Monster pops for the little monsters to eat
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The pumpkins have been carved into Halloween jack-'o-lanterns, perhaps more than you need. One or two to stand on the porch, another to light up with a candle set inside. Then?
How about making a jack-o'-lantern part of a yummy treat? Consider using its round, mellow shape as a cheery container (cauldron?) for a clutch of edible monsters, fuzzy chocolate "wolfman" cookie pops that youngsters will wolf down.
Preparing the cookies can be a family project. After they are baked, recruit the children to decorate those monster faces with candy fangs and ears and eyes. Little hands can also help stir the coconut mixture that makes the wolfman's "furry" coat. Then, the cookie pops have to be grouped in the pumpkin, and the pumpkin set on the table as a centerpiece.
Here's the recipe to get the project under way. It will make about 14 cookies; plan to decorate and use eight for a pop cookie "bouquet" in your jack-o'-lantern (more tends to look crowded). If you re-roll dough scraps you'll get even more cookies, and any leftover, undecorated cookies will taste just as good.
WOLFMAN COOKIE POPS
For the Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 to 31/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded coconut, finely chopped and toasted
For the Decorations:
1(14-ounce) package light cocoa chocolate disks or chocolate candy wafers
Candy corn
Yellow candy disks
3 cups shredded coconut
Brown icing color
Small black candy-coated chocolate dot candies
8 8-inch cookie treat sticks
To make cookies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar in mixer bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix baking powder and flour; add to butter mixture one cup at time, mixing after each addition. If dough is too soft, add up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time. Stir in 1 cup coconut. Do not chill dough.
Divide dough into two balls. On floured surface, roll each into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch-thick. Cut out cookies with 4-inch-diameter floured cutters. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet on middle rack of oven 6 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before decorating.
To decorate 8 Wolfman Cookie Pops: Cut enough chocolate candy disks into triangles for 16 ears; reserve remaining disks. Cut candy corn just above orange area for teeth. Cut yellow candy disks for eyes.
In large bowl, tint coconut with brown icing color. In small bowl melt remaining chocolate candy disks (over hot water or in microwave).
Working with one cookie at a time, spread a fine layer of melted chocolate candy over cookie, just enough to hold coconut. Press coconut over cookie, leaving mouth area uncovered; let set. Use dabs of melted chocolate candy to attach to cookie faces the candy ears, teeth, eyes and black dot candies for eye pupils and noses; hold ears until set. Attach cookie treat stick to cookie back, also with melted candy; hold until set. Allow all decorations to set firmly before arranging as desired in container or on plates.
Makes 8 decorated cookies.
XRecipe for AP from Wilton Enterprises.