It’s October! Seriously, where has the year gone? October means it’s only two months until Christmas (don’t remind me) but it also means its the month of Halloween! If you’re a horror fan like me, this is one of the greatest times of the year. Horror movies playing on TV, chocolate and candy is cheaper and there are all sorts of creepy costumes and decorations for sale. (Yay!)
Best of all, as a baker/blogger, Halloween is a time where my imagination gets to run wild with ideas for fun and unique Halloween baking recipes and treats. To kick off Halloween this year I’ve made Zombie Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. These are a chocolate shortbread cut out like a gingerbread man and then ‘chopped’ up and mutilated to create a more zombie effect and to finish them off… A white chocolate ganache dyed red for the blood!
Not to toot my own horn or anything but I am actually really proud of how these turned out. I struggle with decorating and creating more artist baked goods so for these zombie chocolate shortbread cookies to have turned out so well just shows that a little work and practice can go a long way. It also shows how easy these are to make. Trust me. If I can do it, you can do it!
Last year I created these witches hat mallow puffs and had so much fun creating a uniquely styled cookie for Halloween that I just had to create another one. Zombies were my first choice because they are based on The Walking Dead. Anyone here watch The Walking Dead? I’m #obsessed! Like #reallyobsessed.
To make the cookies we’re just going to make a simple shortbread cookie dough that has cocoa added to make these chocolate. You could make these traditional vanilla but I found making them chocolate created a nice contrast with the blood red decorations.
Next we roll out the dough and take a gingerbread man cookie cutter and cut out our little shortbread men. Then I took a small flower shaped cookie cutter and began cutting into each shortbread man to simulate teeth. So on some men I cut off a leg, others were arms, some I took out chunks of their sides, heads, hands. Remember zombies have been eaten or at least bitten so each one is different. Let your zombie imagination run wild here!
Once baked and cooled, I decorated each zombie man with white chocolate ganache x’s for eyes and on their hands and feet (just to make them stand out) and a line with vertical lines running through to give a ‘dead’ look to the mouths.
Next is the red white chocolate ganache for the blood splatters. You want to cover each bite mark with dripping blood and then you can go crazy. Flick blood splatters on some, have blood pouring from another zombies mouth! You can do whatever you like. I even decorated some of the chopped off limbs and had them lying around for extra effect!
If you’re after a fun Halloween baking treat for a party or just as a fun project or if you love The Walking Dead, these zombie chocolate shortbread cookies are for you!
Make sure you #lightscamerabake on Instagram if you make these or any of my other recipes so I can see them. I love seeing your food creations 🙂
- 230 g Butter, Softened (1 Cup)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (Optional)
- 3/4 Cup Icing Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Cornflour
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Cocoa
- 80 g White Chocolate
- 40 mL Cream or milk
- 120 g White Chocolate
- 60 mL Cream or milk
- Few drops of red food colouring paste
- First make the chocolate shortbread men.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together until it is light and fluffy.
Add in the vanilla extract if you are using this.
- Add the cornflour, flour and cocoa and mix until a stiff dough forms.
- Roll out the dough to a 2 cm thickness and take a gingerbread man cookie cutter and cut out our little shortbread men.
- Then I took a small flower shaped cookie cutter and began cutting into each shortbread man to simulate teeth. So on some men I cut off a leg, others were arms, some I took out chunks of their sides, heads, hands. Remember zombies have been eaten or at least bitten so each one is different. Let your zombie imagination run wild here!
- Prick each one with a fork and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Allow these to cool completely while making the white chocolate ganache.
- Heat the cream or milk until nearly boiling and pour over the white chocolate and mix until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.
- Repeat with the red white chocolate ganache and add in the red food colouring a drop or two at a time until you have a blood red. Set side to cool.
- Now place the white chocolate ganache in a reusable bag and snip the very tip off the end. Decorate each zombie man with x's for eyes and on their hands and feet (just to make them stand out) and a horizontal line with vertical lines running through to give a 'dead' look to the mouths.
- Next take the red, white chocolate ganache for the blood splatters. You want to cover each bite mark on every zombie man and the excess chopped off limbs with dripping blood and then you can go crazy. Flick blood splatters on some, have blood pouring from another zombies mouth! You can do whatever you like.
It's best to use red food colouring gel not liquid as the liquid will thin the ganache too much.
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