With the Treat or Treat Day around the corner, these Halloween Shortbread Cat Cookies would be a perfect treat.
Animal Issue
I was planning to share another “animal issue” in this post (Well, you might be thinking that Canada is a dangerous country where you can have an “animal issue” on every corner, right? That’s not true. Btw, on Friday I saw a fox first time ever. It truly looked cute!). But don’t you worry – no coyotes are involved THIS time.
Then I decided if I include the story in this post, it would be the way too long. I believe you don’t have much time these days (e.x. cause you might be eating some Halloween treats).
As I mentioned in my other Halloween recipe, I’m horrible at curving. Also, I’m not a huge fan of glazed and decorated cookies (and even colorful sprinkles! Yes, I might be an oddball in your eyes). I prefer the simple look and excellent taste.
Halloween Shortbread Cat Cookies
But when I saw the idea of cat-shaped cookies on the Internet, my heart melted. Although my work is far from neat and perfect, I think the cats turned out quite cute. But trust me – I did struggle a lot. First, these cats weren’t supposed to have the eyes, but then I realized a crucial element was missing. Thus, the cats got their green and yellow eyes which weren’t utterly neat either. Plus, I wasn’t sure how to decorate the cats (I was thinking of black dyed powdered sugar paste), but when I saw the black sugar at the bulk store, I didn’t think for a second!
When I bought these Halloween Shortbread Cat Cookies at work a few weeks ago, I send them an e-mail saying something like that “Don’t believe your eyes. Trust my words. These are the cats. Not the cows, not skunks, and not even raccoons. They are the cats. They are just heading to a Halloween party, and everyone deserves to be something else one night a year.”
Last Friday I didn’t bring in any cookies. Instead, I e-mailed few pics of these cats saying:
“Do you remember the cats I introduced to you two weeks ago? Although some skeptics didn’t believe me, these are THE CATS.
Indeed, they were the former casts of the musical The Cats, and they kindly agreed to be my models. Btw, being former stars, their honorarium isn’t that humble.
Also, they have an extended list of what “to do” and “not to do”, and you must comply with it (F.x., no humans wearing black suits around 50 meters and crossing their way. Yes, they do have superstitions too!)
So Ben M & THE CATS present. Please enjoy”
That’s actually a good piece of advice. Let me wrap this up and let you enjoy more pictures.
Happy Halloween!
Cat or Trick Treat or Trick!
Halloween Shortbread Cat Cookies
Notes
havocinthekitchen.com
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup soften butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup pastry flour
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a little of milk if necessary
- pinch of salt
To Decorate
- about 2/3 cup of confection's sugar
- few drops of water or milk
- food coloring, optional
- colored sugar or sprinkles
Instructions
- In a bowl, cream the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
- Stir in the flour, starch, and salt.
- Form dough. If it is a little dry, add a little (1/2 or about teaspoon) of milk. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Cover baking sheets with parchment. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough and cut cookies. Transfer them onto the baking sheets and bake for about 9-12 minutes. They should remain pale. If your oven is very strong, it's better to decrease the temperature.
- Remove from oven and let completely cool.
- To decorate, prepare the paste by mixing the powdered sugar and a little of water/milk (start with 5-6 drops and until reaching the needed consistency). Add food coloring, if using.
- Spread a little amount of paste (Which is used as glue) over a cookie and then sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles or decorate as desired.
- Let the cookies to completely set (about 2 hours) and then enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
These are indeed fun. (And cute!) :-) ~Valentina
Cat shaped shortbread cookies for Halloween is such a fabulous idea Ben!! I love the one with a black sugar heart in the center..So adorable! I am sure kids would love these!
Thank you, Deepika! Yup, I think those black-hearted turned out the best!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Halloween Shortbread Cat Cookies
Oiiiiii, these shortbread cat cookies are so adorable Ben. These look so perfect for the Halloween — I glad you opted for this cat cookie idea. I must say using black sugar for decoration is wonderful. I should make these with my sweet-toothed little one, she would surely love these. And these pictures are beautiful. Happy Halloween. :)
Thank you, Anu!:)
Happy Halloween, Ben!! These cookies are too cute and just so perfect for today! I’m a huge fan of shortbread cookies, so I could eat a dangerous amount of these! So festive and fun! Cheers, buddy!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Asiago, Garlic & Herb Roasted Red Potatoes [with recipe video]
Your cat shaped cookies look so cute Ben! And shortbread is an absolute favourite of us Scottish people. I’ve never seen the musical cats (although I would love too!) but I think you’ve made a brilliant attempt and making these exactly like those cats! :D
BTW, we have foxes round about my house in Glasgow. In fact the other day when I was walking to work one was practically following me. (Well OK it was trying to cross the road without being run over!) :-)
I love the black cats! They are adorable! And shortbread – Mmmmm. I also love the animal stories, so don’t worry about a long post! (Sorry for the double comment on the last post. Thought it didn’t save:|) but I love this recipe!
Laura recently posted…Roasted Vegetable Medley with Chicken and Feta
Don’t tease us with animals stories! I don’t care if the post is too long, I want to hear what happened! These cookies are totally adorable, and they remind me of the cat you fed sausages (I think it was sausages) awhile back. Shortbread is one of my favorite cookies so I want to eat allllll of these! Except they’re so cute I might not be able to. I’d try though :)
Cats is an amazing musical! Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I have to also state that shortbread cookies are amazing! Cheers to you for even attempting to cut out cuts…I probably would’ve just plopped the dough right onto the cookie sheet and not even tried to make it into a shape. Haha! I seriously love shortbread cookies, and I’m loving the Halloween twist to these cookies, Ben! :-)