Instructions for cookies: 

1. To make chocolate layer: Add all chocolate ingredients to a food processor and process until a sticky thick dough forms. It will take a few minutes but you will see that the mixture will begin to stick along the walls of the food processor and look like a dough. Basically, if it still feels crumbly process it a little longer.
2. Using your hands, press down the chocolate mixture on top of some parchment or wax paper to form a rectangle or a square, (see pictures). Set in fridge to cool down.
3. To make vanilla layer: Add all the vanilla ingredients into the food processor and process until a thick dough forms. Same as above. The mixture will be ready once it begins sticking along the sides of the food processor.
4. Press down this mixture on top of chocolate layer as evenly as possible covering all the chocolate. Set aside in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to allow it to harden before cutting.
5. Now it’s time to form the spooky shapes! Remove cookie from freezer and using your favorite Halloween cookie cutters (affiliate link) form your desired shapes.
6. Reuse the left over cookie dough by rolling it into a ball and then flattening out on top of parchment paper again – this time the chocolate and vanilla layers should be mixed and it creates a cool blended color effect. Create more cookies with this left over dough.
7. Repeat the steps until all or most of the dough is used up! Any left over dough that is too small for cookie cutters can be rolled into small balls or bars.
8. Place freshly cut cookies back into the fridge (or freezer if you want them to harden quicker) while you make the icing and colors.

To make vegan cookie decorating icing:

1. Rinse and drain cashews and add to blender along with dates, vanilla extract, lemon juice, pinch of salt, and water. Blend until smooth. Add water as needed but remember this is an icing so you do want it to be quite thick.
2. Using a piping bag (you can also cut the tip of a zip lock bag and use that as a piping bag) decorate your cookies as you desire with the cashew icing. 🙂

If you are using natural food colors make sure to add the powder or fruit to the blender while you’re making the icing. Also, if you are using a juice (for example carrot juice for orange) then don’t add water, just add the carrot juice or else it will be too watery.

If you look closely at the pictures you will notice I used chocolate chips as eyes. You can find the recipe for those sugar free, oil free, cacao chocolate chips here once it goes live.