We are having a Halloween potluck at work tomorrow, and I decided it was time to break out the festive cookie cutters. I limited my selection to leaves, bats, ghosts, and pumpkins. The trick was trying to decide what flavor to bake. Do I go with classic plain sugar cookies? Or do I switch up instead? I decided I wanted to do a little bit of both while not having to make two whole batches of dough. Check out my recipe for below to getting chocolate and classic sugar cookies out of one dough!

RECIPE: Spooky Cut Out Cookies 
Makes 3-4 Dozen Depending on Shapes 

SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Measuring Utensils
Mixer
Wax Paper
Fridge
Rolling Pin
Cookie Cutters
Baking Sheets
Oven set to 375 degrees

INGREDIENTS: 
1/2 cup Crisco
1 stick Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 cups Flour
2-3 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
Decorating Sugars

DIRECTIONS:
1) In a mixer, cream together the Crisco and Butter.
2) Add the sugar and beat until creamy.
3) Mix in the egg, milk, and vanilla.
4) Mix in the baking powder and flour until a nice dough is formed.
5) Remove half the dough from the bowl and wrap it in wax paper.
6) Mix 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the dough left in the bowl. Beat until thoroughly combined, you may want to grab a spatula and do it manually. 
7) Wrap the chocolate half of the dough in wax paper and  place all the dough in the fridge for an hour or two.
8) Before you remove the dough from the fridge, clean part of your counter and place a dusting of flour over it. Prepare your area with the cookie sheet nearby, and a spatula and rolling pin handy.

9) Only remove half of one of the blocks of dough to work on at a time. This keeps the dough chilled and it is much more manageable to work in four batches than 2 large ones.
10) Roll and cut the dough with desired cookie cutters.
11) Once the cut outs are on the tray, decorate with sugar if desired and place in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
12) Move cookies to the cooling rack after letting them cool on the tray for a minute or so. 

These cookies store well in air tight containers after they are fully cooled. They are also a softer cut out cookie, so while milk is not required, I still recommend it!