As you probably know, Halloween will be upon us next week.
Halloween is a combination of a number of ancient festivals, namely the Celtic festival of Samhain, All Saints Day and the Roman festival of Feralia. Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the end of the lighter half of the year leading into the darker, winter season. It was believed that at this time of the year the boundaries between the world of the living and dead became thin and the dead could cross over causing sickness and havoc with crops. Masks and costumes were worn to disguise a person as an evil spirit in the belief that they would be left alone.
Halloween isn’t widely celebrated in Australia, however it’s becoming more popular if the amount of Halloween items for sale in shops is anything to go by and for this reason I haven’t baked anything for Halloween in the past. I wanted to change that this year, so after purchasing some cute Halloween themed cookie cutters (from the lovely people at Cake Decorating Central) I was inspired to make these chocolate jam cut out cookies using bat and ghost shaped cookie cutters.
Do you usually bake for Halloween? If so, what are your favourite things to bake?
Chocolate Halloween cookies with jam cut out
Ingredients
- 185 g butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 cups of plain flour
- 1/3 cup of good quality cocoa
- 1/2 cup of strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celsius and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and beat until combined before sifting in the flour and cocoa.
- Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured bench and roll out to your desired thickness.
- Using a round cookie cutter cut out the cookies.
- Take half of the cookies cut out and place them on the prepared baking trays. Spread evenly with a layer of jam.
- Take a smaller cookie cutter and cut out the center of the cookie before placing it on top of the prepared bases.
- Bake for 17 to 18 minutes. Place onto a baking wrack to cool.
- You can bake the cut outs for 4 or 5 minutes depending on the size of the cut out.
The number for the cocoa doesn’t show up on my screen–it’s just a box. Can you tell me how much I need?
It’s 1/3 cup of cocoa.
Aww they're so cute! I love them 😀 And yep I always bake and cook for Halloween. it's my favourite season!
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Yay for celebrating Halloween and with cookies too!! We miss out on all the ghoulish fun but, these cookies look awesome! I always plan to do something for Halloween but it never seems to happen… sigh* maybe this year, I'd love to carve a pumpkin and then that would be an excellent excuse to make something pumpkiny… do you think pumpkin scones are scary enough for Halloween? 🙂
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Thanks Trudy 🙂 For your pumpkin scones you could use Halloween shaped cutters and make them in spooky shapes……or maybe sprinkle them with cinnamon through a stencil shaped like a spider, ghost or something. 😀
Ha- Amazingly cute. I don't bake, but all these bloggers have inspired me! Maybe I will bake something!!
Thanks GG 🙂 Halloween baking is definitely fun and gets your creative juices flowing. I've seen some amazing baking out there.
What wonderful looking cookies. I have been trying to find something to use a cookie cutter I was given as a gift and this will be perfect. I love that you have embraced Halloween!! Well done.
Thanks Fiona 😀
I want to bake for Halloween! Even though I have mixed feelings about Australia adopting this celebration, Halloween baking looks like so much fun 🙂 You cookies are awesome, and I agree… the little cutouts beside them look great. I love your photos.
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Oh these are fantastic! I never bake at Halloween but I really would like to, so much fun to be had! Very creative. I wish we celebrated Halloween here in Australia too.
Heidi xo
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Hi Heidi, 😀 Halloween baking is definitely fun. While this was my first time baking anything for Halloween it certainly won't be my last!
Your cut out cookies look amazing! I love the small cut outs alongside the big tart cookies.
Thanks marla 🙂
I love blogging world. Even though we never celebrate nor I have ever witnessed Halloween celebrations but all this goodies being made by talented people like u feels like I know all about it!
This looks scary and bloody 😀
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It's great to see everyone's Halloween creations isn't it? There are some very talented people out there. 🙂
Love the bat cut-outs. Didn' t even realise they made cool cutter in those shapes. Those spiders in the background are awesome. Such a shame we don't celebrate Halloween in Australia *sigh*
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Hi Emma, thanks for your lovely comment 😀 It is a shame we don't really celebrate Halloween much in Australia, but it does seem to be changing, which is good.
As for the cut outs, Cake Decorating Central have a great range of cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes. Check them out. They also do super fast deliveries too!