Skull cookies, a simple and delicious idea to make for the most monstrous night of the year. Making them is very easy. They are special, crumbly, and delicious cookies, made without any particular mold, just with a simple cookie cutter. Surely, it has happened to you too to have everything in the kitchen and not find that small tool you couldn’t do without. To shape the cookies, you will need the handle of a wooden spoon and a toothpick. Making them with the little ones at home will be really fun, and you can also flavor them with lemon zest or cinnamon. For this recipe, I remained faithful to vanillin, which I love very much. And now, are you ready for trick or treat? Let’s go to the kitchen together, because these skull cookies will be ready in a click!

If you are interested in other Halloween sweet recipes, also read:

Difficulty: Very Easy
Cost: Very Cheap
Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 9 Pieces
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Halloween

310.94 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 310.94 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 35.93 (g) of which sugars 14.84 (g)
Proteins 5.11 (g)
Fat 17.64 (g) of which saturated 7.83 (g)of which unsaturated 8.72 (g)
Fibers 0.95 (g)
Sodium 9.38 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 110 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1.7 oz eggs
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 packet vanillin
pine nuts (to taste)

Tools

Bowl
Cutting Board
Knife
Cookie Cutter
Rolling Pin
Baking Tray
Parchment Paper

Steps

First, prepare the shortcrust pastry. Work the room temperature butter with the sugar in a bowl using a spoon. As soon as the two ingredients are combined, add the egg and vanillin. You can replace the latter with lemon zest, cinnamon, or another spice of your choice. Keep mixing with the spoon and then incorporate the flour and baking powder.
Then knead first with the spoon, and once the flour has absorbed the liquid part, continue kneading with your hands until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. The obtained dough will be quite soft but should be dry and not sticky to the hands. It is very important to work the shortcrust as little as possible to avoid the butter getting too warm. Flatten the shortcrust dough with your hands and wrap it in cling film. Then let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The rest in the fridge is essential for obtaining a workable shortcrust consistency.
After the resting time, take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured board, to a thickness of 0.4 inches. Using a cookie cutter with a diameter of 2.8 inches, cut out discs. With two fingers, press the sides of the disc to create the skull shape. Then, make the eye sockets using the handle of a wooden spoon.
Use a toothpick to draw two lines that will form the nasal cavities and finally place the pine nuts next to each other to create the teeth. Now place the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Put the tray with the cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes. This way, they will maintain their shape during baking.
Bake in a preheated convection oven at 347°F for 20 minutes, or until golden on the surface. Once baked, take them out and let them cool before enjoying them for trick or treat.