Description
Celebrate the spooky season with these colorful Hocus Pocus Cookies, featuring vibrant orange, green, and purple dough swirled together, studded with white chocolate chips, and rolled in festive Halloween sprinkles. These soft, buttery cookies are perfect for Halloween parties and will delight both kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups butter, softened
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Orange gel food coloring
- Green gel food coloring
- Purple gel food coloring
Toppings
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- Halloween sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare Baking Sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure easy cleanup.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and white sugar together until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color, which helps create a tender cookie texture.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition to incorporate fully. Then stir in the vanilla extract to add flavor.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt to ensure even distribution of leavening agents and salt.
- Mix Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the butter mixture, mixing just until combined to avoid overworking the dough.
- Color the Dough: Divide the dough into three equal portions. Add orange gel food coloring to one, green to the second, and purple to the third. Knead each portion until the color is uniformly mixed.
- Form Cookies: Scoop 2 teaspoons of each colored dough and press them together. Roll the combined dough into balls, flatten slightly, then roll the edges in Halloween sprinkles. Press white chocolate chips onto the surface of each dough ball to add a sweet, creamy bite.
- Chill Dough: Refrigerate the dough balls for 30 minutes to firm them up, which helps prevent spreading during baking.
- Preheat Oven: Heat your oven to 400°F (200°C) to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Bake Cookies: Place the prepared cookie dough balls on the lined baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
- Gel food coloring is preferred over liquid to avoid altering dough consistency.
- Chilling the dough is essential for maintaining shape during baking.
- Use cake flour and cornstarch for extra tender and soft cookies.
- Feel free to substitute white chocolate chips with semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips according to preference.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
