Night Owl Cookies

This is an M&M recipe I found in a fall magazine. It required a few steps, but was fun to do with very cute results. Zac, who, (as I've stated before), used to work at a cooking store, can be seen in the photos as my very capable assistant.

Night Owl Cookies

1 18 oz roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
20 whole cashews
1/2 cup chocolate frosting
1 6 oz tube decorator icing

Divide the sugar cookie dough into thirds. Knead the flour into one piece of the cookie dough until smooth; set aside. Combine the remaining 2 pieces of cookie dough and knead in the cocoa until smooth; set aside.

Roll the lighter-color dough into a 1-inch round log about 10 inches long, and move it to the side. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the darker dough to a 10" x 4"rectangle. Wrap the darker dough completely around the lighter-color log. Pinch the edges to seal and roll the log smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the cookie dough into 1/4" slices. Place two slices side by side on cookie sheets and press together slightly. Then press a cashew into the dough at the point that the sliced edges touch. Repeat with the remaining dough slices. Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until cookies are beginning to turn golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Spoon the chocolate frosting into a resealable plastic bag and snip off a small corner. Using the photo as a guide, pipe eyelashes around the eyes. Then pipe white icing onto the cookies and add the M&M's for eyes.

The original recipe claimed a yield of 20 cookies, but I ended up with 15.


Divide the dough into thirds:

Roll one third of the dough into a log measuring 10 inches:

Combine cocoa and the remaining 2 thirds of the dough:

Knead thoroughly until well-blended:

Then roll out into a rectangle:

Wrap the darker dough around the lighter log and pinch edges to seal:

Then roll out to smooth it:


After the dough has been refrigerated, slice into 1/4" slices. (I had to squeeze each slice a little to round it back out). Press 2 slices together and press a cashew in the middle:

This is how they looked after they baked:

I placed the M&M's on the white icing so that it made the owls look like their eyes were looking to the side, which gave them a wise and contemplative expression:

I put a few of these in bags like I did the Sparkling Candy Corn Cookies, but they are fragile and should probably be stored flat and served flat.