All the details for making charming Halloween cookies! Buttery Halloween sugar cookies decorated with our perfect royal icing!
You can’t go wrong with cute, holiday-themed sugar cookies! Cut out sugar cookies are classic and perfect for Halloween. We kept them charming by using pastel colors and sweet shapes.
Our buttery cookies are perfect for a party or to make with your kiddos.
You do not need to be a professional cookie decorator to make these either. You’ll need a few decorating supplies that you can pick up and then a little extra time.
Since this is a two-step process, from baking to decorating you can take a few days to make these. Bake the cookies one day and the following make it a decorating party!
How to Make Halloween Cookies
Supplies
- Halloween Cookie Cutters
- Piping Tip – Small and medium round.
- Piping Bags
- Cookie Sheets
- Cooling Racks
- Meringue Powder
- Gel Food Dye – Copper/Brown, Orange, Yellow, White
Directions
Here are the steps for making your own Halloween cookies!
Sugar Cookie Dough
Make a batch of our favorite sugar cookies! They’re buttery and the perfect sugar cookie cutouts. Follow the recipe here.
Once the dough is made, roll it out 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick on parchment paper and using Halloween cookie cutters, make shapes!
Place the shapes on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees.
Place the cookies on a cookie sheet to cool.
Royal Icing Recipe
Making royal icing can be tricky, but once you make it a few times and master the texture you’ll be a pro!
The biggest tip for making royal icing is that the consistency needs to be glue-like. When you lift the electric mixer, the royal icing should drip down like Elmer’s glue would.
If it’s too watery, it will not hold it’s shaped on the cookie and if it’s too thick it won’t melt together to create a seamless design.
Follow our guide to making the best royal icing!
Separate the frosting into 4 bowls to make brown, yellow, orange and white.
You’ll need more orange and white to make pumpkins and ghosts and a smaller amount of brown for bats and top of pumpkins. The candy corns will use a small amount of orange, white, and yellow.
Add less dye to keep the colors pastel to make charming Halloween cookies!
When the royal icing is colored, add the tips to the piping bags and fill them. Do not fill to the top of the bag, leave room to twist it closed.
How to Pipe Royal Icing for Halloween Cookies
Once the small round tips are fitted on the piping bags and they’re filled with delicious, colorful royal icing you’re ready to pipe!
- Start by outlining the cookie with the icing.
- Next, fill in the middle by continuing to follow the outline all the way to the center.
- The royal icing will start to blend together, creating a seamless coat of frosting.
- For the pumpkins, outline and fill them in. Let them dry for 30 minutes, then go back and make lines over the top.
- Let the cookies dry for 3 hours. Royal icing takes a while to dry and if you touch it before then they will dent and make fingerprints.
If you don’t have piping tips, cut a very small hole at the end of the piping bag.
More Halloween Cookies and Desserts You’ll Love!
Brown Butter Mummy Rice Krispies
Easy and Adorable Mummy Brownies
2 Simple Oreo Desserts
Let us know if you make these Halloween sugar cookies by leaving a comment and recipe below!
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Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
Royal Icing Recipe
- 1/2 tsp orange food coloring, gel
- 1/2 tsp yellow food coloring, gel
- 1/2 tsp brown or copper food coloring , gel, we use brown and copper for the bats.
Instructions
- Make a batch of our favorite sugar cookies! They’re buttery and the perfect sugar cookie cutouts.
- Roll the dough in a ball and refrigerate for 20 minutes so it firms up a little and is easier to cut the shapes from
- Once the dough is made, roll it out 1/4″ to 1/2" thick on parchment paper and using Halloween cookie cutters, make shapes.
- Quick tip – use powdered sugar when rolling the cookies and not flour!
- Place the shapes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 7 minutes until the cookies are a very light golden brown.
- Place the cookies on a cookie sheet to cool.
Royal Icing
- Separate the frosting into 4 bowls to make brown, yellow, orange and white.
- You’ll need more orange and white icing to make pumpkins and ghosts and a smaller amount of brown for bats and top of pumpkins. The candy corns will use a small amount of orange, white, and yellow.
- Add less dye to keep the colors pastel to make charming Halloween cookies.
- When the royal icing is colored, add the tips to the piping bags and fill them. Do not fill to the top of the bag, leave room to twist it closed
- Once the small round tips are fitted on the piping bags and they’re filled with delicious, colorful royal icing you’re ready to pipe.
Piping Royal Icing
- Start by outlining the cookie with the icing.
- Next, fill in the middle by continuing to follow the outline all the way to the center.
- The royal icing will start to blend together, creating a seamless coat of frosting.
- For the pumpkins, outline and fill them in. Let them dry for 30 minutes, then go back and make lines over the top.
- Let the cookies dry for 3 hours. Royal icing takes a while to dry and if you touch it before then they will dent and make fingerprints.
Notes
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