Halloween Sugar Cookies are one of our favorite October treats because they’re soft, cute, and so fun to decorate. The cookie dough has cream cheese in it, which makes the cookies tender, and the almond extract gives them that classic bakery-style sugar cookie flavor.
We love turning these into little pumpkin faces with orange frosting, decorating gel, sprinkles, green M&M stems, and candy eyes. They’re perfect for Halloween parties, classroom treats, cookie decorating with kids, or dropping off to friends and neighbors.
For more favorites, try our classic Halloween cookies and Halloween Oreos.
Why you’ll love it + Why it works:
- Delicious. Soft Halloween sugar cookies with cream cheese in the dough.
- Party perfect. Great for Halloween parties, classroom treats, and cookie decorating with kids.
- Cream cheese keeps cookies soft. It adds tenderness and helps the cookies bake up soft instead of dry.
- Thicker dough means softer cookies. Rolling the dough to about ⅜ inch helps the cookies stay soft and tender.
Halloween Sugar Cookies Ingredients
- Butter, softened (¾ cup): Adds rich flavor and helps create a tender cookie texture.
- Cream cheese, softened (8 ounces): Keeps the sugar cookies soft and gives the dough a slight tang.
- Sugar (1 cup): Sweetens the cookies and helps them bake up tender.
- Powdered sugar (½ cup): Adds sweetness and helps create a softer texture.
- Egg (1): Binds the dough together and gives the cookies structure.
- Almond extract (1 teaspoon): Adds that classic sugar cookie flavor.
- All-purpose flour (2 ¾ cup): Gives the dough structure so the cookies hold their shape.
- Baking powder (½ teaspoon): Helps the cookies rise slightly.
- Salt (½ teaspoon): Balances the sweetness and enhances flavor.
- Butter, softened (⅓ cup): Makes the frosting creamy and rich.
- Powdered sugar (4 ½ cup): Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
- Milk (¼ cup): Helps thin the frosting to a spreadable consistency.
- Vanilla extract (½ teaspoon): Adds warm flavor to the frosting.
- Almond extract (½ teaspoon): Adds extra bakery-style flavor to the frosting.
- Orange food coloring: Gives the frosting its pumpkin color.
- Orange decorating gel, green M&Ms, candy eyes, orange sugar sprinkles: Turns the frosted cookies into cute pumpkin faces.
How to Make Halloween Sugar Cookies
PREP. Preheat oven to 375°F
BATTER. Cream butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg, and almond in a large bowl (or Kitchen-Aid) until fluffy.
In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms.
ROLL & CUT. Roll out and cut with a cookie cutter. Thin dough will make crunchy cookies so if you want soft cookies, the dough needs to be about ⅜ in. {NOTE: Try not to handle the dough too much}
BAKE. Bake for 8-10 minutes on a greased pan. Let cool before frosting; otherwise, the heat will melt the frosting.
FROSTING. Make frosting by mixing all ingredients with a hand mixer. If too thick, add a tad more milk until you reach the desired consistency.
DECORATE. Frost the cookies with orange frosting.
Use the decorating gel to add texture to the pumpkins. Sprinkle with orange sugar sprinkles then add an M&M for the green stem and place on the candy eyes.
See this Royal Icing Recipe with all the piping tips and tricks you need to make some fun sugar cookie designs.
Favorite Variations
- Black cat, bat and witch hat cookie cutters would all use black frosting, black decorating gel, and black sugar sprinkles.
- Ghost and skull cookie cutters can use white frosting with a combination of black and white decorating gel to create features.
- Flood icing. These Halloween pumpkin cookies hold a nice shape and are sturdy enough to use flood icing, which is also referred to as royal icing. This type of frosting uses meringue powder, which helps give the frosting a smooth, hard, matte finish.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Don’t over-mix the dough because it can make it tough.
- Crunchy cookie. Stick to rolling the dough out to ⅜” thick. A thinner dough will give a crunchy cookie and thicker will make the outside bake too quickly while leaving the inside doughy.
- Dry dough. If your dough is too dry and crumbly when rolling, wet your hands and knead the dough a little. Continue wetting your hands and kneading until you moisten the dough enough for it to hold together.
- Sticky dough. If it’s too sticky just add a small amount of flour until you get the right texture.
Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Cookie
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 4 ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- orange food coloring
Topping
- Orange decorating gel, green M&Ms, candy eyes, orange sugar sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cream butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg, and almond in a large bowl (or Kitchen-Aid) until fluffy.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms.
- Roll out and cut with a cookie cutter. Thin dough will make crunchy cookies. If you want a soft dough, it needs to be about ⅜ in. {NOTE: Try not to handle the dough too much}
- Bake for 8-10 minutes on greased pan. Let cool.
Frost and decorate
- Make frosting by mixing all ingredients with a hand mixer. If too thick, add a tad more milk.
- Frost the cookies with orange frosting.
- Use the decorating gel to add texture to the pumpkins. Sprinkle with orange sugar sprinkles then add an M&M for the green stem and place on the candy eyes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Cool and store the baked cookies with or without the frosting. If frosted, be sure the frosting has been set before storing them. Place cookies in an airtight container, separating layers with wax or parchment paper. They can last for 4-5 days at room temperature.
They are best when unfrosted, but can be frozen with frosting. Again, be sure the frosting has set before stacking. Use parchment/wax paper between layers. They should stay good for up to 3 months.
Like many cookies, this dough can be made ahead of time to be baked later. Roll the dough out into a disk that’s ⅜” thick or keep it in a dough log. Either way, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then again with aluminum foil, or stick it into a Ziploc.
Simply place the cut shapes on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the dough to a freezer-safe storage container. I would still separate layers with parchment/wax paper.
The dough can be frozen for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge, then allow it to come to room temperature before rolling, cutting,and baking.
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This recipe was first shared October, 2020.
Worst recipe I have ever made of sugar cookies was to sticky to firm shapes and tasted horrible
Sorry to hear the cookies weren’t a hit for you. Thanks for giving them a try!
These Halloween sugar cookies are so cute and adorable! Kids helped me in making them and we decided to add these to our Trick or Treats snacks. They are delicious and satisfying!