Day of the Dead Pumpkins
The elaborate designs for el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) has always intrigued me. So I decided to decorate my Halloween cookies to celebrate this age-old Mexican tradition of honoring the dead.
“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” George Eliot
The intricate swirls and colorful flowers that make up the designs for el Día de los Muertos are ideal decorations for cookies...the perfect pairing of the symbols for life and death. I liked decorating cookies this way so much that I made several dozen and gave them to everyone on my list of special people. I also used different recipes for the cookie itself, from Classic Sugar Cookie, to Brown Butter Cookies, and the Ultimate Chocolate Cutout Cookie sandwiches. By the end of Halloween and after decorating over 8 dozen cookies, I felt like I’d been through a lifetime of analysis!
Cookie specifics
Brown-Butter Cookies. Made with brown butter, which gives them a deep, rich caramelized flavor, these cookies are unique and delicious.
Ultimate Chocolate Cutout Cookies. A chocolate-lover’s dream, these cutout cookies are rich and chocolatey. For Halloween, I made ganache-filled sandwich cookies with small (half-inch) cutouts on the top cookie: little hearts for the cats, tiny triangles for the pumpkins’ eyes and noses, small butterflies for the ravens, and hollow oval “eyes” for the ghosts. The cutouts let the filling pop up through the openings for a delicious “creepy” effect. I also use this recipe as the cookie base for my Mummy Pops.
Classic Sugar Cookie. This classic sugar cookie brings back memories of the Christmas cookies my mother made during the holidays...with a bold vanilla flavor and slightly soft texture, they make me smile every time I eat one.
Shapes
cats, skulls, pumpkins, ghosts, ravens
Sizes
Sizes range from 2 inches (for small pumpkins) to 4½ inches (the ravens). By the way, 2½ to 3 inches is my favorite size for decorating and eating!
Cookie Recipe from This Talented Cookie Artist
Brown-Butter Cookies. Original recipe from Sugar Hero.
Ultimate Chocolate Cutout Cookies. Original recipe from Lila Loa.
My Own Recipe
Classic Sugar Cookie. A recipe based on one from Mrs. Gregor, a neighbor of my mom’s when she was a newlywed.
Cookies
Classic Sugar Cookies: flour, butter, granulated sugar, egg, pure vanilla extract, baking powder, salt
Brown-Butter: flour, brown butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, cornstarch, vanilla, salt
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies: flour, cocoa, butter, sugar, vegetable shortening, egg, baking powder, pure vanilla extract, salt
Icing & Decorative Embellishments
Royal Icing (embellishments): confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, pure vanilla extract or almond extract, cream of tartar, food coloring
Glaze (cookie base coat): sugar, water, corn syrup, food coloring (optional), various extracts for flavoring (vanilla, almond, lemon, raspberry, etc.)
Homemade Fondant (cutout eyes on pumpkins): sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, gelatin, water, vanilla extract, food coloring (optional); I used homemade fondant for the triangle-shaped “eyes” on the Classic Sugar Cookie pumpkins and oval-shaped “eyes” on the Classic Sugar Cookie ghosts.
Fillings
Ganache (Chocolate Sandwich Cookies): rich bittersweet chocolate; either water, cream or coconut milk; vanilla extract
Plate, Box or Bag?
Paper Plate. I arranged some cookies on a sturdy Chinet paper plate and wrapped the whole thing in clear plastic wrap to give as a gift.
Box. My favorite way to give my cookies is to package them in a cardboard bakery box with a clear window on top that makes the contents visible to anyone who wants to peek. I was able to fit a dozen cookies in each box.
Bags. I wanted to mail these cookies to everyone on my list and the best way to protect them is to wrap them individually in clear, food-safe bags, secured with a twist tie. Then package them for mailing.
Mailing. I mailed the bagged cookies to my family and friends throughout the U.S. I always send them Priority Mail through the U.S. Post Office. I used the Priority Mail boxes provided by the Post Office and lots of bubble wrap! In almost all cases, the cookies arrive undamaged. (So far only one package has been damaged, although several have gone astray. I hope whoever “finds” them, eats them!) I know the packages were appreciated when they arrived because of the texts I got with all those smiling faces.
What I’ve learned...
These cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in a small batch of two dozen. I’ve experimented with less expensive ingredients, but have come to the conclusion that flavor is best when I use the best. Why spend all this time baking and decorating if taste and texture are just so-so? Decorating the cookies takes time, but it’s an enjoyable process for me and I know that those who receive them appreciate that. Life is just better when you can share something you love with someone you love. Don’t you agree?
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