Shortbread Ghosts with Sea Salt Nutella Ganache

- Amanda

Happy almost Halloween everyone.  I can’t believe we’re already at the end of October.  I love this holiday and everything that comes with it.  And though it is not really celebrated by most here in Istanbul, we’re not letting that stop us from having lots of ghoulish treats and all sorts of spooky fun in our home.  In fact, you may have noticed, there’s currently a spider and rat infestation in this Istanbul apartment.  Thanks to the fun decorations I brought from LA and the costume additions my mother-in-law found for us, we’re excited and ready for next Wednesday.

Somehow though, as I was gearing up to make some festive cookies, I realized I didn’t bring ANY of my Halloween cookie cutters.  I managed to remember the gingerbread dude, in multiple sizes, snowman, and other Christmas cutters, and even some Valentine’s Day and Easter shapes.  But not one pumpkin, ghost, or measly bat. BOO!

I had some ghost cookies in mind and thought I had the perfect cutter to make them.  Well, I was disappointed at my discovery to say the least, but didn’t let that stop me from trying to fashion something else that would resemble something Halloween-ish.  I think I was successful.  I found an oval cutter I use for Easter egg and bunny cookies and a scallop-edged heart.  And voila, these cute little ghosts were born.  I used a straw to make the eyes and mouth.  And using my super simple shortbread dough and a quick Sea Salt Nutella ganache, these little guys came together pretty nicely.  I’ll admit, at first, I wasn’t too crazy about their appearance, but Mr.T could immediately tell it was a  ghost and devoured the cookie with a giant smile.  Mission accomplished.

A few helpful tips- for the shortbread, it’s key to let the dough chill, wrapped in plastic, for an hour or so before rolling out the cookies.  I like to chill the dough, roll & cut the cookies, and then freeze the pre-cut shapes until I’m ready to bake them.  This means you can make them way in advance.  Alternatively, you can chill, roll & cut, and then bake.  Just be sure your dough isn’t too soft after rolling when you put them in the oven.  If that’s the case, refrigerate a few minutes then bake.

The sea salt Nutella ganache in the middle of the two sandwiched shortbread cookies really takes it to another level, and makes the ghost eyes and mouth more visible, but you can also just serve as they are one by one.  The light sprinkling of powdered sugar gives them a nice ghostly white finish.

P.S.  This is the cookie cutter I have back home, but there are lots of versions out there.

And this and this is what I ended up using.

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Shortbread Ghosts with Sea Salt Nutella Ganache

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

For the Shortbread

  • 8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 100 grams confectioner’s sugar
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 330 grams all-purpose flour

For the Sea Salt Nutella Ganache

  • 300 grams nutella (or other chocolate-hazelnut spread)
  • 180 grams semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

For the shortbread

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and salt.  Using the paddle attachment start to cream on low for 2 minutes, then gradually increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy.

  2. Add the egg yolk and beat for another few seconds until the yolk has almost disappeared.

  3. Add the flour, working in two batches, and mix on low very carefully until everything is just combined.  Finish the dough by hand with a spatula so as to not over work the dough.  It should still be crumbly.

  4. Pour the dough out onto a big piece of plastic wrap and form a round, tightly wrapped disc.  Chill in the refrigerator at least an hour or freeze up to a couple months. (Double wrap the dough if freezing.)

  5. When you’re ready to roll and cut the cookies, remove the dough from the fridge or freezer.  If frozen, place in the refrigerator overnight, then let soften a bit on the counter.

  6. When the dough isn’t rock solid, roll half the disc out between two pieces of parchment paper and cut the cookies out using your shape of choice.   The dough can be re-rolled 2 times till there’s hardly any left.  Repeat with the other half of the disc.

  7. Place the cut out pieces of dough on parchment paper in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes before baking.

  8. When ready to bake, bake in a preheated 350F/ 180C degree oven for about 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to turn golden.  (Larger cookies may need a few minutes more to bake.) Let cool on the cookie sheet, then move to a cooling rack.

  9. If you want the ghosts extra white, dust the top cookies with a little confectioner’s sugar before sandwiching with the ganache.

For the Sea Salt Nutella Ganache

  1. Heat the semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in intervals until starting to soften.  Stir with a spatula until it is all melted together.  Be careful not to burn the chocolate.

  2. Next, stir together the Nutella, melted semisweet chocolate, and the sea salt.  Set aside until cool.

  3. Once the ganache is cooled and set a bit, take one shortbread cookie, bottom side up, and place about a tablespoon of ganache in the center and spread out to the edges with an offset spatula or knife.  Use more ganache if you have bigger cookies.

  4. Place the other cookie bottom side down so it is touching the ganache on top of the first cookie to make a sandwich.  Enjoy!