Road Kill Cookies

I love this time of year when tasty and disturbing can walk hand-in-hand through the kitchen and no one thinks to bat an eye. Here's another killer treat idea for you.

This post is dedicated to Guinea Pig Dad who had been hankering for these little critters since I started talking about doing them a couple of years ago.  He even bought me the car to run them over with so figured it was time to make the road kill. (Yes, sick humor is hereditary.) 

Road Kill Cookies

1 batch of basic chocolate short dough
(found at http://theculinarycreative.blogspot.com/2009/10/creepy-crunchies.html)
1 toy truck or car with treaded wheels
1 twisted sense of humor

Make the cookie dough according to the recipes.  Let chill for 30 minutes before pulling out to begin the "sculpting" process.

Roll out one large ball for the body, two medium balls for the head and tail, and four small balls for the legs.

On a lightly greased cookie sheet, press the parts together to form a flattened critter.  Doesn't have to be pretty or even, just make sure to moosh the dough together enough that individual parts won't fall off during the baking process.

Using a paring knife, cut two little criss-crosses to indicate the eyes.  Now I had a batch of the basic regular short dough (found on same post as the chocolate short dough) on hand as well since I'm getting ready to make my annual batch of Zombie Fingers and used some of that to make the eyes.  Alternately, you could make up a small batch of white royal icing (found at http://theculinarycreative.blogspot.com/2011/10/show-n-tell-fun-with-skulls.html) and pipe the dead eyes on after the cookies have cooled.

Put the critters in an oven preheated to 325 degrees.  About 8-10 minutes in, pull the oven rack out and run over the critters with your car or truck.  Don't press down too hard or you will cut them in half.  Because the cookie is half-baked (not unlike this idea), the top will crack when you gentle roll the wheel across it.   

Once you've road-killed them, pop them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes until they are barely soft to the touch.  Allow to cool on pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes about 12-14 (5-6") cookies.  Enjoy the carnage!

NOTES

Making them on the smaller size end will lessen the chance of post-baked breakage.

It's okay to giggle as you make vrooming sounds while you run them over in the oven.

Car or truck treads are very important in making this work, so try to find something that has really notable ones.  (Good job Dad!)