2AM on a Saturday and decide it’d be a ~super cool~ and ~~hilarious~~ thing to play with for the ‘Gram – you’re going to regret it. The realm doesn’t mess around (!!!)

So with all of that said, we wanted to honor the ouija with a kitschy twist. Which made cookies seem the perfect answer! And since we’re rolling with the theme of divination tools that some people swear by, whereas others laugh in the face of, crystal balls felt like a totally worthy (& uber chic) pairing, too.

Check it out!

We used our same basic, no-spread sugar cookie recipe from a few weeks back…

Only this time, with slightly more jazzed up icing.

Ouija cookies
Crystal ball cookies
spooky cute sugar cookies

Sorry trick-or-treaters, you won’t be getting any of these gems tonight.

But to everyone nonetheless, Happy Halloween!!

xxAA

SPOOKY-SWEET BAT SUGAR COOKIES

OCTOBER HAS LANDED – in case you hadn’t heard.

Meaning it’s time for fuzzy blankets, scary movies and the two official food groups of fall: soup and cookies! (though not always in that order)

But if there’s anything I’ve learned from cookie baking so far, it’s that a stand mixer is not only chic but a total game-changer…and our oven is utter trash.

TRASH, I SAY

I know there’s plenty of you guys out there that still rent, too. Which is fine and all – except when you get stuck with a 30-year-old oven. And I’m NOT talking about the type that’s so well made it lasts forever.

Alas, this snuggly baking season I knew something had to be done. We’ve had enough of toying with temperature and guessing how much extra time to tack onto recipes. So in true Alton Brown fashion, we finally rigged up a probe thermometer to take charge of the heat before us.

And luckily, it worked! So say hello to fall and the fun Halloween-themed recipes that come along with it. Starting with some ultra glam, amazingly cute, bat-shaped sugar cookies!

Let’s be real, bats are the true self-care icons. Avoiding daylight and hugging themselves as they sleep – I mean, talk about serious #goals. So to kick off this year’s festivities, we’re embracing that spooky sentiment AND exploring a simpler alternative to those expertly iced cookies you see all over Instagram.

Which mark my words, we’re totally working up to. But in the meantime, just making the most of sanding sugar and micro-sprinkles that still can elevate the aesthetic – no Amber Spiegel skills required.

Shall we?

// THE COOKIES //

++ Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.

++ Throw the softened butter and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer with its paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes until pale, light and super fluffy (all of the air will make for incredibly soft, pillowy cookies).

++ Add the beaten egg/milk and vanilla extract to the butter/sugar and mix for another minute on medium-high.

++ Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on a slow speed JUST until combined into a smooth dough (you do NOT want to over-mix here – unless you love tough cookies and hate fun).

++ Throw down a piece of lightly floured parchment paper and spoon half of the dough onto it. Form it into a ball and ((g e n t l y)) roll it out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Set aside.

++ Do the same thing with the other half of dough, sandwich a piece of plastic between the two, wrap it all in plastic and stick into the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 to 2 hours (& up to two days, so I’m told).

++ Once you’re ready to bake it up, preheat your oven to 350℉ and remove the two sheets of dough from the fridge.

++ Line some room-temp baking sheets with more parchment paper (time to buy stock in Reynolds?) and begin cutting your bats. If the dough sticks to the cutter, ~~carefully~~ push the shape onto the baking sheet. If it stays on the parchment paper, use a spatula to transfer it to the sheet.

++ Make sure the cookies are placed an inch or two from one another (even though they won’t spread) and bake each sheet one at a time for 9 to 11 minutes until the bats start to lightly brown around the edges (seriously, it’s WAY better to under-bake than over-bake them).

++ Remove sheet from the oven and throw in the next round. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack for the ~full~ cool ahead of icing.

// THE ICING // 

PSA in advance: consistency is EVERYTHING

++ Add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and water to a medium mixing bowl and whisk by hand for about 5 minutes. (NOTE: plenty of people use a mixer for this. I personally like to do it by hand – not only for the workout – but because it gives you way more control over the sometimes-tricky consistency.)

++ Test the consistency of your icing, which when lifted up should drizzle back down and smooth out within 10 seconds. If too thick, add a touch (and I mean t o u c h) more water. If too thin, add some additional sugar. 

++ Load the icing into a squeeze bottle or piping bag and ice the completely cooled cookies all over.

++ Figure out your color combos of sanding sugar and sprinkle accordingly while the icing is still wet. 

++ Let dry & ENJOY!

Consider this the first of many more spooky sweets to come. Until then…

xxAA