Celebrate spooky season with Halloween cut-out sugar cookies topped with creamy buttercream frosting. Fun to make, easy to decorate, and perfect for festive parties!
Decorated with buttercream frosting and sprinkles, these cut-out Halloween sugar cookies are a fun way to get creative in the kitchen and celebrate spooky season. We’re decorating ghosts, pumpkins, bats, and Frankenstein cookies. But, you use your imagination! You can use this method of frosting for decorating any type of Halloween cut-out cookie.
Plus, using buttercream frosting and sprinkles not only looks cute but tastes delicious!
Whether you’re making them for a party, to share with friends, or just for fun, these cookies are a must for the Halloween season.
What You’ll Need
- Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Dough: Here is my cut-out sugar cookie recipe, but you can use your favorite cut-out cookie dough recipe.
- Buttercream Frosting: Colored white, green, orange, and black. Personally, I prefer to make my own frosting and color with gel food coloring for more vibrant colors (I have a whole post on how to color frosting and a post on making black frosting), but you can use pre-made colored frosting as well.
- Sanding Sugar: white for the ghosts, black for bats, green for Frankenstein, and orange for pumpkins.
- Candy Eyes: I love this mix pack because it has all different sizes, you can also use back sugar pearls, or pipe on more chocolate frosting. Really, anything goes!
- Halloween Cookie Cutters
Other Tools: Rolling Pin, Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat, Piping Bags (you can also spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula).
Helpful Blog Posts
Here are some reference blog posts that might be helpful for making and decorating these Halloween Cookies 👻
- Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Vanilla Frosting Recipe
- Black Frosting Recipe
- Using Piping Bags
- How to Color Frosting
How to Make
Step 1: Roll, Cut, and Bake Cookies
Cut out and bake your cut out sugar cookies according to the directions of your favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe. The baking times will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutters. Let cool completely before decorating.
Step 2: Decorate Cookies
Pipe or spread the frosting onto the sugar cookies. If desired, smooth out the frosting using an offset spatula or knife. Then, gently press the frosted side of the cookies into a shallow bowl or plate of sanding sugar.
Remove the cookie and gently shake off or brush off any excess sugar. If desired, add eyes such as candy eyes, black sugar pearls, dots of melted chocolate, or even mini chocolate chips. And for the Frankenstein cookie pipe on hair, a mouth, and scars using black frosting.
That's it! If using American buttercream, the frosting and sugar will form a slight crust as they sit out.
Frosting Alternatives
You can use any type of buttercream frosting to decorate these Halloween cookies! Chocolate Frosting, Swiss Meringue buttercream, Lemon Frosting Italian Meringue buttercream, Ermine Frosting, Russian Buttercream, they all work great!
You can also decorate these cookies using royal icing, using the same technique shown in these edible moss cookies.
Looking for more Halloween recipes? check these out!
Halloween Sugar Cookies With Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
INGREDIENTS
- Cut Out Sugar Cookies cookies baked and cooled
- American Buttercream Frosting colored white, black, orange, and green.
- Sanding Sugar in white, black, orange, and green.
- Candy Eyes or black sugar pears
Instructions
- Cut out cookies and bake cookies according to directions.
- Let the cookies cool completely before frosting and decorating.
- To decorate, pipe or spread the colored frosting onto the sugar cookies.
- If desired, smooth out the frosting using an offset spatula or knife.
- Gently press the frosted side of the cookies into a shallow bowl or plate of sanding sugar. Remove from the sugar, and brush off any excess.
- Add candy eyes and any additional piping or decorations. Enjoy!
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