With just a few weeks to go until Halloween, these fun witch brew cookies are on their way to my goddaughter Mo and her little sister Margo, whose birthday also happens to fall on Halloween. Does this cookie look like something from a witch’s cauldron? I certainly hope so.
A word about spiral cookies: it’s very important to press your layers together firmly as you roll your dough log to avoid the small gaps you can see in the cookie here. This dough is very soft when rolled out, so waxed paper helps in handling a great deal. I found the original recipe for these over at Lady Behind the Curtain and chose not to roll the dough log in sprinkles before I sliced them, but that would definitely add an extra spooky kick (and some nice crunch) to these treats.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 6 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups butter, cut into cubes and softened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Leaf green, lemon yellow, violet, and black gel food coloring
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour with the baking powder, salt, powdered sugar, and sugar. Mix to combine.
Add butter a few cubes at a time, mixing until the texture has the consistency of sand.
Add the vanilla and mix just until a ball forms.
Divide dough into thirds; dough will be very soft.
Add food coloring and 2 tablespoons of flour to each ball, kneading with your hands to combine until you have even coloring. For the electric green color, use leaf green and lemon yellow.
Begin with the green ball; tape a sheet of waxed paper to your counter top and roll the dough ball between it and another sheet of waxed paper. Set aside; repeat this process with the black and violet layers.
Place the green layer, still on its waxed paper, on your counter top and remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Carefully remove the black and violet layers from their waxed paper and place them on top of the green layer.
Roll your layers into a log, pressing firmly as you go and using the bottom layer of waxed paper to help with rolling.
Wrap the log tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil or parchment.
Remove dough log from the refrigerator and slice into 1/4 inch cookies.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, until cookies are no longer shiny on top.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on cookie sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 