Looking for the perfect cute Halloween cookies recipe, but scared stiff of popular recipes for hard bland shortbread cookies with cement icing?

Try our cookies instead and make Halloween cookies GOOD again! Our spooky Halloween cookies are delicious Halloween fun.

You're going to love these cookies, so grab your butter and sugar and fill your cookie jar with these fun Halloween treat cookies right away!

Make Your Halloween Cookie-Cutter Perfect

Don't worry about those Halloween recipes with their complicated steps. These Halloween sugar cookies don't even require a rolling pin or floured surface!

Learn how to make fun Halloween cookies shaped like adorable Halloween characters by pressing this dough to make it fit within spooky Halloween cutters of your choice.

Here's the scoop on how to create this Cute Halloween Cookies recipe. Get ready to make these best spooky masterpieces, step by step.

Cute Halloween Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup shortening
• ⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup decorating sugar
• 28-30 oz white royal icing
• gel food coloring (blue, black, green, yellow, and gray pictured)

Instructions

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place decorating sugar in a small bowl.
2. Beat shortening and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth.
3. Mix in white sugar, then eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in vanilla.
4. Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until cookie dough forms.
6. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then gently press into shape within Halloween-themed cookie cutters.
7. Lightly press each cookie in decorating sugar to coat, then place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Cooking

1. Bake for 5-6 minutes.
2. Switch racks halfway through, so that the bottom batch is now the top batch. Continue cooking until cookies are light brown on bottom, about 5-6 more minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and transfer to wire racks to cool.

Decorating

1. Divide white royal icing into 10-12 separate small bowls, to allow for thick (piping) icing and thin (flood) icing in all or most colors.
2. Slowly add gel colors as desired to each bowl, mixing until color is smooth.
3. Transfer icing intended for border or detail work into piping bags.
4. Add water very, very gradually to each icing intended for flooding, as it is easier to thin frosting than to thicken it. You don't want it to drip off the cookies.
5. Transfer the flood icings to piping bags. As long as they aren't too thin, these can actually be used for bordering as well for a smoother look.
6. Have fun! Border and flood your cookies, then decide if you want smooth or puffy (3D) features.
7. For smooth features, go ahead and pipe on those details. For puffy features, allow the base icing layer to dry for at least an hour first before adding details.

Serving

1. Store these sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to four days. Place a slice of bread in the container, to absorb any remaining air and keep your cookies super soft.
2. Place iced cookies in their own separate bakery bags to make these cookies dressed up for Halloween and perfect for handing out to trick or treaters or Halloween party goers.

Tips and Variations

• This classic sugar cookie dough is a truly great recipe. The cookies are soft, fun to make, and kids will love helping.
• Freeze the cookie dough and throw a little Halloween pumpkin decorating party... with pumpkin cookies! Just add some pumpkin spice and cinnamon to make the dough perfect for Halloween.
• The cookies for your Halloween party have no limits, though. Leftover Halloween candy can turn the cookie dough balls into chocolate chip cookie, chocolate cookie, candy corn... whatever; get the kids involved!
• The shapes are up to your imagination (and your cookie cutter collection). You aren't limited to mummy cookies, ghost cookies, or monster cookies. Don't forget spider cookies, candy corn cookies, vampire cookies, bat cookies ... even a gingerbread cookie cutter can make a great voodoo doll cookie!
• Make a simple adjustment for chocolate sugar cookies, or even chocolate sandwich cookies.
• These don't have to be cut-out cookies to be your new favorite sugar cookie, either. Place the balls of cookie dough directly on the cookie sheets to bake cookies perfectly, or spread into a lipped baking sheet for cookie bars.
• These cookies decorated simply with your favorite icing recipe can still be easy Halloween cookies. Just top with Halloween sprinkles or Halloween M&Ms to make this recipe everyone's favorite Halloween dessert. They're easy!

Food for Thought

This cute Halloween cookies recipe will be one of the best Halloween cookie recipes you try this year.

With delicious ingredients and fun Halloween colors, these cookies are the perfect fall treat. Save this recipe!

Yield: 24 cookies

Cute Halloween Cookies Recipe

Print

Decorate these spooky sugar cookies to introduce Frankie, Skully, and Jack at your next Halloween party with these easy Halloween cookie recipes.

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup shortening
• ⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup decorating sugar
• 28-30 oz white royal icing
• gel food coloring (blue, black, green, yellow, and gray pictured)

Instructions

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place decorating sugar in a small bowl.
2. Beat shortening and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth.
3. Mix in white sugar, then eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in vanilla.
4. Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until cookie dough forms.
6. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then gently press into shape within Halloween-themed cookie cutters.
7. Lightly press each cookie in decorating sugar to coat, then place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Cooking

1. Bake for 5-6 minutes.
2. Switch racks halfway through, so that the bottom batch is now the top batch. Continue cooking until cookies are light brown on bottom, about 5-6 more minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and transfer to wire racks to cool.

Decorating

1. Divide white royal icing into 10-12 separate small bowls, to allow for thick (piping) icing and thin (flood) icing in all or most colors.
2. Slowly add gel colors as desired to each bowl, mixing until color is smooth.
3. Transfer icing intended for border or detail work into piping bags.
4. Add water very, very gradually to each icing intended for flooding, as it is easier to thin frosting than to thicken it. You don't want it to drip off the cookies.
5. Transfer the flood icings to piping bags. As long as they aren't too thin, these can actually be used for bordering as well for a smoother look.
6. Have fun! Border and flood your cookies, then decide if you want smooth or puffy (3D) features.
7. For smooth features, go ahead and pipe on those details. For puffy features, allow the base icing layer to dry for at least an hour first before adding details.

Serving

1. Store these sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to four days. Place a slice of bread in the container, to absorb any remaining air and keep your cookies super soft.
2. Place iced cookies in their own separate bakery bags to make these cookies dressed up for Halloween and perfect for handing out to trick or treaters or Halloween party goers.

Notes

• This classic sugar cookie dough is a truly great recipe. The cookies are soft, fun to make, and kids will love helping.
• Freeze the cookie dough and throw a little Halloween pumpkin decorating party... with pumpkin cookies! Just add some pumpkin spice and cinnamon to make the dough perfect for Halloween.
• The cookies for your Halloween party have no limits, though. Leftover Halloween candy can turn the cookie dough balls into chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cookies, candy corn cookies ... whatever; get the kids involved!
• The shapes are up to your imagination (and your cookie cutter collection).

Get the scoop on more like this:

• Halloween Cake Character Cookies Recipe
• Easy Halloween Chocolate Bats
• 40 Best Halloween Gift Ideas for Teachers
• 55 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes With Few Ingredients