PREP TIME: 30 minutes START TO FINISH: 1 hour 15 minutes 15 cookies
¹⁄2 cup sugar
3 oz semisweet baking chocolate
1 cup butter, softened (do not use margarine)
¹⁄2 cup sugar
2¹⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Yellow candy sprinkles
15 yellow mini candy-coated milk chocolate candies
1 package pull-apart yellow licorice twists, cut into
1-inch pieces
1 package pull-apart pink licorice twists, cut into bits
1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheets with shortening.
2 In 1-quart saucepan, melt chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with a spoon. Stir in melted chocolate, flour, vanilla, and egg.
3 Shape dough into 30 (1-inch) balls. Pull a little bit of dough from each of 15 balls to make tails; set aside. Cut an about ¹⁄4-inch slit in the same balls, using scissors. Sepa- rate dough at slit for cat’s ears. Place balls about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4 Place remaining balls below each cat head on cookie sheets for the body. Shape small pieces of dough into 15 (2¹⁄2-inch-long) ropes. Place end of rope under each body for tail.
5 Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool 30 minutes.
6 Use sprinkles to make eyes and baking bits to make noses. Add yellow licorice pieces for whiskers. Add pink licorice for tongues.
1 Cookie: Calories 310; Total Fat 16g (Saturated Fat 10g; Trans Fat 0.5g); Cholesterol 45mg; Sodium 140mg; Total Carbohydrate 38g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 3g Exchanges: 1 starch, 1¹⁄2 Other Carbohydrate, 3 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2¹⁄2
Sweet Success Tips Use a small dab of chocolate frosting, peanut butter, or melted chocolate to adhere the candy to the cat’s faces. You can substitute any small colorful candy for the miniature candy-coated baking bits.