Description

Celebrate Halloween with these easy and festive sugar cookies that are perfect for beginners. This recipe yields soft and chewy sugar cookies decorated with vibrant orange and black icings and fun Halloween-themed toppings like candy eyeballs and sprinkles. Whether you’re hosting a party or just craving a spooky treat, these cookies are sure to delight kids and adults alike.

Ingredients

Scale

Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cookie Icing and Decorations

Orange Cookie Icing (quantity as needed)
Black Cookie Icing (quantity as needed)
Candy Eyeballs (amount to decorate about 3 dozen cookies)
Halloween Sprinkles (amount to decorate about 3 dozen cookies)

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Instructions

Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) to prepare for baking the cookies.
Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, use an electric stand mixer or hand mixer to cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined.
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture gradually, about 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Continue mixing until the dough forms a ball that is sticky but holds its shape and doesn’t stick to your fingers. Do not chill the dough.
Shape the Dough: Divide the dough into two equal balls. Form each into a 2-inch thick rectangular disc to make rolling and cutting easier.
Roll Out Dough: On a floured surface, roll each dough disc into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.
Cut Out Shapes: Dip your cookie cutter in flour before each use to prevent sticking, then cut out your desired Halloween shapes from the dough.
Bake Cookies: Place the cutout cookies on an ungreased baking sheet, with or without parchment paper. Bake them in the preheated oven for 8 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Once baked, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Heat Icing: Warm the orange and black cookie icings according to their package instructions to prepare for decorating.
Decorate Cookies: Use a cookie decorating tool set to help control icing placement and create clean edges. For black pumpkin cookies, fill the pumpkin shape with warm black icing and add sprinkles immediately. For orange pumpkins, fill with orange icing, allow to set for 15 minutes, then pipe black details.
Decorate Web Cookies: For orange web cookies, fill the base with orange icing, pipe black circles from edge to center, then drag icing lines inward to create web patterns using a scribe tool. For black web cookies, fill with black icing, sprinkle black sanding sugar immediately, let set for 15 minutes, then pipe orange web lines horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and curve lines to complete the web.
Decorate Spider Cookies: For orange spider cookies, pipe orange icing center, add candy eyes and nonpareils, then pipe black icing legs. For black spider cookies, place cookies on a cooling rack over parchment, pipe black icing center allowing some dripping, immediately add candy eyeballs, then pipe alternating black and orange legs. Adjust drips as needed by gentle movement on the rack.
Set and Finish: Allow all decorated cookies to set completely for about 1 hour before serving or storing.

Notes

The dough should be sticky but not stick to your fingers to ensure the right texture for rolling and cutting.
Do not chill the dough as it can make rolling difficult and affect the cookie texture.
Dipping cookie cutters in flour prevents dough from sticking and helps cut clean shapes.
Use a cookie decorating tool set with scribe and scraping tools for precise icing placement and clean edges.
Allow certain icings to set between layers for best decorating results, especially with multi-layered designs like the pumpkins and webs.
Cookies should be stored in an airtight container once fully set to keep them fresh.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 120
Sugar: 8g
Sodium: 90mg
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 3.5g
Unsaturated Fat: 2g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 15g
Fiber: 0.5g
Protein: 1g
Cholesterol: 25mg