Gravestone Cookies
by Stella Zedman
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These tasty tombstones are a quick and easy way to put the spirit in your next Halloween bash. Simply whip up this basic cookie recipe and have your little ones decorate them with icing or emboss edible epitaphs with a cookie stamp.
Ingredients
- 2-1/4 cups (550 mL) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (250 mL) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (250 mL) butter, melted
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla
Cooking Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together the flour and the powdered sugar. Add the melted butter, beaten egg and vanilla and beat, using an electric mixer, until the dough is smooth. It will be very soft — this is normal. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Meanwhile, make a template out of cardboard in the shape of a gravestone 2 x 2-1/2 inches. Also, for an extremely realistic gravestone effect, make a cookie stamp from a raw potato (instructions follow recipe).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet (or two) with parchment paper and grease the paper lightly.
- On a floured surface, roll one half of the chilled cookie dough out to about 1/8-inch (1/3 cm) thickness. Cut gravestone shapes using your template and place on the prepared cookie sheet. If you're using a cookie stamp, press it into the dough firmly enough to leave an imprint, but be careful not to tear the dough.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are set. Remove from cookie sheets and let cool on a rack.
Servings: Makes 2-1/2 to 3 dozen.
Potato cookie stamp
Cut a small raw potato in half crosswise. Using a pen or marker, sketch out the design of your stamp. Remember — everything will be reversed, so if you're using letters (like R.I.P., for instance) make sure you sketch them out backwards so that they'll come out the right way.
With a very sharp knife, cut around the letters or picture — leaving the part you want to show raised, the rest cut away and discarded. You may have to practice on a couple of potatoes until you get the hang of it – fortunately potatoes are cheap. While this is a great effect for gravestone cookies, you can also do this with other holiday designs at other times of the year.
Cut a small raw potato in half crosswise. Using a pen or marker, sketch out the design of your stamp. Remember — everything will be reversed, so if you're using letters (like R.I.P., for instance) make sure you sketch them out backwards so that they'll come out the right way.
With a very sharp knife, cut around the letters or picture — leaving the part you want to show raised, the rest cut away and discarded. You may have to practice on a couple of potatoes until you get the hang of it – fortunately potatoes are cheap. While this is a great effect for gravestone cookies, you can also do this with other holiday designs at other times of the year.
