This post was published 1 year 5 months 14 days ago which may make its information invalid. Countdown to D23 is not responsible for any misunderstanding.Hello Disney friends!
For Thanksgiving this year, my company had a Non-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving potluck. We did a food drive to raise food items and money for the local Northwest Harvest. The food drive was a huge success! We raised a lot of food and a good amount of money. The owner of our company matched the amount we raised, and then his wife submitted THAT to her employer and they matched as well! It was amazing.
As for the Potluck, food items had to be non-typical thanksgiving items: No turkey, no stuffing, no pumpkin pie! This devastated me! At my work I’m known for bringing the desserts, so not being able to bring a pumpkin pie was rough!
But then an amazing idea came to me!! The most Non-Thanksgiving thing I could think of, after Halloween and before Christmas, was “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. It happens to be one of my favorite Disney movies! It celebrates the holidays that surround Thanksgiving! And Jack Skellington is one of my all-time favorite Disney characters! It was then that I decided that I would make Jack Skellington Cookies! But not just any plain cookie, cookies on sticks!
Following the instructions and steps below, you can make your OWN Jack Skellington Cookie Pops. Enjoy!
Tools:
Cookie Treat Pan
Cookie Treat sticks
6+ Decorator bags
1 Paint Brush
Cookie Bags
Ribbon (optional)
Angled Spatula
Cookies:
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Topping:
Candy Melts in White
Candy Melts in Light Cocoa
Instructions:
First things first, you need to make your cookies. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray your cookie treat pan with vegetable pan spray. In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts. Combine flour and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do not chill dough. Pat dough in the pan, filling the cavities with cookie dough to 1/8 in. below top edge. Position the cookie stick 2 inches into the dough, slightly pressing into the dough. If desired, place a little additional dough over the top of the stick to secure (which I HIGHLY recommend). Bake 20-22 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes and then gently remove with a spatula.
Before applying the topping, make sure the cookies are completely cooled. Taking one of the Decorator bags, fill it at least 3/4th full with Wilton Candy Melts in White. There are steps on the back of the Candy Melts on how to melt the discs, but I prefer using the microwave. Start by microwaving for 45 seconds. Take the bag out and knead the bag so any melted pieces separate. Continue at 30 second intervals until all the candy is melted in the bag. Once candy is melted, make sure to knead the bag thoroughly to make sure no chunks have been missed. Using a pair of sharp scissors, cut the end of the bag to allow the candy to flow out. I cut only about 1/4”. Gently squeeze the melted candy over the top of the cookie to make the White face for Jack. Using an Angled Spatula, lightly spread the candy evenly across the cookie.
Once you have done this on all of your cookies, let them cool for approximately 60 minutes. You will want to ensure the candy is fully hardened before you begin putting the remaining decoration on top. As you did with the melting the White Candy Melts, you will want to melt a decorator bag with Light Cocoa Candy Melts. This will be used to create the facial features on the cookies. Once your Light Cocoa melts are fully melted, cut the end of the bag, smaller than you did with the White candy. Now, begin drawing the face of Jack Skellington onto your cookies. You can use a template if you’d like, or just have a photo for reference nearby and free-hand. I chose the freehand method! I was in a rush, and it looks a little sloppy, but they were still delicious!
To top off my basket of Cookie Pops, I made a batch of standard sugar cookies for people to enjoy as well. I will say that the cookie pops were a HUGE hit with the kids that came to the potluck! They absolutely enjoyed them!
Hope you all enjoyed the instructions. I hope I made it clear enough that everyone can now make their own!!
Until Next Time….. Have a Magical day!
-Holly
P.S. For a quick photo slideshow of the cookie process, please check out the following Video.
