Soft and sweet Halloween sugar cookies that will melt in your mouth. Not only are the cookies delicious, but they are great for parties, carnivals and fall festivals.
These sugar cookies are tender and tasty. They are perfect for shaping into cuteness for any season, but these pumpkins are especially adorable! For more Halloween fun try Mummy Cookies, Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats, Halloween Sugar Cookie Cake.
Kids go Nuts over them!
These are just the cutest little pumpkins ever! They really take on a cute personality when you add those mis-matched eyes don’t they?
The kids absolutely LOVE making and decorating sugar cookies. It is especially fun during fall to make themed cookies. They especially love making these super cute pumpkins.
These are so fun to share with neighbors, bring to a potluck or party, or a school party. They are sure to be snatched up quickly!
How to Make Halloween Sugar Cookies
Cookie
PREP. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
CREAM. Cream butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg and almond in large bowl (or Kitchen-Aid) until fluffy.
COMBINE. In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
STIR. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms.
ROLL & CUT. Roll out and cut with cookie cutter. Thin dough will make crunchy cookies. If you want soft dough, it needs to be about ⅜ in. {NOTE: Try not to handle the dough too much}
BAKE. Bake 8-10 minutes on greased pan. Let cool.
Frost and Decorate
MIX. Make frosting by mixing all ingredients with hand mixer. If too thick, add a tad more milk.
FROST. Frost the cookies with orange frosting.
DECORATE. 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.
Sugar Cookie Tips + Decor Ideas
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- Don’t over mix the dough because it can make it tough.
- Stick to rolling the dough out to ⅜” thick. Thinner dough will give a crunchy cookie and thicker will make the outside bake too quickly while leaving the inside doughy.
- 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.
- If it’s too sticky just add a small amount of flour until you get the right texture.
Decoration Variations – we stuck to these adorable sugar cookie pumpkins, but it would be so easy to change them according to the shape of the cookie cutter and color of frosting. For example:
- Black cat, bat and witch hat cookie cutter 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.
- There are so many different cookie cutter options out there to list every variation. Be creative and have fun!
Storing + More Halloween Treats
Storage: You can store baked cookies with or without the frosting. If you frost them, be sure the frosting has set before storing them. Place cookies in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment or wax paper. They can last for 4-5 days at room temperature.
To freeze: They are best when unfrosted, but can be frozen with frosting. Again, be sure the frosting has set before stacking and use parchment/wax paper between layers. They should stay good for up to 3 months.
Storing the dough: Like many cookies, this dough can be made ahead of time to be baked later. You can either 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.
If you want to cut out the cookie shapes, then freeze you can! 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.
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.
Halloween Treats:
For More Sugar Cookies:
- Lemon Sugar Cookie
- Sugar Cookie Bar
- Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookie
- No Roll Sugar Cookie
- Gooey Funfetti Sugar Cookie
Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Cookie
Frosting
Topping
- Orange decorating gel, green M&Ms, candy eyes, orange sugar sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Cream butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg and almond in 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 cookie cutter. Thin dough will make crunchy cookies. If you want soft dough, it needs to be about ⅜ in. {NOTE: Try not to handle the dough too much}
- Bake 8-10 minutes on greased pan. Let cool.
Frost and decorate
- Make frosting by mixing all ingredients with 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.
is one of the powdered sugars supposed to be flour?
Oops..yes! Fixed it 🙂 Thanks for catching that!
This recipe is so yummy and easy to do!! Also how these cookies are decorated are just the cutest!!! My favorite for sure!