Halloween Cookies - classic black

My favorite sugar cookie recipe is only improved by some cool cookie cutters and food dye. I highly recommend using black paste to color your dough. The paste is concentrated and assures a dark, sinister, black cookie dough, without too much hassle. Glass or metal mixing bowls and an apron are also a good idea, since this stuff stains.

White icing is a great contrast, and shows up well in black light. Yes, we do spend time thinking about how we'll light our food (sometimes with sad results - see Brain Jello Mould post). I'm a firm believer that food that lends itself to the general theatrics of Halloween should be showcased.

Black spiderweb cookies with white icing look fantastic, and the black makes a nice background for a pumpkin cookie iced in orange.

Epicurious.com's Gingerbread Skeleton Cookies

Incorporate your non-Halloween cookie cutters, and take a look at the gingerbread skeleton cookie recipe at Epicurious.com. Inspired to be a bit more gruesome than usual in my baking one year, I did something similar with black dough and a fish cookie cutter for our pirate themed party.

Halloween Cookies - fingers

A good shortbread recipe and some nuts become creepy fingers for nibbling. An online search will turn up several recipes, but this one at Allrecipes.com is one I typically use.

Be creative with your substitutes - jam instead of red food coloring, or pistachios (rather than almonds) for extra nasty fingernails. Don't leave out the knuckle details - they add to the gross factor!

The serving presentation is another opportunity for creativity - I envision these on a lab-white plate with raspberry sauce drizzled suggestively around the edges...