Annabel Karmel's Bat & Ghost Cookies for Halloween
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- plus cooling and decorating time
- A little work
- Makes 18
For the biscuits
- 225g plain flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 50g unsalted butter
- 100g dark brown sugar
- 100g golden syrup
- 1 tbsp milk
For the icing
- 8g dried egg white
- 250g icing sugarsifted
- black food colouring
- black and red writing icing
Method
step 1
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and spices.
step 2
Heat the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small pan until dissolved, stirring frequently, then allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir the syrup mixture and the milk into the dry ingredients and form into a dough. Cover with plastic film and chill for 30 minutes
step 3
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4/Fan 160°C. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
step 4
Roll out the dough to about 3mm thick. Cut out Halloween shapes with cookie cutters. Use a straw to make a hole, if you want to string them up as decorations
step 5
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned, and then cool on a wire rack
step 6
For the icing, mix the egg white to a smooth paste with a little warm water according to the packet instructions. Gradually whisk in the sifted icing sugar. Divide the icing into 2 bowls and use the black food colouring to colour 1 bowl of icing black. Spoon the icing onto 1 side of every biscuit– making some white and some black. You may need to thin the icing out a little with water
step 7
Once the icing has hardened, draw on decorative features with the black and red writing icing