Sugar Skull Cookies

Sugar Skull Cookies for the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Ingredients
Makes 2 dozen
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix well

add egg, milk, and vanilla; mix well.

Separate the dough to incorporate different food colourings.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180C (350 degrees F) Line baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut.

Transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between.

Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. It will need to be put back in the fridge to set if it has become too warm.

Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden.

Transfer to wire racks to cool. Once cooled decorate.



Cook's Notes: my cookie cutter worked! yay *runs around happily and is ignored*

the cookie cutter caper

skull cookie cutter

So I was sitting here curled in my favourite chair thinking about Halloweeny things and this little worm of a though crept into my mind....it pestered and pestered.

Me: Halloween soon… and I need to sort out a pumpkin shaped cake for the Boy's birthday

my brain: Nah don't want to do that...

me: must look up icing recipes and find a bunt cake tin to make the cake pumpkin-y.

my brain: Boring

me: I have had a crappy week, I'm tired and I need to do something productive.

my brain: thats no fun.. I know Dia De los Muertos.

me: What?

my brain: the Mexican Day of the Dead

me: I know... what about it.

my brain: cookies!!!!

me: what?

my brain: sugar skull cookies.

me: I don't have a skull shaped cookie cutter.

my brain: the internets

me: *sigh*

google....google....google.....

my brain: that's it that’s perfect!

me: its not available.

my brain: ask our friends... tweet it

goes on twitter.....pleads for skull cookie cutters...

meridianariel *grump* trying to find a nice "skull" cookie cutter to make sugar skull cookies .. gerrrr help?


snowflakeunique @meridianariel www.foosecookiecutters.com/... found these ones.

meridianariel @snowflakeunique lovely but the postage ouch...any uk ones? All I have seen are sets and I only want a skull for Dia Dae los Muertos cookies

snowflakeunique @meridianariel good old lakeland ? http://www.lakeland.co.uk

my brain: lets go shopping in Derby...we need clothes and coffee too.

me: I hate shopping... but it would be nice to get out of the house... coffee is good...and there are books..

my brain: yay.. and cookie cutters....
so off my brain and I trundle to Derby, in search of cookie cutters... FAIL .... the only skull cookie cutter is one in a Halloween mini set from Lakeland, as I already have Halloween cookie cutters (bat, cat, tombstone, ghost) and dont need more. In the mean time I meet up with my friend Ali and have a blubber about being homesick for the states, depressed, and despairing of the state of Halloween around these here parts, I refrain from telling her about my cookie cutter obsession. I shopped for clothes drank rather too many iced lattes.

my brain: no cookie cutters then? *is sad*

me: nope

my brain: we're clever and crafty can't we make one?

...googles on phone with free mall wi-fi while drinking iced latte. Cookie cutter tutorial

me: *snorting with laughter* sharp metal? and stuff from the hardware store.. I'm thinking not.. hmmm I wonder....

my brain: wait... what?

me: what if we got a round cookie cutter and reshaped it?

trundles off to a cook shop and purchases a large round metal cookie cutter.
tweets
meridianariel Have bought a round cookie cutter and am going to bend it into a skull shape! I will win or die trying.

--------------------------dude zombies...go see it NOW!

Then Matt met me at the mall and we went to go see Zombieland and the cookie cutter was forgotten.

Me: OMG Zombies!!! *zombie glee*

Matt: *zombie glee*

My brain: dude zombies rock! *zombie glee*
-------------------------------------------------------------
The next day I sit at my desk and get the pliers out and being to shape and bend the cookie cutter, using my hands, the desk, and the pliers.

My brain: that’s not a skull….it’s a mushroom!

Me: It’s not finished yet!

My brain: just saying like…sheesh.. trying to be helpful and all.


…bend…straighten….twist…fiddle….skull…

My brain: it’s a skull! It’s a skull… It’s ALIVE!!! *mad scientist laughter*

Me: *sighs*

My brain: cookies cookies cookies cookies…

Me: *face palm* it’s not the Day of the Dead yet…

My brain: … cookies?

Me: no

My brain: you suck…

me: whatever...

the end

what? True story it totally happened that way.