TOMBSTONE FOOD RECIPES

Steps:

• In large saucepan over low heat, melt butter.
• Stir in marshmallows until completely melted. Remove from heat.
• Stir in cereal til well-coated. (*Iused 6 1/2 cups because I think they come out less dry.And they hold up better if they have to sit out for awhile). The original recipe called for 7 1/2, but what i used worked out really well!).
• Press into a greased 13x9x2 pan with a buttered spatula. Cool.
• In large mixing bowl, beat cookie dough and flour til well mixed.(*You do have to add the flour, otherwise that store-bought dough is really awful -- very sticky!).
• On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough into a 6" x 16" rectangle.
• Cut into 16 small rectangles. 2 rows of 8. Each one being 3" x 2".
• You can trim tops (2" side)with a paring knife to resemble the top of a tombstone cutting an arch if desired.
• Place each tombstone onto ugreased baking sheets 2" apart.
• *Optional, along bottom edge (bottom 2" side)of each cookie, insert 2 toothpicks halfway into the dough. **If these will be for small children, I recommend not doing this. (My owm alternative directions to follow.).
• Bake cookies at 350º for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.(*Mine took 13-14 minutes.)But mine were probably a little thicker than the original recipe. It had said to roll out and hand-cut each cookie with a paring knife around a waxed paper pattern -- (Cutting them into rectangles from a large rectangle was MUCH easier! And made more sense to me.)Then just simply trim the tops to whatever shape/style you want.
• Remove to wire racks to cool.
• In large plastic ziploc bag, combine water and green food coloring.
• Add coconut, seal bag shut, and shake to coat.
• Toast coconut, set aside. (Optional.)I didn't, it was fine.
• Using black gel, tint frosting gray. (*I used one whole small tube and it was barely gray, but ok.).
• Frost cookies, decorate tombstones with more black gel. (*The black gel for writing didn't work for me! I had to scrape it off, refrost the ones I wrecked, and just used chocolate frosting instead for the writing part. That worked perfectly for me.).
• Cut cereal bars into 3"x2" rectangles.
• Spread with melted chocolate chips. (*I didn't do this, I used frosting instead.)BUT! See further instructions!
• Insert cookies into rice crispy treats sticking the toothpicks down in to hold up the cookie.
• Do this on the edge of one long side.
• *If you aren't using toothpicks, pipe a thick bead of melted chocolate chips on wide edge and hold in place til set. Or do on waxed paper, which is how i ended up doing this, and lay them down with the cookie pressed against it so you don't have to hold it. Refrigerate til set.(30 minutes was all it took.) Remove from waxed paper carefully.
• (*I then opted to use the rest of the chocolate frosting to frost the tops of the exposed rice crispy treats part. Pressed the pumpkin into the frosting, then sprinkled with coconut.).
• Decorate with coconut for "grass", and candy pumpkins.
• Makes 16 "Tombstones".

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Beat in the egg, then the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Shape into a 1-inch-thick rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
• Heat oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into shapes using lightly floured 3-by-2-inch rectangular cookie cutter, flouring the cutters and rerolling the scraps as necessary. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the edges just begin to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a large bowl until the icing is thick and smooth. To make grey icing stir 4 drops of black food color into 1/4 cup of the white icing; to make black icing stir 30 drops of black food coloring into 1/4 cup the white icing; to make orange icing stir 12 drops of red food coloring and 9 drops of yellow food coloring into 6 tablespoons of the white icing. Transfer the icings to pastry bags or plastic bags (snip a small hole in the corner of the bag).
• To make the tombstone- Draw the outline of a tombstone vertically on the cookie with the grey icing, then fill it in. Draw small “cracks” on the edge and to write “RIP” in the center with the black icing.
• To make the ghost- Draw the outline of a ghost shape vertically on the cookie with the white icing, then fill it in. Draw two small dots on the head to make the eyes with the black frosting. Draw one larger dot below the eyes to make the mouth.
• To make the Spiderweb- Draw a rectangle on the cookie using the white icing, then fill it in. Draw 6 thin lines of varying length from one corner of the cookie using the black icing. Connect the ends of the lines, one to another, with an arced line. Repeat this step two more time, moving in 1/2” closer to the corner each time.
• To make the Jack O’Lantern-  Draw a rectangle on the cookie using the orange icing, then fill it in. Draw two small triangles for the eyes 1/2”inch from the top edge of the icing using the black icing. Draw a small triangle below the eyes to make the nose and a jagged line below the nose to make the mouth.