Description
Celebrate Halloween with these easy, festive sugar cookies perfect for beginners. Soft, buttery roll-out sugar cookies are baked to a light golden and decorated with vibrant orange and black icings, candy eyes, and spooky sprinkles. This recipe delivers about three dozen cookies ideal for parties, trick-or-treating, or just seasonal fun.
Ingredients
Scale
Roll-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
- 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 & Decorations
- Orange Cookie Icing
- Black Cookie Icing
- Candy Eyeballs
- Halloween sprinkles (various kinds)
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) to prepare for baking the cookies at the right temperature.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, use an electric stand mixer or hand mixer to cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This creates a smooth base for your cookie dough.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Beat in the egg along with vanilla and almond extracts until fully combined for enhanced flavor.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until the dough comes together in a sticky ball that holds shape but does not stick to your fingers. There is no need to chill the dough.
- Shape Dough Discs: Divide the dough into two balls and flatten each into 2-inch thick rectangular discs. This shape helps stabilize the dough for rolling and maximizes cookie cuts.
- Roll Out Dough: On a floured surface, roll each dough disc into a 12-inch diameter circle, about 1/8 inch thick, ensuring even thickness.
- Cut Out Cookies: Flour your cookie cutter before each use to prevent sticking, then cut shapes from the rolled dough.
- Bake Cookies: Place cookie shapes on an ungreased baking sheet (parchment paper optional) and bake for 8 to 11 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Icing: Heat the orange and black cookie icings according to package instructions to a workable temperature for decorating.
- Decorate Black Pumpkin Cookies: Fill pumpkin-shaped cookies with warm black icing immediately topping with sprinkles to decorate before icing sets.
- Decorate Orange Pumpkin Cookies: Fill pumpkins with warm orange icing and allow to set for 15 minutes. Then pipe black icing details on top.
- Decorate Orange Web Cookies: Fill web shapes with warm orange icing. Pipe four black circles from the edge toward the center, then use a scribe tool to drag lines from the center to web points, repeating around the cookie to make a spider web effect.
- Decorate Black Web Cookies: Fill web cookies with warm black icing, immediately sprinkle black sanding sugar. Let sit for 15 minutes, then pipe orange icing lines horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and curved to complete the web.
- Decorate Orange Spider Cookies: Pipe the spider body with warm orange icing, immediately add candy eyes and nonpareils, then pipe black icing legs.
- Decorate Black Spider Cookies: On a cooling rack over parchment, pipe the spider body using warm black icing allowing some dripping. Immediately top with candy eyeballs. Pipe alternating black and orange legs. Adjust cookie position for drips as needed.
- Set Cookies: Allow all decorated cookies to set fully for about 1 hour before serving or storing.
Notes
- Do not chill dough; it’s designed to be rolled and cut immediately.
- Use floured cookie cutters to ensure clean shape cuts.
- Work quickly with warmed icing to prevent drying and ensure smooth decoration.
- The scribe and scraping tools help create clean edges and precise designs.
- Allow icings to set completely to avoid smudging during storage or transport.
- Customize sprinkles and candy eyes to suit your preferred Halloween theme.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (approx. 25g)
- Calories: 110 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
