Halloween Sugar Cookies with Printable Gift Tag
This Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe is perfect for making these fun cookies with royal icing for Halloween! Grab the free printable tag below to make a darling gift this year.
These classic sugar cookies are fun to make – great for fall and celebrating the season! Start the Halloween fun with a batch of these easy halloween sugar cookies.
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this easy recipe to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be waiting there when you’re ready.
Sugar cookie dough is super versatile and easy to make with only a few ingredients from the grocery store. You will need simple ingredients like butter, granulated sugar and all purpose flour.
Looking for more Halloween fun food ideas?! Check out…
Be sure to set aside enough time to decorate the cookies, you may even want to spread it out over a few days. When adding details it’s important to wait until the layer of flooded icing is completely dry otherwise the icing may crack and the colors will bleed.
Make sure that you have all of the supplies needed before you get started. I found our cookie cutters and icing bottles at Michaels but you can also order them from Amazon as well.
This post contains affiliate links.
Sugar cookie supplies:
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cookie cutters
- Icing bottles
- Wire cooling rack
- Cookie scribe or toothpick
- Black food writer
This is my grandma’s classic sugar cookie recipe – time tested and delicious. The only thing that I have changed over the years is swapped out shortening for butter.
Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract *
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Tip: Pre-made Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough can be used to create these cookies as well. Simply add 1/4 cup of flour to the dough, combine well and roll as directed. I love quick mom hacks like this!
*My grandma sometimes used almond extract too. This is our absolute favorite sugar cookie recipe!
Directions:
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour covered in plastic wrap. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4″ thickness on the floured surface.
6. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
8. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
This recipe will make about 70 rectangular shaped cookies.
Use my Easy Royal Icing Recipe to make the best icing for these cookies! You basically need meringue powder, confectioners’ sugar and water mixed to the right consistency.
You will need light green, orange, brown and white royal icing that has been tinted with food coloring.
I prefer to use icing bottles over a disposable piping bag because I find them easier to handle and don’t need different piping tips.
I scrape a small amount of icing into each bottle with a butter knife before mixing in the gel food coloring. Here I have our different colors of icing ready in each bottle.
My royal icing tips:
- If the icing is too hard, add more water one drop at a time.
- If the icing is too soft, add more powdered sugar one teaspoon at a time.
- Icing can be stored at room temperature in a an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- To use, mix the royal icing with a hand mixer so that it becomes smooth and shiny again.
- Flood consistency is reached when a spoonful dropped onto a flat surface takes 10 – 15 seconds to become completely smooth.
These instructions will show you how to decorate Halloween cookies like these ones. An orange pumpkin cookie, a monster cookie and a mummy cookie.
The sky is the limit though, have fun with this process! You can decorate each cookie with all sorts of patterns and designs.
How to decorate Halloween sugar cookies:
Additional supplies: edible candy eyes and a black food writer.
1. Outline and flood an oval in orange for the pumpkin and the entire cookie in green for the monster. Use a scribe to push the icing into corners and pop any bubbles.
2. Before the icing dries add edible candy eyes to the green icing. Draw a rectangle of black using the food writer onto the base of one cookie.
3. Outline and fill the cookie in white, leaving the black rectangle open.
4. Allow the white and orange icing to dry slightly (at least 30 minutes) before adding details. Pipe white icing over the white cookie to create mummy wraps.
5. Add a brown stem to the pumpkin and pipe on orange lines. Add two candy eyes to the mummy cookie.
These easy Halloween cookies turned out to be so fun! They are seriously way easier to make than you would think.
You could also add a green stem or jack-o-lantern face to this pumpkin for a totally different look!
Allow the icing to completely harden for at least four hours before packaging or storing the cookies. These look amazing wrapped in cellophane and tied up with a bit of twine.
This would be the perfect way to deliver these halloween treats to halloween parties or events!
Add my free printable gift tag and voila! An adorable sweet treat for Halloween!
Be sure to check out my Monster Sugar Cookies for more decorating ideas! Making Halloween cookies with royal icing can be super addicting!
This post contains affiliate links.
Some of my baking essentials:
- I love using this non-stick bakeware for all of my baking.
- These silicone mitts are perfect for grasping hot pans and baking dishes.
- This Henckel Knife is my favorite for slicing and dicing in the kitchen.
- These parchment paper bags are perfect for packaging and these large Rubbermaid food storage containers are great for storing baking in the freezer.
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Be sure to check out my other Sugar Cookies!
Halloween Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- 1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- 2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
- 3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
- 4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- 5. Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4" thickness on the floured surface.
- 6. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
- 7. Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
- 8. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool before decorating with royal icing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Halloween Treats
Leftover Candy Halloween Bark - delicious milk chocolate loaded with candy for a sweet treat kids love to help make!
