Recipe details
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 150g caster sugar
- 100g soft light brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300g plain flour
- 120g black cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ tsp salt
For the decoration:
- 250g Royal Icing Sugar
- 35-40ml water
- Black and Yellow colouring
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until just smooth — avoid overwhipping, as this can cause the biscuits to spread. Mix in the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, black cocoa, and salt. Gradually fold into the wet mixture until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two discs, wrap well, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is best for neat shapes).
- Preheat the oven to 170°C fan (190°C conventional). Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to 6–7mm thick and cut out cat shapes using a cutter or template. Transfer the cut shapes to lined trays, then chill in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes before baking — this step helps ensure crisp edges.
- Bake for 9–12 minutes until the edges are set. As the biscuits won’t brown, check texture rather than colour. Leave to cool completely on the trays before decorating.
- To make the royal icing, mix royal icing sugar with water in a stand mixer until it reaches a toothpaste-like consistency. Remove 1–2 tablespoons and place in a small bowl, then add yellow food colouring, mix thoroughly, and transfer to a piping bag. With the remaining icing, add black food colouring until you have a deep shade of black. Transfer one-third of this to a piping bag for outlining, then thin down the rest with a little more water so it’s suitable for flooding the centres. Add to another piping bag.
- To decorate, use the thicker black icing to pipe outlines around each cat biscuit. Leave them to dry for 5–10 minutes before flooding the centres with the thinner black icing, ensuring a smooth and even coverage. Allow to dry for a further 5–10 minutes, then dot on yellow eyes using the coloured icing. Finish by adding pupils with a toothpick dipped into the black icing.
Decorating Ideas
- Keep them plain black for a chic silhouette effect.
- Pipe glowing yellow or green eyes for an instantly recognisable Halloween cat.
- Dust with edible shimmer to make them look magical and moody.
- Add just whiskers and eyes for a classy, scroll-stopping finish.
Why you should bake Black Cocoa Cat Biscuits
Halloween baking doesn’t get much more striking than these Black Cocoa Cat Biscuits. Instead of relying on food colouring, the magic is all in the black cocoa powder, which gives a natural, intense colour and a rich, chocolatey flavour. The best part? They hold their shape beautifully in the oven, making them perfect for spooky silhouettes.
Whether you decorate them with glowing eyes, a dusting of edible shimmer, or keep them plain and moody, they’re guaranteed to be a Halloween showstopper.
What is Black Cocoa?
Black cocoa is a type of cocoa powder that’s been heavily Dutch-processed (alkalised) to reduce its acidity and deepen its colour. It has:
- Ultra-dark colour → almost jet black, like Oreo biscuits.
- Mild, smooth flavour → less bitter and acidic than natural cocoa, but also not as rich in chocolate intensity. Think of the earthy, subtle taste you get in Oreo cookies.
- Low fat content → which is why it’s often blended with regular cocoa in recipes to balance both flavour and texture.
It’s perfect for Halloween bakes, dramatic desserts, and anywhere you want that intense black colour without food colouring.
I got mine from Amazon.
