Haunted Cookie Mansion Recipes

HAUNTED-HOUSE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in whole egg, yolk, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in three additions. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until cold and firm, about 2 hours (or up to 1 day).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator, and let stand until room temperature. Lightly dust two large sheets of parchment with cocoa powder, and roll out disk of dough between sheets to a 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer to a baking sheet, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove top parchment sheet, and place haunted-house template on dough. Using a craft knife, cut out house. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough and templates.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.
• Decorate the cookies: Place a large sheet of parchment on a baking sheet, and lightly butter parchment. Transfer cookie house and doors to parchment.
• For the windows, prepare an ice-water bath. Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue to cook, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush, until syrup comes to a boil. Boil, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup turns medium amber. Immediately remove from heat, and place pan in ice bath. Working quickly, carefully pour some caramel into haunted-house windows, doorway, and door windows, filling each flush with top of cookie. Let stand until cool and hardened.
• For the roof, fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip (#802) with melted bittersweet chocolate. Starting at base of roof, pipe 1 line of chocolate along entire edge, then press shelled sunflower seeds into chocolate in a straight row, pointed edges down. Repeat with chocolate and remaining seeds, "tiling" both roofs, and slightly overlapping rows of seeds.
• Decorate the windows and doors: Cut remaining licorice laces to match dimensions of windows. Halve each lace lengthwise. Pipe thin lines of melted chocolate along window panes. Press licorice into chocolate. Pipe a thin line of chocolate over doorway, and press 4 shelled sunflower seeds into chocolate, centering the unshelled seed in middle. Let set.
• Make the chimney and spires: Cut 1 licorice lace diagonally into 1-inch pieces. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a fine plain tip (#1) with royal icing. Carefully flip house over. Make a vertical 1/2-inch cut in bottom half of licorice twist, then cut off 1 flap; insert a piece of licorice lace into top hole of licorice twist. Pipe a 1/2-inch-long vertical line of icing just below edge of top roof, and press flat end of licorice twist against house into icing. Pipe a horizontal line of icing just below top edge of lower roof. Press 1 end of each halved licorice lace into icing to form a row of spires. Let stand until set, about 10 minutes.
• Assemble the cookie house: Using a small offset spatula, spread a thick line of royal icing along the long, straight edge of haunted-house triangle stand. Gently press triangle against back of haunted-house cookie on left-hand side, supporting cookie between two large cans. Repeat with second triangle on right-hand side, and let stand until icing is set, about 30 minutes. Cookie house will keep at room temperature up to 1 week.
• Make the windows and doors: Cut remaining licorice laces to match dimensions of windows. Halve each lace lengthwise. Pipe thin lines of chocolate along window panes. Press licorice into chocolate. Pipe a thin line of chocolate over doorway, and press 4 shelled sunflower seeds into chocolate, centering the unshelled seed in middle. Let stand until set.
• Using a small offset spatula, spread a thick line of royal icing along long, straight edge of haunted-house triangle stand. Gently press triangle against back of haunted-house cookie on left-hand side, supporting cookie between 2 large cans. Repeat with second triangle on right-hand side, and let stand until icing is set, about 30 minutes. (Cookie will keep at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

HAUNTED COOKIE HOUSE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Knead flour, cocoa, and cinnamon into cookie dough, working in batches if necessary, until combined and smooth.
• Divide dough into quarters and roll out on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper or foil. Cut out windows and doors. Leave house pieces on the paper or foil and transfer to baking sheets.
• Bake until golden and firm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes depending on size of the pieces. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and pattern.
• Meanwhile beat confectioners' sugar, egg white powder, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl with an electric mixeruntil thick and smooth.
• Transfer 1 cup frosting to a resealable bag. Tint 2 cups frosting brown, 1/2 cup orange, and 1 1/2 cups purple. Spoon each color into a separate resealable bag and set aside. Cover remaining frosting well with a moist paper towel and plastic wrap. (This will be used for the assembly.)
• Snip small corners from the bags with purple, white, and orange frosting. Pipe around windows and doors on sides of house. Let dry about 1 hour.
• To assemble (for a quick non-edible centerpiece, use a glue gun instead of frosting): Pipe generous lines of white frosting on vertical sides of piece A, B, C, and D (large house), and stick sides together. Use cans to support all sides, inside and out. Let dry about 1 hour. Pipe generous lines on vertical sides of pieces E, F, G, and H (second story) and attach using cans to support. Let dry at least 1 hour.
• Attach the roof pieces I and J to the large house with frosting and let dry about 1 hour. Support the roof with a box or cans. Pipe lines along small roof edge and add pieces K and L. Let dry about 1 hour. Pipe decorative lines on the outside of both stories with purple frosting. Pipe bone decoration with white frosting along the sides of the second story
• Use a serrated knife to trim 1 /12 inch from bottom of two of the brown cones. Stack remaining three brown cones and add one trimmed cone on top. Place one of the chocolate cones on top of that to create the tower next to the house. Secure tower with some purple frosting.
• Trim remaining brown cone to fit on top of the second-story roof. Cut a V shape on either side of cone with a serrated knife. Attach cone to the small roof with some brown frosting.
• Place the larger house on a serving platter. Pipe a generous line of brown frosting along bottom edge of second story. Place on top of larger house and press slightly to secure.
• Spread a 2-inch-wide band of brown frosting along bottom roof edge I. Add unwrapped Hugs as close as possible in rows. Repeat, adding more frosting and Hugs, trimming candy if necessary. Repeat with roof piece J.
• Spread brown frosting on roof piece K. Arrange swirled chips to cover roof, starting at the bottom edge. Repeat with roof piece L.
• Attach one or two decorated cookies to house if desired using some remaining frosting. Hold cookie for several minutes to make sure that it sets.
• Spread chocolate cookie crumbs around house. Add other decorated cookies and candy pumpkins around house.