Halloween Cookies- Almond Oat Cookies

I don’t know when it happened, but at some point Halloween started sneaking up on the other major holidays in terms of the amount of time and effort people put into celebrating. Driving around, I see orange lights strung on porches and scarecrow witches set up on lawns; the stores are packed with candy and decorations, not to mention the costumes; and posters are up advertising haunted hayrides, haunted corn mazes, pumpkin carving contests, and lots of other harvest time fun. Halloween has definitely become the kick-off for the winter holiday season and it seems most people like to do it in style.

Of course the heart of Halloween is dressing up in costume and trick-or-treating. In rural Vermont, trick-or-treating can mean walking a quarter of a mile to get to your neighbor’s house. If you want more than a handful of candy in your goodie bag, you have to pile into the car--not always easy to do wearing a big robot head or a long dragon tail! As an alternative, many small communities around these parts sponsor Halloween parties, to keep little ones inside, safe, and warm, where they can play games, eat goodies, bob for apples, hear scary stories, and admire each other’s costumes.

Decorating food is one of the most fun aspects of Halloween—with all the candy available for topping brownies, cupcakes, and cookies, the possibilities are endless. You can set prebaked cookies in Halloween shapes (bats, cats, ghosts, haunted houses) on a low table with frosting and sprinkles, and let kids decorate their own cookies—always a hit. And you can set decorated cookies out with the other treats for snacking. This week’s almond oat cookies are perfect for the occasion. They’re buttery and delicious, with a hint of brown sugar, and the oats and almonds provide a little nutrition to offset the sugar overload. And that makes Halloween just a little less scary!

Happy Haunting!

Ann
Ann Clark

Almond Oat Cookies
Makes about 18 cookies
You can use sliced almonds if you like flecks of brown in your cookies, or blanched slivered almonds for a lighter appearance. Lightly toasting the almonds will bring out their flavor. Let the almonds cool before processing them.

Process in food processor until fine, about 15 seconds:
3/4 cup toasted almonds (slivered or sliced)
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats

Add and pulse to blend, 4 or 5 pulses:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat together until light and fluffy:
 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
 
Add and beat to incorporate:
 1 large egg
 1 teaspoon almond extract
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add oat-flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
 
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350º.  Roll dough out on a lightly floured counter to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with your favorite Ann Clark cookie cutters, then transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Decorate using Ganache or Royal Icing, with a little almond extract added.

My favorite shapes for Almond Oat Cookies include the Haunted House cookie cutter, the Ghost cookie cutter, and the Bat cookie cutter.