Orangeblossom has been baking sweet treats for the grandmas and for us again this week. These turned out really cute and taste like a brownie in a cookie.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 wooden craft or Popsicle sticks
48 candy corn candies
24 red-hot candies

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

2. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red-hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Orangeblossom omitted the wooden sticks and didn't make a centerpiece but the directions for making the candy corn clay pot to hold the cookies for a table top centerpiece is here. They look more chocolaty brown in the photo but actually bake a darker brown black. Black Cat Cookie recipe and photo above from Readers Digest.