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Spooky Cute Halloween Sugar Cookies: Easy Royal Icing Recipe

halloween sugar cookies with royal icing - featured image
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These spooky cute Halloween sugar cookies with royal icing are forgiving enough for beginners, detailed enough for experienced bakers, and fun enough that everyone wants to help decorate. The dough comes together quickly, the icing dries to a perfect finish, and the cookies taste absolutely wonderful.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6–7 tablespoons warm water
  • Gel food coloring

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix on low until combined, about 30 seconds. The mixture should look smooth and slightly glossy.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together. It will look crumbly at first, then form a cohesive ball. Don’t overmix.
  3. Divide the dough in half and flatten each piece into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
  4. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Remove one disk of dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness.
  5. Cut out your Halloween shapes using cookie cutters. Dip the cutters in flour between cuts to prevent sticking. Transfer the cut cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Gather the scraps, re-roll, and cut more cookies until all the dough is used.
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The cookies are done when the edges are just barely golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and 6 tablespoons of warm water. Mix on low until combined, then increase to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes. The icing should be thick, glossy, and hold a stiff peak. If it’s too thick, add water one teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time.
  8. Divide the icing into bowls and color with gel food coloring. For flooding consistency, add water a few drops at a time until the icing flows like honey. For outlining consistency, keep it thicker.
  9. Fit piping bags with #2 tips for outlining and #3 tips for flooding. Outline each cookie first, then flood the inside with thinned icing. Use a toothpick to spread the icing into corners and pop any air bubbles. Let the flooded cookies dry for 1-2 hours before adding details.
  10. For ghosts, use white flooding icing and add black dot eyes and a wavy mouth. For pumpkins, flood with orange and add green stems. For bats, flood with black or purple and add yellow eyes. Let the final decorations dry completely, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Notes

Chill the dough for at least 2 hours to prevent spreading. For best results, bake cookies one day and decorate the next. In humid weather, add an extra tablespoon of meringue powder to help the icing dry harder. If you don’t have piping bags, use zip-top bags with a corner snipped off. The royal icing actually improves with time – after a day or two, the flavors meld and the icing gets that perfect snap.

Nutrition

Keywords: Halloween sugar cookies, royal icing cookies, spooky cookies, cut-out cookies, decorated cookies, Halloween baking, sugar cookie recipe

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