Kiss from a Vampire Cookies

The fall rhythm has established itself and it is complex and sustainable in the way that I have learned complex sustainable things always are: the sustainability is in the systems, and the systems are in the routine, and the routine is: wake, twins, school, study two nights a week, Sunday batch cook, farmers market Saturday, Patty one extra morning a week, Ryan managing his schedule to cover the gaps. We built this in the three weeks after August 25th and it holds.

Jordan raised his hand three times on Monday. I counted. I did not make a production of it in the moment because making a production would have made him self-conscious and the raising of the hand is still new and needs to be treated as ordinary so it becomes ordinary. I wrote it in my notes. I noted the date and the three times and what he said, which was each time something worth saying. He is in there. He was always in there. He needed the room to be safe enough to come out.

Owen and Nora love the daycare mornings. This surprised me — I had prepared for difficulty, the way I prepare for all transitions, with contingency plans and extra patience — but they walked in on the first day and Owen went directly to the block corner and began building and Nora introduced herself to the girl closest to her with the confidence of someone who has been waiting for exactly this opportunity. They love it. They have friends. They are becoming people who exist in the world apart from me, which is: exactly right, exactly as it should be, and only occasionally a feeling I have to sit with for a moment before I can nod and let it be.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, first batch of the season, eighth October in a row. The apartment filled with October. Both twins ate one each and Nora said "more cookie?" and Owen said "pumpkin cookie" which is the correct name, which he has correctly identified, which means he has been paying attention. The cookies are the same recipe, the same ingredients, the same smell. Every year the same. The twins growing up inside the smell of October, learning without knowing it what this season tastes like, carrying it forward into whatever life they build. This is how it works. You cook and it enters them. They carry it out into the world. The food keeps going.

The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the anchor, but they’re not the only thing coming out of this kitchen in October—and this year, with Owen correctly identifying “pumpkin cookie” and Nora asking for more, I wanted to lean into the season fully and give them something that felt festive and a little dramatic, the way October itself is. These Kiss from a Vampire Cookies have been in the fall rotation since before the twins, and they’re the kind of thing that makes children feel like the holiday is actually happening, not just approaching. I made a batch the same week as the pumpkin ones, and Owen picked up a vampire cookie and held it very seriously before eating it, which felt right.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup red decorator sugar or sanding sugar
24 chocolate Kiss candies, unwrapped
2 tablespoons red decorating gel or red food-coloring icing
48 candy corn pieces (for fangs, optional)

Instructions

Preheat. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in vanilla extract.
Combine. Reduce mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Roll in sugar. Scoop dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in red decorator sugar to coat completely. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes until edges are set and tops are just beginning to crack. Do not overbake—centers should look slightly underdone.
Press in the Kiss. Remove from oven and immediately press one chocolate Kiss firmly into the center of each cookie. The cookie will crack slightly around the edges—this is the “bite.”
Add the vampire details. Once cookies are cool enough to handle (about 5 minutes), use red decorating gel to draw two small dots or drips below the Kiss to suggest bite marks. If using candy corn fangs, press two pieces point-side down on either side of the Kiss before the cookie fully sets.
Cool completely. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. The chocolate Kiss will firm back up as it cools.

Nutrition (per serving)

Kiss from a Vampire Cookies — The October Batch That Starts It All