Halloween Sugar Cookies
These Halloween Sugar Cookies are frightfully delicious and the perfect way to make your Halloween even better! They are light and sweet, with the perfect bite you expect from a great sugar cookie. Decorate them as you like; get the kids involved in the decorating. I know they will be eager to eat these wonderful cookies!
Looking for another great cookie recipe for the kids and the adults too? You must try these Cheesecake Oreo Cookies; they are soft, sweet, and packed with crunchy Oreo pieces. They also have a little surprise inside, as they are stuffed with cheesecake.
Using a traditional sugar cookie recipe and a little creativity, you can make these amazing Halloween sugar cookies.
Why I Love This Recipe
- An amazing cookie
- Deliciously soft sugar cookie texture
- Perfect for all your ghosts and goblins, big or small
- You can add your own touch to the decoration
- Better than a bakery treat
Ingredients for Halloween Sugar Cookies
These Halloween Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery, and fun to decorate! Perfect for Halloween parties, cookie decorating, and spooky holiday treats.
Ingredients
Cookies
- Butter, softened – I use salted butter. If using unsalted, you will need to add a pinch or 2 of salt to the dough.
- Powdered sugar – This is also called Confectioners’ Sugar or Icing Sugar.
- Egg – This binds the ingredients together.
- Almond extract – This makes a nice change-up from the usual vanilla flavoring.
- All-purpose flour – I have not tried to make this gluten-free.
- Orange food coloring – This is for the pumpkin in the middle; use your favorite food coloring.
Icing
- Powdered sugar – This is the simple addition of sweetness to the icing; it thickens it also.
- Milk – You can use whatever milk you have on hand.
- Halloween sprinkles – I like the little balls or sprinkles for this recipe, but jimmies would work also.
How to Make Sugar Cookies for Halloween
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add the softened butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand up mixer. Cream for 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Add egg and almond extract and mix well. Slowly add flour, one cup at a time, while the mixer is on low speed, and until everything is well mixed.
Divide the dough into two sections, 2/3 and 1/3.
Color the 1/3 section with the orange food coloring. Just a couple of drops at a time until desired color is achieved. (I like to use gloves and knead the color into the dough).
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the orange dough to about ¼ “ thick and use the mini pumpkin cutter to cut out as many pumpkins as possible. You can re-roll the dough until all the orange dough is used. (You should be able to get at least 24 mini pumpkin shapes).
Roll out the other dough to ¼” thick and use the round cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Use the mini pumpkin cutter and cut out a pumpkin shape in the middle of each of the circles.
Remove the uncolored pumpkin shapes from the centers and replace with the orange colored ones. Slightly press them to form a snug fit.
Re-roll the uncolored dough until you have cut out as many round shapes as you have dough for, or orange pumpkins.
Place cookies onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. I bake 1 dozen at a time on the baking sheet, as they don’t really spread much.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring cookies to the wire cooling rack.
In a small bowl, mix together the ¼ cup powdered sugar and a little bit of milk to get a smooth icing.
Place this icing in a small piping bag and snip a very small hole at the tip. Place the sprinkles in a small bowl.
Pipe a very small little bead of icing around the edge of the cookie and dip into the bowl of sprinkles to coat. I do about half of the cookie at a time and rotate the cookie as I’m working. Repeat until as many cookies are coated with sprinkles as you like.
Little Chef’s Secrets
I like to use a natural food color without artificial food dye.
● My first test: I tried to add the sprinkles to the edges before I baked them, but they wouldn’t stick, and the ones that did stick didn’t look good when baked.
● This dough does not require chilling, but I do like to place the cookies in the freezer for a few minutes to sort of fuse the orange and the plain dough together before baking.
You may want to leave some without sprinkles, like I did.
● A plastic baggy can work in place of a piping bag if you don’t have one.
● This recipe can be adapted to any season and other cookie cutters, colors and sprinkles of your liking.
Can You Freeze Decorated Sugar Cookies?
Yes, many cookies decorated with fully dried royal icing can be frozen successfully.
However, some decorations may become damaged by condensation during thawing.
For the best appearance, freeze undecorated cookies and add the icing after thawing.
If freezing decorated cookies, package them carefully and allow them to thaw while still wrapped to help minimize condensation on the icing.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Halloween Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- A few drops orange food coloring
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (for edges)
- 1-2 tsp. milk any type will work
- About 1 cup Halloween Sprinkles tiny
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the softened butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand up mixer. Cream for 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Add egg and almond extract and mix well. Slowly add flour, one cup at a time, while the mixer is on low speed, and until everything is well mixed.
- Divide the dough into two sections, ⅔ and 1/3.
- Color the ⅓ section with the orange food coloring. Just a couple of drops at a time until desired color is achieved. (I like to use gloves and knead the color into the dough).
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the orange dough to about ¼ “ thick and use the mini pumpkin cutter to cut out as many pumpkins as possible. You can re-roll the dough until all the orange dough is used. (You should be able to get at least 24 mini pumpkin shapes).
- Roll out the other dough to ¼” thick and use the round cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Use the mini pumpkin cutter and cut out a pumpkin shape in the middle of each of the circles.
- Remove the uncolored pumpkin shapes from the centers and replace with the orange colored ones. Slightly press them to form a snug fit.
- Re-roll the uncolored dough until you have cut out as many round shapes as you have dough for, or orange pumpkins.
- Place cookies onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. I bake 1 dozen at a time on the baking sheet, as they don’t really spread much.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring cookies to the wire cooling rack.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ¼ cup powdered sugar and a little bit of milk (1 tsp.) to get a smooth icing.
- Place this icing in a small piping bag and snip a very small hole at the tip. Place the sprinkles in a small bowl.
- Pipe a very small little bead of icing around the edge of the cookie and dip into the bowl of sprinkles to coat. I do about half of the cookie at a time and rotate the cookie as I’m working. Repeat until as many cookies are coated with sprinkles as you like.
