Bat Oreo Cookie Kit (Bake-Along)

• Cookie Kit arrives ready to enjoy
• The cookies may be stored for up to 3 days at room temperature or 1 month in the freezer in an airtight container.

To Serve

Vanilla Cream Filling

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or with an electric hand mixer), mix the butter on low speed for about 30 seconds.
• Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, orange food coloring, and salt and mix until totally smooth.
• Add milk and continue to paddle until smooth. It will look like white spackle and feel about the same—like putty. You can also mix this together by hand. Make sure the butter is very soft and use your hands to mix and knead the confectioners’ sugar into the butter. The filling keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before using.

Cookies/Assembly

• Melt the butter in a microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat.
• Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
• Melt the chocolate on low power in the microwave or in a bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted.
• Whisk the melted chocolate into the sugar/butter mixture. Add the egg and whisk until combined.
• Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Use a wooden spoon to stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. (The dough will start to seem too floury—it’s easiest to switch to mixing the dough with your hands until it comes together. It will have the consistency of Play-Doh.)
• Let dough sit for about an hour at room temperature to firm up.
• Place the dough between two pieces of parchment, press it flat, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
• Place the rolled-out dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and peel off the parchment from both sides of the dough.
• Using the bat cutter or a round cookie cutter (or an upside-down glass) cut out bats and circles of dough.
• Use a spatula to place the cut-out cookies about an inch apart onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Continue cutting out cookies until the dough is used up; you can reroll the dough scraps. You can freeze the unbaked cookies for up to a month stored in an airtight container (bake directly from the freezer if frozen).
• Heat the oven to 325°F and place the rack in the center of the oven.
• Bake the cookies for 18 to 22 minutes, until firm to the touch. Check them frequently after 15 minutes and poke them in the middle.
• As soon as they feel firm to the touch, remove them from the oven. You can’t judge by color because they start out looking black!
• Let cool to warm or room temperature on the cookie sheet or a wire rack—they don’t have to cool completely, but you can’t fill them while they are hot.
• Fill a piping bag with Orange Vanilla Cream filling (recipe follows) and use it to fill the bat cookies. Use a tablespoon to scoop out a rounded tablespoon of Orange Vanilla Cream Filling and place the filling between two round cookies.
• Press the cookies together to distribute the filling toward the edges.
• Use the red royal icing to make bat eyes and serve. The cookies may be stored for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container.