Blood Splatter Cookies with a delicious shortbread base and sugar paste topping, some freaking-good Halloween treats. They are super easy to make with kids, and gone from the plate in seconds.
Since Count Dracula decided to change his lifestyle and swap pure blood for some bloody hot chocolate, he realised that he also needed some nibbles. And what a better sweet treat than some cookies to cheer one's life up. Not some boring old cookies, as old habits die hard, but blood splatter cookies to go down a treat.
A good choice for sure. I for one loved these cookies, and while I don't drink blood, I do like savouring cookies with a hot cup of tea. Ah, isn't life good?! Sure, the supermarkets like spoiling us with all sorts of cheap (taste too) Halloween treats, but making them from scratch is so much better.
Still a lot of sugar, but at least it's only pure sugar, and no other nastiness. And the taste of vanilla is so lovely, you can't really compare it to some plastic-tasting ready-made icing. Plus, the Halloween cookies are ready in no time, and no master chef skills needed either.
Ingredients needed
- butter - salted or unsalted
- sugar - either caster or granulated sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract
- plain flour
- icing sugar - confectioner's sugar
- milk - full fat milk is the best
- red food colouring - I prefer paste
Step-by-step photos and instructions
These cookies are super easy to make, and they keep well for at least 3-4 days, that is if they last around so long. The base is soft, buttery and rich, and the topping has a delicate vanilla flavour. Start by making the cookie base first, as they need to cool down before adding the icing.
The cookie base
- cream together the butter and sugar, add the egg, and mix to get a smooth paste
- add the flour and vanilla extract, and knead to get a smooth dough
- cover in clingfilm, and refrigerate for 30 minutes
- roll the dough with a rolling pin, and cut out circles using a cookie cutter or a glass
- arrange the circles on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, and refrigerate again for 10 minutes
- preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit)
- bake the cookies for 12 minutes until the edges are slightly brown - they will feel soft at this stage, but the cookies will firm up when they cool down.
- cool down completely
The sugar paste
Once the cookies have cooled down completely and firmed up, we can make the sugar paste. DO NOT ADD THE FOOD COLOURING FROM THE BEGINNING, this will be added once the paste is formed and divided.
- sift the icing sugar, add the milk, vanilla extract and mix well to get a smooth runny paste
- divide the mixture between 2 small bowls
- add the red food colouring to one bowl only and mix well to get a uniform colour
- add the white paste to an piping bag, and spread it over the cookies, then use a teaspoon to splatter the red paste over
- leave the paste to firm up at room temperature before serving
Expert tips
These sugar cookies are the easiest to make. The base is firm enough not to crumble easily, and the paste is very easy to spread, and it sets nicely. You can get as creative as you wish with these cookies, and decorate them the way you like them for any celebration.
Use different cookie cutters and you get whatever shape and design you want, I used the base for my Christmas Iced Sugar Cookies and made some festive treats. You can also decorate them for Easter, Valentine's Day and any other celebration. As long as you have the base and icing, the sky is the limit when it comes to decorating.
Do add the icing as soon as you make it, as it sets pretty quick and they it's not easy to spread. If you don't have a piping bag, just use a spoon, it's not a big deal.
And there you have, some nice Halloween treats to bake with your kids - they do love getting messing, and this recipe is just what you need to keep them busy.
If you’ve liked this recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM , YOUTUBE, TIK TOK , FLIPBOARD and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Blood Splatter Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 100 g butter
- 100 g sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 g plain flour
For the red sugar paste
- 200 g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon red food colouring (I used paste)
Instructions
- To make the base, cream the butter and sugar together, add the egg and mix well to incorporate.
- Add the vanilla extract and sugar, and knead to form a dough.
- Cover the dough in clingfilm, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough, and use a round cookie cutter or a glass to cut out rounds - I cut out 15, but you can get more or less depending on the size of the cutter.
- Arrange the circles on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper and refrigerate again for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes until the edges are slightly light brown and still a bit soft.
- Leave to cool completely to firm up.
- To make the sugar paste, sift the icing sugar, add the milk and vanilla extract, and mix to get a smooth paste.
- Divide it between 2 bowls, one will stay white, the other half will have the red food colouring added to it to create a red paste.
- Add the white paste to a piping bag, and decorate each cookie, then use a teaspoon to splatter the red paste over.
Notes
- Click on the US Customary link to see the measurements displayed in cups and ounces.
- The servings can be adjusted by clicking the number next to Servings.
- These sugar cookies are the easiest to make. The base is firm enough not to crumble easily, and the paste is very easy to spread, and it sets nicely. You can get as creative as you wish with these cookies, and decorate them the way you like them for any celebration.
- Use different cookie cutters and you get whatever shape and design you want, I used the base for my Christmas Iced Sugar Cookies and made some festive treats.
- You can also decorate them for Easter, Valentine's Day and any other celebration. As long as you have the base and icing, the sky is the limit when it comes to decorating.
Nutrition
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Leave a Reply