It's Day 3 of our I've-Never-Done-This-Before Support Group, and I didn't want to show up empty-handed. So I made Bat Sandwich Cookies, even though the truth is that bats scare the living daylights out of me.
When I was in college I lived in a really really old house. I had lots of crazy roommates (and not the good kind of party-hardy-crazy; the white coat kind), one of whom was a bat (or two? who can tell for sure) living in the basement. I'm reasonably sure that the landlord, to whom I paid $190 a month for the pleasure of living with this bunch of lunatics, cared not at all. Like, if it was her job not to care, she would have gotten an immediate promotion to, like, the tallest midget or something. The only reason any of this mattered (just don't go in the basement, dummy!) is because … the laundry was in the basement. And dirty undies were apparently scarier than bats. Which is saying something. So my one non-crazy roommate and I bought ourselves some extra undies. And 6 times every 2 weeks (2 loads of laundry, 3 bat visits per load – try to keep up), we put on baseball hats, and sprinted downstairs and back up, hearts racing. The bat(s) would do laps just below the impossibly low basement ceiling as we cleaned our clothes.
Not once did we consider going to a laundromat. We might not have been at our absolute smartest and most rational.
These bats are not bad-scary, though. They're good scary, and the oldest of my 3 kids cannot get enough scary in her life. She also has a need for speed. I'm probably going to be in big trouble with that one. For now, she's only 10 so I can still distract her with a good cookie. Thank goodness for that.
Now it's not like my kids are eating all of these Halloween treats I've been making. Especially since they're about to be begging for candy door-to-door in just one week's time. But since there is always the promise of a Halloween party in my gluten-free son's third grade class, I need something more fabulous than the usual school-party fare to send in to school for him so he feels pride instead of shame.
And these are super easy to make, to boot.
Semi-Pro Tip: I had an actual bat cookie cutter, but you could improvise if you don't have one of those lying around (I think the ones I have are made by Wilton, and they tend to be pretty easy to find this time of year). Try the Martha Stewart trick of using a small triangular cookie cutter for the center, and two inverted half-moon shapes for the wings. If you have those little aspic cutters, they'll do the trick.
And bake those bat cutouts, too, instead of gathering and rerolling them as scraps. Poke holes in the centers of the cutouts, bake them, and then thread a string through the holes. Dangle them from a chandelier or floor lamp at different heights. Scary! But in a good way. Just ask my daughter (not my college self – she's a weenie).
Chocolate Caramel Bat Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
1 batch gluten-free Thin & Crispy Chocolate Wafer Cookie dough, slightly chilled
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup water, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
Place the cookie dough between two large sheets of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick (slightly thinner). With a 3 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 rounds, gathering and rerolling scraps as necessary. Place all of the rounds about 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. With a bat cookie cutter, cut out bat-shapes from the center of 12 of the rounds and remove them carefully from the baking sheet.
Place the cookies in the center of the preheated oven and bake until just set, about 7 1/2 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. They will cool quickly.
While the cookies are cooling, make the chocolate caramel filling. In a medium-sized, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the sugar and water, and whisk to combine well. Cook the sugar mixture over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until it thickens and then becomes slightly amber-colored around the edges (about 3 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat immediately.
While whisking the sugar mixture vigorously, add the heavy whipping cream. The mixture will bubble up. Continue to whisk vigorously until the bubbles subside. Add the butter and chopped chocolate, and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a heat-safe bowl, cover loosely and allow to cool until it begins to thicken but is still warm.
Once the cookies are cool and the caramel slightly thickened, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of chocolate caramel on the underside of one of the non-bat cookies. With the bottom of a spoon, spread the caramel into an even layer that stops about 1/4-inch from the edge of the cookie. Place a bat-cutout cookie on top of the caramel and press down gently but firmly to force the caramel to the edges of the cookie and up through the bat cutout. Allow to set at room temperature. Repeat with the remaining cookies and caramel.
Fitzcliff says
These look delicious! I may have to wait a few days to make them–I don’t have the heavy cream, and I’ve already made a brief, pre-storm stop at the store on my way home from a conference (in White Plains–your neck of the woods?), and once was enough, lol. Btw, your new book arrived while I was away; I can’t wait to check it out!
gfshoestring says
That is my neck of the woods, Fitz! I live about 20 minutes away from White Plains. The stores were crazy! Stay safe during this weather!
xoxo Nicole
Jen says
can these be made ahead of time, frozen and warmed for later?
gfshoestring says
Hi, Jen,
You can make all of it ahead of time – the cookies, the filling, even the assembled cookies. You can freeze the wafer cookies ahead of time, refrigerate the filling (just microwave it for 30 seconds and stir before using it) and even fill and assemble the cookies and then freeze them, wrapped tightly, until you are ready to use them.
xoxo Nicole
Cynnara says
Cannot wait to make these! Just got the new cookbook from Barnes and Noble! Bwahahahaha! Happiness abounds since I have extra days off next week to bake, book in hand! Thanks, Nicole!
gfshoestring says
Perfect timing, then, Cynnara! I really hope you love the cookbook. :)
xoxo Nicole
Laura says
Drove to 5 stores yesterday looking for any kind of small Halloween cookie cutters. You’d think that they’d be easy to find this time of year. Well, they are not! At least for me, carting around the two hungry kids. But, I found ’em. And now we have ‘Bats, Cats and Witches Hats’ cookies. I love to make Halloweeny treats for them.
Is it wrong that I get my boys cookies for breakfast this morning? Worst Mom EVER! :-)
As always, thank you! You can’t imagine how much you help us all. (Yes, I speak for all Celiacs and Celiac-lovers!)
Laura says
Oh, and I’m totally jealous of those who got their books already. I pre-ordered in March and have Amazon Prime and it’s not expected to arrive until today! grrrr… At least I have a good weekend read ahead of me.
gfshoestring says
I can’t believe it was so hard for you to find small Halloween cookie cutters, Laura! I wish they stocked all kinds of small cutters all year round. You sound like the BEST mom, not the worst. ;)
xoxo Nicole
Cynthia says
oh my gosh these are all incredible!! I haven’t been on in a couple days and I come back to this!?!??! I just don’t know where to start…hehehehe! Thank you. On a side note…your book arrived tonight!!! So excited to dig into it!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!
gfshoestring says
Let that be a lesson to you, Cynthia! ;) I’m so excited you received the new cookbook! I hope you love it as much as I do. Thank you for always being so supportive!
xoxo Nicole
Dana Schwartz says
Love these bats! I am okay with regular ones too, as long as they are high in the sky and eating lots of Mosquitos. Basement bats sound awful!
gfshoestring says
They do a service, I know. You’re totally right, Dana. And it is for that very reason that I am cool with spiders. But bats still give me the shivers!
xoxo Nicole
Nancy says
Gasp. I almost gave away my small Halloween cookie cutters with the bat!!
gfshoestring says
If you have any real bats, definitely get rid of them, Nancy. If you have bat cookie cutters, save those. :)
xoxo Nicole
Lisa Stander Horel says
Totally with you on bats. They lived in our attic in the country house. Fortunately our cat evicted them. Cat on a hot tin roof? But the cookies look fantastic. Someone’s Halloween party is going to be extra cool with those cookies.
gfshoestring says
That’s what we needed, Lisa! A cat! I have a cat now, but we didn’t have one in college. Do cats really scare away bats? Cats take no prisoners, man. For real.
xoxo Nicole
RebeccaLB says
These are the cutest cookies! Now I really need to go find a bat cutter. Hmmm…. Love this idea; I think I am going to need lots of cutter shapes, because I know I love your wafer cookies. I keep a supply in the freezer and use them for everything.
gfshoestring says
So versatile, those cookies, right, Rebecca? I love mini cookie cutters. I get very little use out of big cutters. Too clunky!
xoxo Nicole
ErinK says
Just got notification your new book has shipped! WOOHOO!! Should be here the first of next week. Thanks for all you do to make our lives a lot more delicious!!
gfshoestring says
Thank you for your support in picking up a copy of the new book, Erin! I can’t wait until you get it. :)
xoxo Nicole