The Runaway Mummy

 
      How many of you grew up with Margaret Wise Brown's classics, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny? And  have read them over and over to your own children? And grandchildren maybe?  If you, like me, can recite them with your eyes closed while you're half asleep with a child snuggled on your lap begging you to "Read it again, pleeeeease?" then you might just appreciate these two "Petrifying Parodies," Goodnight Goon and The Runaway Mummy, from Michael Rex.

    
     We had fun in my class this week comparing these two books with the originals. It was obvious that Michael Rex, the author, had an appreciation of both Margaret Wise Brown's stories  and Clement Hurd's illustrations. My own kids grew up with these classics and have fond memories of them.

     These little mummy cookies are just cute spooky enough to go with either of these books. No special decorating skills are needed for these little guys. Just make up some gingerbread men, (or would you call them gingerdead men?) "glue" on candy eyes and pipe on the frosting. I used a small Wilton basketweave tip, but a ziploc baggie with the corner cut off would work just as well. These were made from my favorite Iced Spice Cookie recipe, but any gingerbread (or even chocolate) cut out cookie would work.

And if you find that your gingerbread mummies are too scared to be alone on Halloween, you could always make them some skeletons to keep them company. :)

 

Iced Spice Cookies (Printable recipe here.) 

Iced Spice Cookies recipe adapted from Patti Paige, Creative Ideas for Living Jan/Feb '89 2/3 cup shortening (I use butter) 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt (I only use 1) 1 large egg (from a happy hen if you can find one-mine aren't laying right now) 3/4 cup molasses 3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Directions: Cream together the first six ingredients. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the molasses and mix again. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to molasses mixture and mix until dough forms. Divide the dough into two balls (flattened), wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least three hours. (I chilled it overnight) This dough is hard to work with unless it's chilled. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out one ball of dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. The original recipe calls for rolling the dough out between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper or a floured pastry cloth. I didn't have those so I just checked my dough frequently to make sure it wasn't sticking to my surface. (Flour is your friend, here.) Cut out desired shapes. Gather scraps into a ball and put in the freezer while you repeat with the rest of your dough. Transfer cookies to parchment covered (or greased) baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, making sure edges don't burn. Cool completely on a rack before frosting. (recipe below) For me this recipe made about 4 dozen small cookies. Royal Icing In a large bowl, mix together 1 pound of confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder (I used Wilton) and a scant 1/2 cup water. (Reserve several spoonfuls of the water-wait and see if you need it. Royal frosting is kind of tricky in that it depends on the humidity as to exactly how much water you'll need.) Mix until soft peaks form. (I did mine about 8 minutes.) Put some frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small basketweave tip and pipe on the mummy wrappings. You could also use a ziploc baggie with the corner cut off!