I can’t quit playing with these 3-D Cookie Googly Eyes. They wiggle just like the plastic craft store googly eyes, but are so much more fun, because you can eat them when you are done shaking them around.
The idea for these Googly Eyed Cookies came to me last Halloween. I tried them using homemade hard candy, but the candy was very yellow and I didn’t like the finished cookies at all. Then as it goes for me around Halloween, I ran out of time. Getting ready for a huge party takes up every extra hour in my day.
I knew I was going to need to buy some isomalt to use instead of homemade hard candy in order to get nice clear eyes. Isomalt, for those of you who’ve never heard of it, is a sugar substitute used by candy sculptors. It is super easy to melt and work with, is structurally strong enough for elaborate sugar sculptures, and hardens crystal clear.
I found a few tricks for making these round isomalt discs for my cookies, which I’ll share with you in the tutorial, but all in all, these were pretty simple cookies to make and decorate. They just take time. You need to be patient and let the royal icing harden overnight then you need to allow the isomalt time to set up as well. I tried to rush a few, and the googly eyes didn’t google, instead, they sunk into the icing and stuck there. So, don’t be in a hurry.
To make this project go a little quicker you can use store bought, Betty Crocker Cookie Icing, like I did. It’s just one less thing to make and fewer dishes to clean, and honestly I think it tastes pretty darn good too.
I thought you’d like to see and hear the cookies in action, so I shot of video of my friend’s kids playing with the cookies. I was so excited to see how much they liked the cookies. I do too.
3-D Cookie Googly Eyes (makes 24)
Cookie dough recipe adapted from LilaLoa.com
- 4 - 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour I start with 4 cups, then add more if needed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter softened slightly
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tubes Betty Crocker Cookie Icing or homemade royal icing
- 10 ounces Isomalt nibs or sticks broken into 1 inch pieces
- 24 Dark Melting Candy Wafers Ghirardelli, Candy Melts, or Merkens
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Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
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Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Stir in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.
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Add dry ingredients and stir just until it's mixed in.
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Roll cookie dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.
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Cut out 24 circles using a 3 inch cookie cutter.
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Set on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Cut out 24 more round cookies, then using a 2 1/4 inch cutter, cut a circle from the center of each of those cookies.
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Re-rolling dough as needed, do this again creating 24 more cookies with holes in them, making a total of 48 holey cookies.
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Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 7-11 minutes until set.
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Cut open one tube of the Betty Crocker Cookie Icing and pour it into a microwave safe bowl.
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Heat it for about 20 seconds until it is thin and pourable.
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Dip the tops of the whole round cookies in the icing so you get a nice smooth surface.
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Allow the cookies to dry for an hour.
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Attach one holey cookie on top of each of the frosted cookies using a thin band of white icing.
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Allow these cookies to dry overnight! The icing needs to be very hard so the googly eyes can slide around on top.
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Place three baking pans in a 350 degree oven and allow them to get good and hot.
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Meanwhile, make the clear tops of the googly eyes.
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Start by placing the Isomalt nibs or broken sticks into a glass microwave safe bowl with a pour spout.
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Heat in the microwave until melted and thin.
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Remove one hot pan from the oven. Set it on a towel or trivets.
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Place a piece of parchment paper in the pan. Set 8 cookies on the paper.
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Pour some isomalt in the center of each cookie, allowing it to completely cover the center.
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Allow the isomalt to harden overnight.
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Good morning. Now you are ready to assemble your Cookie Googly Eyes.
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The Ghirardelli Candy Making Wafers and most Candy Melt type wafers have a tip on one side.
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Use a sharp knife to cut wafers into thin flat wafers, cutting off the tip.
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Set one candy wafer inside the stacked cookies.
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Pipe some icing on the back side of the candy filled cookies and set one on each cookie stack.
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Now go have fun wiggling your cookies.
*Note – If you make your top two cookies thicker, like 3/8 – 1/2 inch thick, you can even use Mega M&M’s as the pupils. That’s what I was hoping to use, by my 1/4 inch thick cookies, were not tall enough.
Supplies:
3 inch round cookie cutter
2 1/4 inch round cookie cutter
parchment paper
3 sturdy aluminum or metal baking sheets (you don’t want to use the kind that warp when hot)
Instructions:
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Add dry ingredients and stir just until it’s mixed in.
Roll cookie dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out 24 circles using a 3 inch cookie cutter. Set on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut out 24 more round cookies, then using a 2 1/4 inch cutter, cut a circle from the center of each of those cookies. Re-rolling dough as needed, do this again creating 24 more cookies with holes in them, making a total of 48 holey cookies.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 7-11 minutes until set. You don’ want the cookies to get too brown, so keep an eye on them at the 7 minute mark.
Cut open one tube of the Betty Crocker Cookie Icing and pour it into a microwave safe bowl. Heat it for about 20 seconds until it is thin and pourable. Dip the tops of the whole round cookies in the icing so you get a nice smooth surface. If you want, you can pipe it on instead. I just found it easier to dip. Reheat the icing as needed.
If you need more icing, squeeze some out of your second tube into the bowl. You’ll need this tube intact for the next step.
Allow the cookies to dry for an hour.
Attach one holey cookie on top of each of the frosted cookies using a thin band of white icing.
Allow these cookies to dry overnight! Don’t rush this. The icing needs to be very hard so the googly eyes can slide around on top.
I know it’s hard to wait, but you still have more work to do.
Place three baking pans in a 350 degree oven and allow them to get good an hot.
Meanwhile, make the clear tops of the googly eyes. Start by placing the Isomalt nibs or broken sticks into a glass microwave safe bowl with a pour spout.
Heat in the microwave until melted and thin. I heated mine for 1 minute, then stirred it to incorporate the melted isomalt with any lumps that remained, then I heated it again for about 20 seconds. I let it sit in the microwave until the bubbles disapeared, then I heated it again for 15 seconds, allowed the bubbles to dissapear and was ready to pour.
It’s important that most of the air bubble are gone, otherwise you’ll end up with lots of bubbles in your candy eyes.
DO NOT TOUCH THIS HOT SUGAR, IT WILL BURN, BADLY. I wear protective gloves, just to be sure it doesn’t touch my skin. It will take layers of skin off, and it is incredibly painful.
Remove one hot pan from the oven. Set it on a towel or trivets. Place a piece of parchment paper in the pan. Set 8 cookies on the paper.
Pour some isomalt in the center of each cookie, allowing it to completely cover the center. If needed, you can use a toothpick to move some of the sugar out to the edges.
NOTE: The heat of the pan will help the isomalt spread and get rid of the air bubbles that will form as you pour them. You can use a creme brulee torch to help remove air bubbles, by heating the isomalt once it’s poured, by I found this hot pan method easier and quicker. A few bubbles are fine, but the first few I poured on a cold pan had a cloudy appearance.
Allow the isomalt to harden overnight.
Good morning. Now you are ready to assemble your Cookie Googly Eyes.
My Ghirardelli Candy Making Wafers and most Candy Melt type wafers have a tip on one side. I used a sharp knife to cut my wafers into thin flat wafers, cutting off the tip.
Set one candy wafer inside the stacked cookies. Pipe some icing on the back side of the candy filled cookies and set one on each cookie stack.
Now go have fun wiggling your cookies.
These cookies will keep for about a week.
Items used to make this project are available from Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)
If you are looking for more festive Halloween food ideas, be sure to check out my Halloween category page. You’ll find over 100 fun and festive recipes for the holiday.
More Googly Eyed Treats for Halloween
from Hungry Happenings
Googly Eyed Ghost Pops with edible googly eyes that wiggle
Thanks for responding, Beth.
Although super cute, its way too complicated for my skill level (lack of).
Awesome cookies. I have some dumb questions.
Why are there double the amount of holey cookies?
How are the “eyes” not falling out of the cookie if you turn it upside down?
Where exactly is this clear sugar being poured into?
In the end, why are you piping some icing on the back side of the candy filled cookies?
Sorry for the abundance of questions which the explanations are probably very clear and I’m just not understanding.
Thank you!
Hi Rebecca,
Each googly eye cookie is made up of 3 cookies. The bottom cookie is whole and it is covered in white icing (which not only adds the white color to the eyes, but gives your dark candy melt wafer a smooth surface on which to wiggle around on). The second cookie has a hole in it which gives your room for the dark candy melt wafer room to move. The top cookie also has a hole in it and it is filled with the clear candy. So you bake 1 solid round cookie, 1 cookie with a hole in it, and one cookie with a hole in it that is filled with candy for each Googly Eye. The cookies are all held together using icing. It’s best to allow the icing on the bottom cookie to dry completely so it’s really smooth. Then pipe icing on the back of the middle cookie and attach it to the bottom cookie. Set the dark candy melt (pupil) inside the hole. Then pipe icing on the back of the candy filled cookie and attach it to the middle cookie.
I hope this helps!
How can you properly store the cookies without the isomalt getting damaged, does it get sticky.. do I need to store it in the fridge or individually wrap them , please any advice is greatly appreciated
I would place a set of cookies in a clear cellophane bag and tie with ribbon or seal with tape then stack the cookies on top of each other and place them in an airtight container or large zip top bag. The cookies will stay fresh for up to a week. Have fun making these cookies!
What a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing! (Did I miss the video? Would love to see it!)
Just come across this recipe. Gonna have a go at making them for my sons minion party in November. I’m looking to make 30, will this recipe stretch or will I need to use more ingredients? What does the salt do and is it necessary? I live in the uk and wondered if all purpose flour is the same as our plain flour? Thinking about using chocolate buttons for the eye. Looking forward to giving these a go
Hi Paula,
If you want 30 of these cookies, I’d make 1 1/2 recipes. I think the cookies might get too thin, otherwise. Salt brings out the sweetness in the cookies. I know that sounds strange, but it works. All purpose flour is the general type of flour you use for most baking, so I’m guessing it is similar to your plain flour.
Have fun making your cookies. I’m sure your son’s friends will love them!
I have been under the impression that isomalt is not really edible. I have been to more than one event where isomalt decorations are on a cake and they remove them prior to cutting.
Are these nibs different?
Isomalt is edible and has been used for many years in manufacturing candies and other sweets. Here is link to a great article all about Isomalt – how it's used, how it's made, how it's digested, and more. http://www.caloriecontrol.org/sweeteners-and-lite/polyols/isomalt
Stopping by from Kids in the Kitchen linkup! These are so cute… I've pinned this! Thanks.
Thanks for stopping by and pinning =)
so flippin amazing! would love if you came by and shared on our kids in the kitchen linky http://lookwhatmomfound.com/2014/10/spicy-oatmeal-raisin-butterscotch-cookies-kidsinthekitchen.html
Thanks for the invite!
So many people have said that to me. Next, I need to use them for a minion treat =)
You are amazing! The best place for Halloween Treats!
Thanks, Hani!
Okay, that's it…You. Are. Amazing. I LOVE these!
Thanks, Sue. That's so sweet.
How fun! I love how they came out!
I do too! They are one of the most fun treats I've ever made.
So cool, I like your blog
Thanks, nana, I'm glad you do =)
These are SO SO SO creative. I didn't even know Isomalt nibs existed and now I can't wait to start playing around with them! You're brilliant!
I'm glad I could introduce you to something new. I know I'll be making more treats with them soon.
soo cool!
I think I went all googly when I saw these cookies, Truly one of my favorite of your creations! I love how isomalt melts clear and you can see right through it, so fun to work with.
Just before I posted them I told my husband these were my new favorite. He didn't agree, but what does he know anyway???? I'm glad you think so too.
Amazing idea Beth!
Thanks, Jill. It's one of my favorite creations, ever!
so cool! i love them!
Thanks, Michelle.
SQUEEE! you freak me out Beth with your creative genius! you are one heckuva an inspiration! these are freakin' AWESOME! :>D
I was so excited to share these cookies and am so glad you like them so much =)
Super, super, super cool. I've always wondered how to make things with clear/glass sugar – isomalt, huh? Genius, my dear.
Thanks, Sandra. I read that you can cook sugar really slowly and you can get it clear, but it can take up to two hours. Isomalt took less than two minutes. It's much better!
These cookies are not only delicious but so much fun for the kids and to serve at Halloween. ~ Catherine
The kids really loved these cookies and I enjoyed watching them play with them!
Amaze-balls!! Your googly-eyed cookies are crazy cool! I've been trying to be a little more Pinterest-y. These have me renaming a board. Trying not to gush but i Love these!
You can gush if you want to. I haven't been this excited about something I created in a long time. I am so in love with these cookies=) Thanks for pinning!