Description
These soft and buttery Halloween Sugar Cookies are a fun and festive treat for Halloween. Cut them into pumpkins, ghosts, candy corn, and other spooky shapes, then decorate them with colorful buttercream frosting. They’re easy to make and perfect for Halloween parties, school treats, or baking with the family.
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Frosting
- ¾ cup butter
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Orange food coloring
- Yellow food coloring, optional
- Candy eyes, optional
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
- Add the softened butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl.
- Beat until the mixture is creamy and well combined.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, and sour cream.
- Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Mix just until the ingredients are combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Divide the dough into two portions.
- Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate the dough for 1–2 hours.
Shape and Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured baking mat or parchment paper.
- Roll the dough out evenly.
- If the dough is still sticky, add another ¼–½ cup flour as needed.
- Use floured Halloween cookie cutters to cut out pumpkins, ghosts, candy corn, or other shapes.
- Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet.
- Bake for 8–9 minutes, or until the bottoms are barely golden.
- Be careful not to overbake the cookies so they remain soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes.
- Transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
Make the Buttercream Frosting
- Add the butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl.
- Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Divide the frosting between 2–3 bowls.
- Leave one portion white.
- Add orange food coloring to another portion and mix until evenly colored.
- If making candy corn cookies, divide the frosting into three portions and color one yellow.
- Frost pumpkin cookies with orange frosting.
- Frost ghost cookies with white frosting and add candy eyes.
- For candy corn cookies, decorate the sections with white, orange, and yellow frosting.
Notes
- Serve the cookies once the frosting has set slightly for easier handling.
- Arrange them on a Halloween-themed platter for parties and gatherings.
- Add candy eyes, sprinkles, or decorative sugar for extra Halloween detail.
- Allow the frosting to firm up before stacking the cookies.
- Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–4 days.
- Place parchment paper between layers when stacking decorated cookies.
- Refrigerate the cookies if your kitchen is particularly warm, especially after adding buttercream.
- The unbaked cookie dough can be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to a few days.
- For longer storage, freeze the cookie dough in an airtight freezer-safe container.
- Baked, unfrosted cookies can also be frozen and thawed before decorating.