Description
These Halloween Sugar Cookies are perfect for festive holiday baking. Soft, buttery, and lightly sweetened, they are decorated with colorful food coloring gels and fun Halloween-themed sprinkles to bring spooky delight to your celebration.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 3 tablespoons milk
Decorations
- Food coloring gels (orange, black, purple, green)
- Assorted Halloween sprinkles and candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar together using a hand or stand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, which helps create tender cookies.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Incorporate the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract if using, and milk into the butter-sugar mixture. Mix well until the batter is smooth and homogeneous.
- Combine Dry and Wet Mixtures: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring gently until just combined to avoid overmixing that can toughen the dough.
- Color the Dough: Divide the dough into portions based on how many colors you want, and add food coloring gels to each portion. Knead well to distribute color evenly.
- Form Cookies: Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, then place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading. Flatten each ball slightly with your palm or the bottom of a glass for an even shape.
- Decorate: Press Halloween-themed sprinkles or candy eyes gently onto the tops of the cookies before baking, or leave them plain to decorate later with icing.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are set but not browned to maintain softness and chewiness.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or decorating further.
Notes
- For cut-out cookie shapes, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour before rolling it out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use Halloween-themed cookie cutters to create fun shapes.
- Decorate cooled cut-out cookies with royal icing to achieve more detailed festive designs and enhanced flavor.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days to maintain freshness.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Holiday Treats
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 70mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
