You know those ideas that just stick in your head and won't go away? This is how this recipe came to be. I saw those candy eyeballs in the baking section of Homegoods and didn't really think about them, but then later on the idea of putting them on a perfectly innocent looking dessert plagued me. Then it twisted into putting it onto a green dessert so it looked a little creepy for Halloween, but NOT gory. Enter creepy Halloween green tea shortbread!
The idea of gory or gross looking Halloween food is so off-putting to me. Yuck. Bring on the cute Halloween food ONLY! No yucky severed fingers with almond slice fingernails and red gel icing on the ends. No mummy pastries, or peeled grapes, nope! You'll only find food made to look like food here.
Googly eye candy
Green cookies seemed appropriate for googly eye candy and green tea would make cookies green. Find google eye candy at any baking supply store, such a Joann's, Hobby Lobby, or Michael's. Eyeball candy sprinkles are also available online.
I've made this green tea shortbread before, eliminating any element of surprise when it comes to making new recipes. This is an easy enough weeknight recipe — the dough only needs to chill for 30 minutes, so you can clean your mess up, preheat the oven in that amount of time, and prepare your counter to get messy again when you roll out the dough.
Then while you bake those off, clean up your counter and rolling pin and ta-da, cookies and no mess. I won't steer you wrong, but I also won't blame you if you order takeout on the night you make these too, because we can only fit so much into one evening, amirite?
Creepy Halloween Green Tea Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp matcha powder
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 package small Wilton candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Mix the softened butter, matcha, and sugar together in a stand mixer until fully combined.
- Add in the flour and egg yolks, and mix on low until just combined but the dough comes together, do not overmix.
- Shape the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let chill in fridge for 30 minutes (or overnight if you prefer).
- Preheat the oven to 350 and clear off a surface to roll out the dough. Lightly flour the countertop.
- When the dough is chilled, flour your hands and use a rolling pin to roll the dough on the floured surface until it is about half an inch thick.
- Use a cookie cutter (any shape, but I used a 1 ½" fluted edge circle cutter) to cut out pieces. Use an offset spatula to transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper. Re-roll the dough and re-flour the countertop as needed until all of the dough is used.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately and gently press however many eyeballs you like into the hot surface of each cookie.
- Let cool and serve.
These cookies make a perfect treat for munching on at a Halloween party or during trick or treating because they aren't overly sweet, unlike everything else that might be consumed that night. And of course, if you don't want your food eyeballing you, feel free to leave the candy eyes off and enjoy plain!
Looking for other Halloween-inspired recipes? Try my black as night double chocolate cookies or perhaps autumn nachos!
