Chocolate Chip Bat Cookies

I love making little treats for the boys that make them smile.  The whole month of October I have been cutting their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into ghosts.  Adam loves to show his classmates at lunch time his ghost-wiches. So after making the ghost treats for a party on Sunday, I thought I better make something Halloweenish for home.

When I was a young baker, I asked my mom to make chocolate chip cut out cookies. My mom explained it wouldn't work, but I insisted it would. So I made a dough, cut out my shapes, and proceeded to bake them. What I wound up with was a big blob on my cookie sheet. What I didnt' realize was chocolate chip cookie dough is much different that cut out dough and won't hold it's shape during baking.

Fast forward a couple years later, I discovered if I baked the cookies in a cake pan first, then cut out my shapes, it would work.  So this weeks treat for the boys is chocolate chip bat cookies. You can use any shape cutter you desire, just follow the simple steps bellow.

Preheat your oven to the temperature your cookie recipe calls for. Then line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper.

pan lined with parchment

Next prepare your favorite cookie dough recipe. I cheated and used a packaged cookie mix that yields three dozen cookies. Press dough into the bottom of pan in a 1/4" layer.

Mine baked for 16 to 18 minutes at 375 degrees.  Baking times will vary depending on thickness of dough in pan.  They are done with the cookies turn golden brown and not  longer wet looking.

Allow to cool in pan. Then using the edges of the parchment paper lift out of pan, and cut with any shape cutter you wish.

tip: don't throw out all the little cut out scraps....use them to make an ice cream sundae or put them in a container to save for a nibble here and there.