Spooky Bug Cookies

I had big plans for Halloween cookies, they fell through, you know time issues and all.  If you are like me and are crunched for time but want a quick Halloween cookie to bring to a party or to share with your family and friends then boy oh boy do I have the cookie for you!

This is what you will need....

3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour

Toy bugs for stamping
Food coloring (optional)
Paintbrush (optional)

See all that butter, you know these are going to be good!

Eventually you will need to preheat the oven to 350 but these bad guys will need to go into the freezer for a while so don't heat your oven quite yet.

Cream the butter and sugar together and slowly mix in the flour.  Stop adding the flour once the mixture is a bit crumbly   If you find your mixture isn't holding together add just a bit more butter.

If you want colored cookies add some food coloring to the mixture and kneed it together.  I used Ameracolor super black for mine.

Once you have your cookies all mixed up it is time for the fun to start.

Pinch off a generous tablespoon of dough from your main mixture and role into a ball then flatten out by hand to about 1/4 inch thick.  

Next dust your creepy crawlies in flour and stamp into your cookie.  I used a rolling method where I applied pressure to the right of the bug and then slowly rolled it to the left.  that way you get a fairly even indentation in your cookies and don't have to worry about making it too thin.  

Alliteratively you can paint your bugs with watered down food coloring and stamp them into a lighter colored dough.  Both ways turn out equally as spooky.  

Once all your cookies are stamped place them in the freezer for a good hour or more.  Freezing the cookies helps keep them from spreading and keeps the indentations more visible in the cookies.  While the cookies are in the freezer heat your oven to 350. 

Bake cookies for 15-20 min, keep an eye on them the edges will start to turn golden brown when they are done.  Remove and transfer to a cooking rack right away. 

If you want to take pictures of your cookies, remember to do it before you leave for the party, don't do it as you are running out the door or you end up with lame fuzzy pictures like this.  

Hope you enjoy and that you all have a spooktacular Halloween!