Halloween Sugar Cookies

Total Time Prep: 1 hour + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
Yield 2 dozen
Test Kitchen Approved
Halloween sugar cookies are a fun (and delicious!) way to get into the spooky spirit. From cats and bats to witches' hats, there are so many great Halloween cutouts to bake and decorate.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • FROSTING:
  • 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons water
  • Optional: Yellow, orange, green and black paste food coloring

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and blended. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape dough into 2 portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. Halloween-shaped cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
  3. In a large bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar, shortening and enough water to reach spreading consistency. Tint frosting and decorate as desired. Let stand until set.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 182 calories, 6g fat (3g saturated fat), 18mg cholesterol, 103mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate (25g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.

I've been making these Halloween sugar cookies for about 40 years—first for my children and now my grandchildren and all their friends, too. I make about 20 trays a year to give away to trick-or-treaters. —Pamela Shank, Parkersburg, West Virginia
Recipe Creator

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