So easy and colourful – these yummy Halloween cookies start with a simple sugar cookie dough, which is coloured and cut out into spooky shapes! Kids will love them!
I absolutely adore Halloween and getting into the spirit of the occasion! But I have found that I have a tendency to go overboard in the effort versus reward stakes. I’ll never forget one halloween as a teenager when I’d baked and hand decorated the coolest Halloween cupcakes for trick-or-treaters, only to find them dismaged every time I opened the door without mini mars bars in my hand!
These easy Halloween cookies are maximum impact, for minimum effort! You’ll simply colour my reliable, delicious sugar cookie dough in the spooky colours of your choosing! I went for pumpkin orange, batty black and starry yellow and purple…cats. To make it simple, you could just go for one colour – orange would be perfect if you have a pumpkin cutter – awesome sets here!
To make these cookies, you will need concentrated gel colours such as those made by Sugarflair, Wilton, Americolor and others. I buy mine online, or you can find them in cake supply shops too! The colours I used were Sugarflair Extra Black, Sugarflair Orange, Sugarflair melon and Sugarflair Grape Violet.
To ensure that the cookies don’t stick to the cutter, dip the cutter into the flour between each cookie.
- 250g / 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 250g / 1 cup plus one heaped tablespoon caster or golden caster sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 500g / 4 cups sifted plain flour
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- Gel food colouring, in your choice of colours
- First, make the biscuit dough.
- Combine your butter, which needs to be incredibly soft, with the sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the two eggs along with the vanilla bean paste, and then sift in the flour and mix with a large spatula - the dough will be quite stuff, but keep going until its all incorporated. Divide the dough into equal portions, (the number depends on how many colours you want to make) on your worksurface, using some clingfilm or baking parchment to protect the side. Make an indentation in your first dough, and add about a third of a teaspoon of the colour you're using. Fold the dough over the colour, then knead until the colour is distributed well through the door. Sprinkle over a little flour if things are getting sticky. When yo're done, wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and pop into the fridge. Repeat for all your colours.
- After 30 minutes in the fridge, the coolie dough will be ready to roll out. First, prepare three large cookie sheets with non stick baking mat or parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 160c/gas mark 4/350F. Roll out the dough to about 4/5mm thick on a liberally floured work surface and use the cookie cutter of your choice to make spooky shapes.
- If you'd like to make pumpkins with yellow eyes as I did, simply use a knife to cut triangle shaped gaps in your pumpkins, then smush in triangle yellow shapes and bake.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes, and keep a close eye on them and remove from the oven or swap to a lower shelf if they're starting to get browned (generally if they are starting to get browned, they will be done). Let cool completely on a cooling rack.
The thing I love most about these cookies is that the fun cut out idea saves you from doing any fancy and time consuming cookie decorating royal icing (like the cookies below) which are from my Pinterest board. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the way they look, but these cookies are so much easier and more fun to make.
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Pin these cookies to your Pinterst board-
Speaking of Pinterest, I’ve been pinning lots of awesome Halloween inspiration lately!
Follow Kerry {KerryCooks.com}’s board Halloween Fun on Pinterest.
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Diana says
October 28, 2015 at 8:32 amLove these cookies! I will have to give these a try, my niece is gonna love them!
Diana recently posted…Halloween Wicked Witch Finger Cookies
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
October 22, 2015 at 6:27 pmWow these look really cool. I thought you’d rolled out sugarpaste at first but I think it’s highly appropriate for halloween to tin one’s cookie dough!!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake recently posted…Rye Toast with Bloody Mary Topping
Diane @ Life of Di. says
October 20, 2015 at 11:57 amThese are so fun! I think my favorite shape is the bat. I just love Halloween (preferably the kid-like version to the horror/zombie/psychopath one.) 😀
Diane @ Life of Di. recently posted…October: Currently.
Rachel says
October 19, 2015 at 12:54 pmKerry, they look so cute! Frighteningly cute, of course! Perfect for a wee ones Halloween party!
Rachel recently posted…Why I Don’t Bake As Often As I Used To. A Confession.