Cookie Bones Recipes

BIRTHDAY BONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Stir together the flour and baking powder; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and milk. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

MERINGUE BONES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Place mixture in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. , On parchment-lined baking sheets, pipe meringue into a 3-in. log. Pipe two 1-in. balls on opposite sides of each end of the log. Repeat with remaining meringue. Bake at 225° for 1-1/2 hours or until firm. Remove to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

MERINGUE BONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and grease the foil.
• Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until egg whites are foamy. Gradually beat in sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, beating until the sugar dissolves in the meringue before adding more. Continue beating until the meringue is glossy and forms a sharp peak when beaters are lifted straight up out of the bowl; beat in vanilla extract. Spoon the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a small tip.
• Pipe meringue into small bone shapes on the prepared aluminum foil. You must pipe all the shapes at once or the meringue will deflate.
• Place cookie sheets into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. No not open oven door or peek during baking. Turn the oven off and let the meringue bones cool in the oven without opening door for 1 hour. Gently and carefully remove cookies from aluminum to prevent broken bones.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIE BONES

Steps:

• For the Mexican hot chocolate ganache: Put the chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and ancho powder in a medium bowl. Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan and place over medium heat until it just starts to boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth and evenly combined. Refrigerate until cold.
• Beat the ganache with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until thickened and lighter in color. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/4-inch round tip. Fill the prepared pastry with the whipped ganache. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Add the butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour, pecans and salt and mix until the dough just comes together.
• Take about a ping pong ball size piece of dough. Form it around a boba straw to make about a 4-inch-long tube (form it close to one end so that it is easier to remove from the straw later). Then, use your fingers to slightly scrunch the dough down on either end, rounding it and forming it into the shape of a dog bone. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Arrange the cookies (on the straws) on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies, rotating the pans halfway through, until they just begin to turn golden brown around the edges and are just set, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan a few minutes. Use a kitchen towel to hold the straws on one end and carefully push the cookies off the straws.
• Place the tip of the pastry bag just inside the hole on one end of a cookie and pipe the ganache so that it fills it about halfway. Fill the rest of the cookie from the other side. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

CHOCOLATE-CINNAMON SKELETON COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Divide the dough in half; pat each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
• Roll out each dough disk between 2 sheets of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the dough into shapes using a 4 1/2-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared pans. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. (If the dough is too soft, freeze 10 minutes before cutting.) Refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are set but still soft, 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Make the icing: Beat the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and water in a bowl with a mixer on high speed until smooth and thick. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner. Pipe skulls and bones onto the cookies. Let set 30 minutes.
• To decorate the cookies, first make the outline of the skull, eyes, nose, mouth and bones. Then thin some icing with a little water and pipe into the outline of the skull; use a toothpick to help.

PEANUT BUTTER DOG BONE TREATS

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Spray a heavy baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray or line with a silicon baking mat. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats and baking powder. Stir in the broth and peanut butter until the mixture forms a crumbly dough. Press the dough together to form a ball.
• On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough for 30 seconds until smooth. Roll out the dough into a 10-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Using a bone-shape cookie cutter, cut out bones and place on the prepared baking sheet (any scraps of dough can be formed into a ball and re-rolled). Sprinkle with the Parmesan.
• Bake until light golden, 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

BRITTLE BONE COOKIES

Steps:

• In medium bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. On low speed, gradually beat in flour until blended. Shape dough into flattened round. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness (dough will be soft). Working quickly, cut with 3-inch bone-shaped cookie cutter. On cookie sheets, place cutouts about 1 inch apart.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are barely golden. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• In small bowl, mix remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, remaining 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and the milk until smooth. Dip tops of cookies in glaze, letting excess drip off. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Place on cooling rack to harden.

CHOCOLATE SKELETON COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. gingerbread boy cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheets. , Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For icing, in a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Cut a small hole in the corner of a resealable plastic bag; fill with icing. Pipe skeleton bones on cookies.

BONEYARD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to sugar mixture and mix well. , Shape dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. bone-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. , On the bottoms of half the cookies, spread 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon jam down the center; top with remaining cookies. , In a microwave, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth., Dip each cookie in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

OSSI DI MARTI (BONES OF THE DEAD COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, confectioners' sugar, baking powder, and ground cloves.
• Beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 5 more minutes.
• Roll dough into 1/2 inch balls and place firmly on a well greased cookie sheet.
• Cover cookies with a tea towel and let stand over night. Cookies will rise and spread.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bake cookies for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.