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Halloween Marble Cut-Out Cookies 

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5 from 1 review

The child in the adult me still loves cut-out cookies for any holiday, and at Halloween, cut-out cookies are a must in this home. What I love about these cookies is that the marbling pattern removes the need for any frosting, but if you feel you must, a drizzle of chocolate is all that’s needed.

  • Yield: 30 cookies

Ingredients

4 oz/110 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup/150 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¾ cups/280 g all-purpose flour

1 large egg

2 Tbsp milk

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (70% cacao)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Add the butter, sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat over medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl using a bowl scraper. Add the egg and beat until pale yellow and fluffy, 1 to 1 ½ minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl using a bowl scraper. Add the flour and whisk over low speed until there are no visible dry flecks of flour, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp of milk and mix over low speed until the mixture resembles a dough. The dough will be pale yellow in color.
  • Divide the dough in half by weight. Remove one-half of the dough and keep aside. Add the cocoa powder and one tablespoon of milk and mix over low speed until the dough turns completely chocolate brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Take a sheet of parchment paper and lay it on a cool surface like a stone kitchen counter. Break small pieces of the cocoa-flavored dough and place them randomly over the parchment paper, leaving 1 in to 2 in/2.5 cm to 5 cm gaps in between. Take the pale yellow vanilla-flavored dough, break it into small pieces, and place them in the gaps between the pieces of cocoa dough. Lift the parchment paper from the longer side and roll the pieces of dough to form a log. Squeeze the paper tightly when shaping the log; this will get rid of any gaps and bring the pieces of dough together. Place the second sheet of parchment paper over the dough and roll the dough out into a rough 1/8 in/4 mm thick sheet. The dough will take on a marbled appearance with yellow and chocolate brown streaks. Transfer the dough to the freezer for 10 minutes if it gets too soft to handle.
  • Using cookie cutters, press and cut out the dough into desired shapes and carefully place them on the lined baking sheets, about ½ in/12 mm apart. If the dough turns too soft, freeze them for 10 minutes. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until they turn golden brown on the edges, rotating the baking sheets halfway through during cooking. Transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before storing them.
  • Press the leftover cookie dough scraps together, roll it out again into 1/8 in/4 mm thick sheet, repeat with the cookie cutters, and bake.
  • These cookies will stay good for up to 1 week if stored in an airtight container.

Notes

  • There are many ways to create a marbled appearance. This method of splitting the dough into pieces and then bringing them together is the easiest.
  • Try to get as many cookies as possible out of the dough in the first two rounds. The more the leftover cookie dough scraps are brought together, the greater the loss in marbling. I found that the distinct marbling pattern is lost after the first two rounds. See the photos of the two baking sheets to see how the marbling changes after each round.
  • The recipe yields approximately 30 cookies; however, that number will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

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