Description
Celebrate the Day of the Dead with these festive and delicious almond sugar cookies, beautifully decorated with white and black candy coatings and colorful candy accents. Perfect for a holiday treat, these cookies have a tender, buttery texture with a hint of almond flavor, topped with sweet and vibrant decorations to bring the spirit of the celebration to your table.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1-1/4 cups butter, softened
- 1-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 ounces almond paste
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Decoration
- 2 packages (12 ounces each) white candy coating melts
- Optional decorations: Jumbo sprinkles, peppermint candies, candy-coated sunflower kernels, Skittles, Twizzlers Rainbow Twists, and Good & Plenty candies
- Black paste food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the almond paste and mix well. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract to combine fully.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, mixing until a dough forms. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 1 hour to chill and firm up.
- Shape the Cookies: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a floured 5-inch skull-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookie shapes. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets to prepare for baking.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes or until they are firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let them stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
- Melt the Candy Coating: In a large, shallow, microwave-safe dish, melt the white candy coating melts according to package directions, stirring until smooth and melted.
- Dip and Decorate: Dip the top side of each cooled cookie into the melted white candy coating. Allow the excess to drip off, then place the cookies on waxed paper.
- Add Decorations: While the coating is still wet, decorate the cookies with your choice of jumbo sprinkles, peppermint candies, candy-coated sunflower kernels, Skittles, Twizzlers Rainbow Twists, and Good & Plenty candies.
- Create Black Icing Details: Tint remaining white candy coating with black paste food coloring. Use the tinted coating to pipe on mouths and other details on the cookies.
- Set the Coating: Let the decorated cookies stand at room temperature until the candy coating is fully set and firm.
Notes
- Make sure the almond paste is well mixed with the butter and sugar for even almond flavor.
- Chilling the dough before rolling helps prevent spreading during baking and makes cutting out shapes easier.
- Use a wrist motion when dipping cookies into the candy coating to ensure an even layer without overcoating.
- Customize decorations with various colorful candies to personalize your Day of the Dead cookies.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain freshness for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 100mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
