Swamp Monster Shortbread Halloween Cookies

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (Gas mark 2/325°F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Sift in the flour, add the vanilla extract, and mix until a dough forms.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1 cm thickness. Use a fluted cookie cutter to cut circles, then place them onto the prepared trays.
5. Bake for roughly 15 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Let the cookies cool on the trays for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Once the cookies are completely cool, prepare the icing.
8. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add 25 ml water, and stir until dissolved. Add green gel food coloring and stir until the icing is uniformly green. If needed, add a little more water to achieve a spreadable consistency that isn't too drippy.
9. Drop a small spoonful of icing onto each cookie and spread to the edges with the back of the spoon. Don't worry if it drips over the sides—that adds to the swampy effect.
10. Working quickly, decorate the cookies with Haribo trick-or-treat candies and edible candy eyeballs, pressing them gently into the icing to secure them.
11. After decorating all the cookies, let the icing dry and set completely.