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Halloween Cookies

Halloween Cookies are buttery sugar cookies with crackly-edged texture, baked and then decorated with orange, black, and white royal icing. You’ll chill the dough for clean Halloween cutouts, bake until the edges are just set, and pipe detailed spooky designs before the icing firms up.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
chill time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 26 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 150
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.75 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Cookie dough
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Royal icing & finishing
  • 3 cup royal icing, divided and colored orange, black, and white
  • 1 Halloween sprinkles

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make the cookie dough
  1. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined, then set aside for even distribution in the dough.
  2. Cream the unsalted butter, softened, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, so the cookies bake up tender.
  3. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until combined and smooth.
  4. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms, stopping as soon as the flour disappears.
  5. Chill the dough for 30 minutes, then roll out and cut Halloween shapes so the edges stay crisp during baking.
Bake and decorate
  1. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes until the edges are just set, using a pale golden color as your cue.
  2. Cool the cookies completely before decorating to prevent the royal icing from melting or running.
  3. Pipe and flood with the colored royal icing, filling cracks and outlining the shapes for a clean spooky look.
  4. Add Halloween sprinkles right after flooding, then let the icing set before serving so the surface firms up.

Notes

Pro tip: Chill the dough well so the cutout shapes hold crisp edges during baking, especially if your kitchen is warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days; keep separated in layers if possible. Freezing is yes—freeze undecorated cookie dough portions or baked cookies (without icing) up to 2 months. For a dietary swap, you can use a dairy-free butter substitute at a 1:1 ratio for a similar texture.