Name: Oreo Style Bat Cookies
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 120 min
Ingredients: 113 grams Butter, unsalted, cubed & soft ((4 oz, ½ cup, 1 stick)); 100 grams Granulated Sugar ((3½ oz, ½ cup)); 3 tbsp Golden Syrup ((60g/2 oz, *see notes for alternatives)); ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda ((Baking Soda)); ⅛ tsp Salt; 157 grams Plain Flour ((5½ oz, 1¼ cup All Purpose)); 48 grams Cocoa Powder ((1¾ oz, ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)); 128 grams Butter, unsalted & melted ((6 oz, ¾ cup)); ¾ tsp Vanilla Extract; 1 Pinch Salt; 187 grams Icing Sugar, sieved; 20 Sprinkles, oven-safe ((see notes))

Oreo style bat cookies are my homemade version of the popular shop bought chocolate sandwich cookie.  This time in the shape of a scary big bat for some Halloween baking!  These bat cookies are perfect for a Halloween party.  So easy to make, try making with the kiddies or give out to the 'trick or treaters'.

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What Makes This A Great Recipe?

Why make this?

Quick & easy, straight forward cookie recipe.
Taste Great
No artificial, sugars, additives or preservatives.
Works with Gluten Free flour too.

These will not taste identical to those Oreos people love, but that is because my recipe doesn’t have a long list of ingredients, that you have never heard of.

However, I don’t think you will be disappointed with the taste and texture. It’s also not just a standard buttercream filling. You are clarifying the butter before making the buttercream.

BUT, don’t worry, as it is so simple to do and worth the extra 10 minutes. It makes the filling a little firmer and so the logical choice for sandwich cookies.

Grey plate with vanilla and chocolate filled sandwich cookies n Easter and spring shapes, with Easter decorations around.

It’s also a versatile buttercream filling that can be flavoured – I made a chocolate version for some Chocolate Filled Vanilla Sandwich Cookies, (see photo). And I also made peppermint & even some orange flavoured ones for Easter Themed Chocolate Sandwich Cookies.

These chocolate cookies also work well with generic gluten free flour, (Plain or All Purpose Gluten Free flour). Just add ½ + ⅛ tsp Xanthan Gum.

Which Cookie Cutters To Use?

You can of course use any cookie cutter you might have to make Halloween themed Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. This bat cutter was 11 cm x 5cm (4 ⅓ inch x 2 inches) at its widest points.

I would just advise though on not using the push-release/stamp cookie cutters that are the complete shape, and have an imprint on them, as the dough has a tendency to stick to it when trying to cut them out.

Using Other Cookie Cutters

You can see some other Halloween & Autumn/Fall shaped cutters in the photo. Just remember that the baking time will be a bit less if using a smaller cutter. But on the plus side, there will be a greater yield of sandwich cookies!

Note On Ingredients

These bat sandwich cookies contain:

Butter, unsalted
Sugar, granulated
Flour, Plain/A.P.
Bicarb. (Baking Soda)
Cocoa Powder
AND Golden Syrup

The Golden Syrup is optional for this particular recipe but you can purchase this in some US/Canadian shops, (such as World Market), or online. See my Gingerbread Cake recipe for where to buy Golden Syrup.

Substitute for Golden Syrup for this particular recipe, that works well is some Maple Syrup or Honey.

For The Filling:

The filling is a buttercream made from ‘clarified butter’. Here are the ingredients:

Butter, unsalted
Icing/Powdered Sugar, sieved
Salt
Vanilla Extract*

*Learn how to make homemade vanilla extract for baking.

Sprinkles

For the bat eyes, and for them to stand out more from the ‘black’ cookie, I found sprinkles ideal. Note however, than the tiny tiny little coloured balls (the orange ones in the photos), completely melted on baking. So I went for the larger, harder, disc shaped white ones that were oven-safe.

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Alternatively, you can add any sprinkle on after baking, with a little water, vodka, water or even a dot of the buttercream if the sprinkles are big enough.

Tips – Chilling Cookie Dough

Be sure to chill the cookie dough, as there is baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) in it. Do this, and there will be minimal spreading whilst baking. Most cookies/biscuits should be chilled before baking.

It also relaxes the gluten in the flour that has been worked during mixing and rolling out and in turn helps avoid a tough cookie. Ideal opportunity too for you to have a break.

You can also cover with cling film/plastic wrap and chill overnight if you want. Just bake direct from the fridge and bake a few minutes longer.

‘White’ Buttercream Filling

Our butter in the UK is much more yellow in colour than US butter I have noticed, and so if you want a white buttercream, similar to real Oreos, you have 2 options:

Add some WHITE food colouring
Add tiny amount of PURPLE colouring

I used Sugarflair brand of ‘Extra White’ concentrated colouring paste. I highly recommend Sugarflair, as it is a paste (full disclosure, I am not being sponsored by Sugarflair, but use them all the time). Add tiny amounts during the buttercream mixing stage.

Alternatively, a tiny amount of purple colouring can make the buttercream more ‘white’. I tried with Sugarflair’s Grape Violet colouring. **Be sure to use gloves as it will stain.

Experienced Bakers

For experienced bakers, you can skip to the Recipe Card for an abbreviated version of the recipe, that you can save, share or print (with/without the photos or notes). Just click the jump-to option below.

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Learner bakers, read on for the detailed recipe process.

**Note – ingredient amounts & equipment listed in Recipe Card.

Instructions

Make The Cookie Dough

1. Combine the softened butter, sugar, syrup, baking soda (bicarb) & salt in a large bowl and mix on low (or by hand) until it starts to become moistened. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes). The ‘creamed’ butter will be paler in colour now too. See Photo 1 below.

**Tip – for butter to soften quicker, cut into smaller pieces (about 1cm, ⅓″ size), as smaller surface area will come to room temperature quicker. Alternatively watch this Video for softening butter in about 12 minutes.

2. Next sieve the flour & cocoa powder over the creamed mixture, & with the mixer on low, (or with a spoon), start to mix the ingredients together.

3. Pushing down on the mixture with the back of a metal spoon will make the butter take on more of the dry ingredients. Repeat this, or use the mixer on low, until it starts to come together. Then bring the dough together with gentle squeezing and kneading by hand, while still in the bowl, before finally forming into a smooth flat disc. (See Photo 2 below).

4. Next line the baking trays/sheets with baking/parchment paper. (If there is no lip on these, best to hold in place with some baking spray or grease with butter, so the cookies don’t go sliding off the tray).

5. Place the dough on a large sheet of baking/parchment paper, with a little icing/powdered sugar if needed. Then a second sheet of paper on top & use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to a 4-5mm (⅙” – ⅕“) thickness. (I used 2 x 10p coins that I measured, as a guide). Be careful not to make any thinner than this or you will over cook the cookies. A little thicker is ok. (See Photo 3 below).

Cut Out The Cookies

1. Dip the cookie cutter in a plate with some icing/powdered sugar or even cocoa powder and cut out as many cookies as you can, remembering to dip the cutter every so often.

2. Instead of lifting the cut-outs, leave to the end, and simply peel away the excess dough from around the outside. Use an off-set spatula, baking palette knife or butter knife to help if needed, and once removed, transfer the bat cutouts carefully to your prepared baking trays/sheets. (See Photo 4 below).

3. Re-roll the excess dough and repeat cutting until all cookie dough is used up, remembering to try to make pairs for the sandwich cookies. Tip: if any of the bats are not cut sharp, (and this can happen with plastic cutters), go back over the bat cookie, pushing down and twisting a little, to make sharper edges.

4. The cookie dough will be chilled before baking, so if short on fridge space, you can squeeze as many onto 2 baking trays/sheets as you can manage & then spread out over 3 baking trays/sheets when you come to bake them. Alternatively, you can place on something flat that does fit in your fridge, just make sure to paper line first.

5. Add some ‘eyes’ to the bats, with some oven-safe sprinkles. Note the tiny orange sprinkles melted completely on baking. The harder flat white ones were fine. You could alternatively add on after baking with some food glue, vodka, water or tiny drop of buttercream

Chill The Cookies Before Baking

1. Chill the prepared cookie dough, for 1 hour before baking, to ensure they keep their shape and don’t spread out. (As a shortcut, you can also place in the freezer for 25 minutes, after 5 minutes in the fridge first). This chilling should be done with most cookies/biscuits.

2. Heat up the oven up to 180c/160c Fan Oven/350f/Gas Mark 4, to coincide with the 1-hour chilling time ending.

Bake The Cookies

1. If you squeezed all the cookies onto 2 baking trays/sheets for chilling, now spread out over 3 trays/sheets, with a space in-between each bat cookie (about 1 cm or ⅓”).

2. Bake the cookies for about 10 – 15 minutes till ready. (I bake 2 trays/sheets at one time, with the 3rd left in the fridge). They should be firm enough that you can push them gently with a spatula & they don’t stick. They should still be soft but it is easy to over-bake chocolate cookies because of their colour & because they continue baking out of the oven. If they crack when trying to push, bake a minute or two longer. Remember to turn and rotate the baking trays/sheets during cooking if need be, after the 8 minute mark. (See Photo 5 above).

3. Remove from the oven, place on top of a cooling rack & leave on the baking sheet/tray for no more than 2 minutes. Then transfer using the paper, to the cooling rack. If you think you have baked too much, don’t allow any cooling on the tray and move to the rack immediately.

Make Buttercream Filling

1. Melt the butter in a small to medium cooking pot on the stove top on a medium to high heat. Turn the heat down to low-medium heat, letting it simmer and remember to stir. The butter will hiss & pop and there will be a lot of bubbles & foam. If browning reduce the heat further. Continue until the butter is silent and then strain through a sieve into a bowl. There will be foamy fat residue sticking to the sides of the bowl and in the bottom of the sieve. See Photo 6 above of the process. This is just the fats and liquids separating and normal.

2. Add the vanilla extract and salt. The mixture will sizzle again so be careful when mixing through. Check out my article for How To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

3. Add in the sieved icing/powdered sugar and mix by hand until all sugar is incorporated and a smooth paste is formed. I like to use a fork or metal spoon for this. See Photos 7 & 8. This will only take a few minutes, so no need to get the mixer out again.

4. Part-way through, add some white food colouring if you are wanting a more ‘white’ filling. Alternatively, you can use a tiny amount of purple colouring to off-set the yellow tinge to the buttercream. Leave till ready to fill the cookies, but don’t put in the fridge or it will set up too hard.

Assemble The Cookies

1. Using an off-set spatula, baking palette knife or butter knife, spread a generous amount of buttercream onto the underside of one of the Oreo bat cookies. Spread as near to the edges as you can.

2. Place a second cookie on top and squeeze together gently. You can let a little of the buttercream squeeze out if you want, and then use the end of a small spoon to smooth around the edges. Another option is to smooth the ends of the buttercream before adding the 2nd cookie on top. See Photo 9 below. Alternatively apply with a piping bag and small nozzle. You might have to thin the filling down a little, with a small amount of milk to do this.

3. Alternatively apply with a piping bag and small nozzle. You might have to thin the filling down a little, with a small amount of milk to do this.

4. Repeat sandwiching all the rest of the cookies together, before placing in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Serving & Storage

1. Serve the Oreo-style bat cookies with a tall glass of cold milk, or some hot tea!

2. Store the cookies in a metal cookie/cake tin or airtight container, preferably in the fridge or somewhere cold. If stored in the fridge, these will last up to 7 days. At room temperature, they should last about 3 days.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: easy, beginner

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Dark setting in portrait ratio, of large chocolate sandwich cookie sin bat shape, on a long rectangular wooden board, with tiny pretend pumpkins, pumpkin ornament, lantern and foliage to the back.

Recipe Card

Abbreviated Recipe

Oreo Style Bat Cookies

Closer cropped Bright photo of large bat shaped chocolate sandwich cookies, on a large round wooden board, with white airy background and tiny pretend pumpkins and biege linen and pumpkin ornament.

Oreo style bat cookies are my homemade version of the popular shop bought chocolate sandwich cookie. This time in the shape of a scary bat for Halloween baking! These bat cookies are perfect for a Halloween party. So easy to make, try making with the kiddies or give out to the 'trick or treaters'.

Caro @ Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 15

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 2

Serving Size Large Bats (minimum)

Equipment

Scales or measuring cups
Measuring Spoons
Stand/Hand-mixer
Mixing bowl for dry ingredients
Sieve
Baking sheets/trays (2 or 3)
Baking/parchment paper
Rolling Pin
Small bowl to dip cutter
Bat Cookie Cutters (large bats were 11 cm x 5cm (4 ⅓″ x 2″), but smaller/other cutters can be used)
Cooling rack
Timer or Phone Timer
Small Cooking Pot
Palette knife/Baking Spatula (Off-set spatula, butter knife, small spoon or piping bag)

Ingredients

For The Cookie Dough

113 grams Butter, unsalted, cubed & soft (4 oz, ½ cup, 1 stick)
100 grams Granulated Sugar (3½ oz, ½ cup)
3 tbsp Golden Syrup (60g/2 oz, *see notes for alternatives)
½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
⅛ tsp Salt
157 grams Plain Flour (5½ oz, 1¼ cup All Purpose)
48 grams Cocoa Powder (1¾ oz, ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)

For The Buttercream Filling

128 grams Butter, unsalted & melted (6 oz, ¾ cup)
¾ tsp Vanilla Extract (Try some homemade vanilla extract)
1 Pinch Salt
187 grams Icing Sugar, sieved (6½ oz, 1½ cup Powdered sugar)

For The 'Eyes'

20 Sprinkles, oven-safe (see notes)