One-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater (cookies)

Please tell me you know the song....Purple People Eater?  Here's a link if you don't (or even if you do).

I don't know if a bunch of songs like these were all on the same KTel album in the 70's, but Purple People Eater, Monster Mash and Witch Doctor were the songs that played at every Halloween party when I was a kid.  Good stuff.

Now, my Purple People Eaters kind of look like they are wearing party hats...I assure you that is a horn.  It just *doubles* as a party hat.  Where do you think he finds all of those people to eat? ;)

To make you One-eyed, One-horned Flying Purple People Eater cookies, you will need:

• cookies: I used a circle and attached wings on the sides and a triangle on top
• royal icing, tinted with AmeriColor Regal Purple, Egg Yellow, Electric Green, Bright White and Super Black
• disposable piping bags
• tips: #2, #12, #5, #1
• squeeze bottles (2)

 

First, here's a peek at how to put the cookie together.  I used a template for the wings and just "winged it" (ha!) for the horn. 

Use a #2 tip to outline the monster in purple.

Use another #2 tip to outline the wings in egg yellow.

Use a #2 tip to outline the horn.  Use a back and forth motion to fill in the horn outline.

Thin the purple and yellow icings (reserve a bit for later) with water, a little at a time, until it is the consistency of thick syrup.  Cover with a damp dishtowel and let sit several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop any large air bubbles that have formed. Transfer to squeeze bottles.

 

Fill (flood) the monster head/body with purple.  Use a toothpick to guide to edges and pop and large air bubbles that have formed.

Flood the wings.

Switch the tip on the purple icing bag to a #1 and add a little striped detail to the horn.

Let the cookies sit for at least one hour.

(So, here's where it got dark and I lost my natural light for pictures.  Boo.)
Use a #12 tip to pipe an eye in white.  Immediately, pipe the pupil in black on top of the white using a #5 tip.

Switch the tips to #1's and add a mouth and teeth. (Ya gotta have teeth to eat people.)

Use a #2 tip to pipe a little detail on the wings in yellow.

There you have it...

One-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater cookies!  

{The song is stuck in your head now, isn't it?  Welcome to my world.}

Lady, er, LADIES' Fingers

Halloween is in one week.


In honor of that fact, I give you the finger.

Well, fingerS.  Creepy lady fingers.

I've had these on my to-make list for a few years now.  They come from Martha....the Queen of Halloween.  I think I could happily spend a year making projects from Martha's Halloween issues and books.



I adapted the original recipe and technique just a bit based on the comments from Martha's website.  While the fingers did "fluff up" a bit, I still think you can tell they are fingers.  The original recipe is here.

Ladies' Fingers

red gel paste food coloring

30+ blanched, slivered (but not chopped) almonds

2 eggs

1/4 tsp pure vanilla

1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick), cold

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3 TBSP granulated sugar

pinch of coarse salt

1 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

 

Place the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Mix together a couple of drops of food coloring with a couple of drops of water.  Using a small paintbrush, color one side of each almond. Set aside to dry.


"Painting" the fingernails is a great project for kids.


Use a toothpick to hold the almond in place or it will scoot across the cookie sheet.


{Please excuse all of the pictures of kiddo...I can't help myself.  I love pictures of those hands working.  Trust me...there are 14 more on my computer that you aren't seeing here.} 

Separate 1 egg. Place the white in one bowl and set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk together yolk, remaining egg, and vanilla. Set aside.

Cut the butter into chunks and combine with confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until well combined.

Add egg yolk mixture, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour in two additions;  mix on low speed just until incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment.

Divide the dough in half. Work with one piece at a time, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic wrap and chilled. Divide the first half into 15 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece back and forth into finger shapes, 3 to 4 inches long. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. Score each knuckle lightly with a small knife.

Place the cookies on the cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.


Lightly beat the egg white with a fork.  Remove the cookies from the freezer and immediately brush lightly with egg white. Position almond nails; gently push into dough to attach.


Bake until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Creepy Lady Fingers...MWAHAHAHAHA! <---that's my best sinister online laugh.

Please Pass the Nair . . .

...do they even make Nair anymore?  I now have the "we wear short-shorts" jingle stuck in my head...and I think I'm dating myself with that admission.

Hairy-Legged Spider Cookies.


I shared the tutorial for these over at TidyMom last year and thought I'd show them to you here this year.  

My sister cut this idea out of Family Circle magazine for me a few years ago. I love having friends and family on the lookout for cute cookie ideas!  Thank you, Molly!  These are fun!


I'm pretty sure these are girl spiders and their husbands are on a business trip.  Not that I speak from personal experience, it just seems like that might be a time when a girl would skip a day shaving her legs.

{Again, totally hypothetical example.}

To make them, you'll need:

• sugar cookies in a spider shape (I bought my cutter from Sweet Baking Supply, here)
• royal icing in brown and white (I used AmeriColor Chocolate Brown mixed with Super Black for the brown and Bright White for the white.)
• decorating tips in #2, #1 and #7
• disposable piping bags
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• chocolate jimmies

First, using a #2 tip and brown royal icing, pipe the outline of the spider body.


Change the tip on the piping bag to a #7 tip (or another larger round tip) and pipe on the spider legs.

Add water to the remaining brown icing, stirring in a bit at a time, until the icing is the consistency of thick syrup.  Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit several minutes.

Uncover the icing and stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop the bubbles that have formed on top.


Transfer to a squeeze bottle and fill in the outline.  Use a toothpick to guide around edges.

Let the cookies sit for 1 hour.


Using a #1 or #2 tip, pipe the spider's eyes in white.

Let the cookies dry overnight.

The next day, mix equal parts of meringue powder and water together.  Set up a "spider leg station" like this:

I use a coffee filter as a funnel to reuse sprinkles/jimmies that have fallen off the cookies.

Time to add the hairy legs!

With a small paintbrush, paint on the meringue powder mixture where you want the sprinkles to stick.  Sprinkle on the chocolate jimmies.

That's it....hairy-legged spiders, ready for Halloween!


{{{This weekend the photography for the book starts...can I tell you how nervous and excited I am?  VERY.  I have a couple fantabulous guest posters lined up for next week.  Just you wait...you are going to love them! }}}

HOLIDAY IDEAS

Holiday Ideas from Country Living. EHJOY!

IF YOU MISSED...

Design In Manhattan ~ Nina Seirafi and Timothy Archambault

Orlando Dia-Azcuy ~ Design in Manhattan

Barry Dixon and Daniel Lee ~ Politically Correct Design

Raquel Corvino ~ Floral Design

Banana Creme Pie with Whole Grain Chocolate Crust

A Great Giveaway from Barn Light Electric Online

At Home in Vermont

The Long Awaited House of Windsor by Veranda Magazine

William Frawley ~ Design in SoHo

See you soon,

Teresa

xoxo

BOO!

Country Living October 2011

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Friends, I hope that you have  a HAPPY HALLOWEEN, and remember...

!!!

See you soon,

Teresa

xoxo

Halloween cookies so easy, it's scary

{Are you scared, yet?!?}

OK....these have to be the simplest cookies EVER!  You need 3 things:

• cookies  (I used Alphabet cookie cutters, like these)
• AmeriColor Super Black Gel Food Coloring
• Disco Dust

Outline and fill the cookies with black royal icing.   While the icing is wet, sprinkle on the Disco Dust.

THAT'S IT!!!

Disco Dust is like bling for cookies.  I can't even describe how sparkly and pretty it is.  It captures the light like nothing I've ever seen.  I hope these pictures do it justice:

I bought my Disco Dust from Amazon and if you are using Swagbucks, it's a great way to try it for free.  Sweet Baking Supply also sells it and has it in a huge variety of colors!  (I used the one called "Rainbow.")

And since it's almost Halloween, let me share with you the SCARY thing about Disco Dust....it gets EVERYWHERE!!!  If you have a toddler, I'd definitely keep it out of reach.  I made these cookies a few days ago and and still seeing sparkles on my table, my floor, my FACE.  You've been warned! ;)

Halloween Cookie Ideas . . .

If I were a good blogger, like say, Amanda from i am baker, I would already have new Halloween cookies ideas posted for you at the beginning of October.  (Check out her boo-tiful cake!)

You can see where this is going, right?  I'm a bad blogger.  Bad, bad blogger!  You'll see some new Halloween cookies, oh, around October 30th ;). {That is *hopefully* a joke.}

In the meantime, how about a few Halloween blasts from the past...

1. Spiderweb cookies: written & visual tutorials
2. Friendly Frankensteins
3. Creepy Coffin cookies
4. Sparkly Candy Corn cookies (with orange-tinted dough!)

What cookies are YOU planning to make this season?

Last-Minute Candy Corn Cookies

I got Boo'd, y'all!

Does your neighborhood play this game? It's kind of like Secret Santa. Someone leaves a Halloween happy on your porch, you leave one for someone else, and so on.

Well, I was so excited to get Boo'd for the very first time!!! Someone likes me! ;) Yay!



Now, what to do for my BOO? Immediately, I thought of these Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies from Everyday Food (October 2004).

They are really simple and if you have candy corns, you probably have all the other ingredients on hand, too. If you need a quick Halloween treat, these are perfect.

The cookies are addicting! I'm not a huge fan of candy corn (unless mixed with peanuts), but in these cookies, they just add a perfect amount of chewiness. I promise, eat one and you'll go back for another.

Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies
{adapted from Everyday Food}

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 c all-purpose flour
  
• 1/4 c dutch-process cocoa (or regular unsweetened cocoa)
  
• About 36 candy corns

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment.

Beat/stir the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in the egg yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour & cocoa, and mix until a dough forms.

Scoop out level teaspoons (a measuring teaspoon, not a cereal teaspoon) of dough, and place balls on baking sheets, 2 inches apart. (It looks like too little dough for each cookie, but it works.) Roll into balls.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes.

{While these are baking, start going through the bag of candy corn to find 36 good ones. You'll want to work quickly when they come out of the oven and it is very frustrating to keep grabbing broken candy corns. Trust me on this.}

Remove from oven; gently press a candy corn into center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). The candy corns will stick once the cookies heat them up..they seem like they will fall off at first, don't worry.

Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make 32-36 cookies.



Tomorrow (the 31st) is Flavor-of-the-Month...Pumpkin!!!

Related posts:

• iced candy corn cookies
• 1-2-3-4 peanut butter cookies

Boo!