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These Halloween Bat Sugar Cookies are a delicious chocolate sugar cookie topped with pure melted chocolate and sprinkles for an easy fright inspired treat. Perfectly tender chocolate dough is the perfect look for sugar cookie bats, and the sprinkles make them fun for kids to decorate and enjoy.
It’s pretty rare that I find a cookie I don’t like. Freshly baked cookies are a treat I’m super grateful to be able to eat, and more grateful to know how to bake. But…I have an admission. I don’t love decorating them. I’m not skilled with the fine tipped pastry bags, nor are my hands steady enough to pipe intricate lacy designs on my sugar cookies.
BUT I have a kiddo, and I like fun cookies! So instead of scraping icing off of cookies to start over for the thousandth time, I developed this simple but adorable Halloween bat cookie. I flavored the base of my Crisco Sugar Cookie dough with chocolate to give the bats the right color, then spread on melted dark chocolate (which is way easier than icing) and topped them with sprinkles. It was easy enough for anyone to do, no piping bag required. Of course, most importantly, they’re delicious too!
Take a look more spooky Halloween recipes from our #HalloweenTreatsWeek Bloggers today: Halloween Cookies & Bars:- Bat Sugar Cookies from The Flour Handprint
- Voodoo Doll Cookies from Sweet ReciPEAS
- Halloween Confetti Cookies from Fake Ginger
- Marshmallow SpiderWeb Cupcakes from Big Bear’s Wife
- Candy Corn Poke Cake from Devour Dinner
- Halloween Brownie Cupcakes from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from It’s Shanaka
- Spider Brownie Bites from Tastes of Homemade
- Evil Dead Necronomicon Brownies from Savory Moments
- Mini Candy Corn Cheesecakes from Cheese Curd in Paradise
- Halloween Themed Layered Drinks from 4 Sons R Us
- Easy Chocolate Pudding from Pastry Chef Online
- Halloween Bark from West Via Midwest
- Halloween Snack Mix from Savory Experiments
- Healthy Halloween Snacks from House of Nash Eats
- Sweet & Savory Halloween Snack Board from An Affair from the Heart
- Spooky Candy Bark from Sweet Beginnings
- Poisoned Candy Apples from Fresh Coast Eats
- Donut Hole Mummies from Family Around the Table
- Halloween Caramel Popcorn Munch Recipe from Back To My Southern Roots
- Spiderweb Baked Donuts from Lemon Blossoms
- Mini Monster Meatball Sliders from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Mummy Brie from The Spiffy Cookie
- Halloween Deviled Eggs from I am a Honey Bee
Ingredients
I have a deep love for sugar cookies, especially my criso based version. The heritage recipe has never failed me (they were even the first cookie I made for my now husband!), and the dough, thanks largely to the shortening, is easy to deal with and perfectly tender.
It took some tweaking to get the chocolate addition just right. Cocoa powder behaves differently than flour and in order to achieve proper moistness and still roll out easy to work with dough, I had to adjust sugars and liquids slightly.
In the end, this dough works just as well as the original, but with a few key changes. To get started you’ll need some basic ingredients.
- All purpose flour – going with an alternative flour may make the dough to sticky or dry.
- Cocoa powder – either natural or dutch processed cocoa will work! Read more about which you’d prefer in my Cooking with Chocolate guide!
- Baking powder – not soda!
- Kosher salt – salt is a great addition to 95% of things, but it really enhances chocolate.
- Shortening – I’ve used both butter flavored and plain with equal success.
- Sugar – white sugar, like the perfect granulated sugar from my sponsor Dixie Crystals is ideal for this.
- Egg – 1 room temperature egg
- Vanilla – Make your own, it does taste better!
- Milk – I use whole, but your preferred milk will be fine.
- Chocolate – I used a semi sweet 65% cacao chocolate bar. You can use your preferred chocolate, milk chocolate included.
- Sprinkles – Go with black, white, or silver for a perfect sugar cookie bat.
Tips for Making Perfect Bat Sugar Cookies
I’m willing to bet most of you have made a sugar cookie in your life. Mix the dough, chill it, roll it out, cut it, and bake. Easy peasy am I right? Here are some tips for making sure your cookie making process goes perfectly every time.
- Sift the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder together after you weigh/measure it. This stops cocoa powder from being lumpy in your dough, and makes sure you have the right amount of the ingredients in your dough.
- Don’t over mix it. Sugar cookies, much like pie dough, get tougher as you work with it. Since we still have to roll out and cut cookies, work with it as little as possible at each stage.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes minimum before rolling it out. Shortening doesn’t work like butter, so melt isn’t a huge issue, but letting the dough chill also lets it hydrate, meaning moist, more evenly baked and colored cookies.
- Roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper rather than a floured surface. Flour will color chocolate dough! I used my silicone baking mat and a long sheet of parchment. Easy clean up too!
- Roll cookies 1/4” thick. Or roll thinner for crisper cookies and thicker for softer. Be careful, to thin or too thick will make them harder to handle when decorating later.
- Let them cool completely before decorating for the quickest set on your chocolate.
- Choose a dark chocolate bar, not baking chocolate, and heat carefully for a shine on the finished cookie.
- Spread a thin layer of chocolate on the cookies for a finished look.
- Decorate in batches, spread chocolate on four or five cookies, then add sprinkles to avoid the chocolate setting too quickly and the sprinkles falling off.
- Have fun! Add sprinkles to the entire bat, just the wings, or just the body for different and fun looks.
Prep & Storage
Sugar cookie dough is perfect to make the day or even two ahead of when you’re ready to bake. For refrigeration longer than an hour, you’ll need to let the dough sit at room temp about 20 to 30 minutes before you can roll it out.
Once baked and the chocolate set, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. They may stay good a few days past that, but eating them in their prime is always best.
If you’re looking to freeze these, I’d freeze the cut out cookies before baking. Once baked they don’t freeze as well, and chocolate will take on a strange color once frozen and thawed.
Eat & Enjoy
I really hope you have as much fun making these as I did. They’re a fun Halloween twist on a traditional sugar cookie and just perfect as a cute treat this time of year. These are the cookies for the simple decorators that still look adorable at the end of the day. Happy Halloween and Happy Baking!
If you like these, don’t forget to check out these other Halloween Desserts!
Ingredients
- 4.5 ounces shortening 2/3 cup, regular, or butter flavor
- 7.3 ounces white sugar 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 8 ounces flour 1 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon
- 1 ounce cocoa powder 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces chocolate dark or milk
- sugar sprinkles
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl and set aside.
- Cream shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add in milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Add in egg and beat again to combine.
- Add in the dry ingredients and fold to combine until a smooth dough forms without any streaks of flour. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes, up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lay out a large sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Also line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lay dough on paper and cover with another sheet off parchment and use rolling pin to roll dough out to 1/4" thick.
- Cut out cookies and place on baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake in preheated oven for 8 – 9 minutes or until the dough looks dry and set along the edges.*
- Let cool on baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Decoration
- Melt chocolate gently in the microwave, 30 second bursts at half power, until mostly melted. Stir to finish melting.
- Spread a thin layer of chocolate on each cookie and sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles on the wings, using two long sprinkles to make eyes.*
- Let set completely, then store in an airtight container layered between wax paper for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
I’d love to hear what you think, feel free to tag me on Instagram @theflourhandprint so I can see how it went! Until next time, Happy Eating!
Happy Halloween!
Spooky Season is here and it is time for 2020’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event! #HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife & its a creepy and haunting week-long event is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats, recipes and some frightfully fun giveaways.“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween.”
For the 3rd annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 30 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week!
Follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media and look at the bottom of each post to see all of the Halloween recipes that we’re sharing!
Plus, don’t forget that we have some great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsor and bloggers this year!
Prize #1 from Dixie Crystals
OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set
Prize #2 from Angie at BigBearsWife
Ninja OP301 Foodi 9-in-1 Pressure, Slow Cooker, Air Fryer and More, with 6.5 Quart Capacity and 45 Recipe Book, and a High Gloss Finish
Prize #3 from Nicole Taggart’s Origami Owl Jewelry Bar
Origami Owl Locket and Halloween Charms
Prize #4 from Kathy at Lemon Blossoms
6 Quart Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
Prize #5 from Terri at Our Good Life
Young Living’s Thieves Mints ($50 Value)
Pop a Thieves Mint into your mouth for cinnamint-fresh breath after meals. Made with naturally derived ingredients and free of artificial sweeteners, dyes, and preservatives, Thieves Mints are a choice you can feel good about. Created with Young Living’s Thieves essential oil blend, these mints deliver minty coolness with a hint of warm, sugar-free sweetness. Thieves Mints come in a conveniently sized container that is great to take on the go!!
Prize #6 from Julie at Back To My Southern Roots
1 Copy of – The Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious Dishes for Kids to Make with Their Favorite Grown-Ups
Prize #7 from Peabody of Sweet ReciPEAS
1 Copy of her new cookbook “Holy Sweet! 60 Indulgent Recipes for Bigger, Better Desserts”
Prize #8 from Megan of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
1 Copy of her cookbook, “Incredible One-Pot Cooking: Easy, Delicious Recipes for Exciting Meals Without the Mess”
Prize #9 from Nicole of For the Love of Food Blog
1 Copy of “Friends: The Official Cookbook”
Prize #10 from Michaela from An Affair from the Heart, Jennifer from Take Two Tapas and Michele from West Via Midwest
ONE (1) $75 Amazon gift card
Prize #11 from Shanaka from It’s Shanaka
ONE (1) $25 Amazon gift card
Prize #12 from Ashley from Cheese Curd In Paradise
Prize #13 from Amy from House of Nash Eats
ONE (1) $100 Amazon gift card
Nutrition information and cooking times are provided as a best estimate. Values may vary based upon ingredients and equipment.
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