Every holiday I can remember my mother making cut out sugar cookies and decorating them for whatever the season. She especially always made Halloween cookies and I would help her decorate them. Now that I am far from home, I am continuing the tradition on my own. I made a big batch of these cookies to send with my boyfriend to work. Of course I wouldn’t let him take all of them because they are too delicious to give away!
You can really do any shapes sizes, sizes, or colors with this recipe and it’s my go to for a basic sugar cookie. The recipe itself is actually very simple, and contains cream cheese. Really the hardest part about making these cookies is taking the time to decorate them. I myself get a little bit impatient towards the end of decorating, but hey I think they don’t look too shabby. Of course you can take the time to make them look more refined, but I don’t mind the rustic look to the decorations as that shows they are homemade. I decided to go with a bat, ghost, and pumpkin, classic Halloween!
Royal frosting is used in this recipe, which is perfect to decorate with. I used raw egg whites in the frosting recipe, however meringue powder can be substituted if raw egg whites scare you. I personally have never had any issue as long as the eggs are fresh and refrigerated. You can dye the frosting whatever colors you desire. Today I decided to go with black, purple, orange, and green as you can see!
Royal icing does dry out if you leave it on the counter for too long, however you can just add a little water to thin it out.
These cookies are great to bring to a party,give as a gift, or keep all to yourself!
Halloween Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
ROYAL ICING
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and combined. Add in sugar and mix again until combined. Next, beat in egg and vanilla. Once mixed, add in baking powder and one cup of flour, slowly beating. Finish adding flour in batches, scraping down sides of bowl as you go.
- Divide the dough into half and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove one half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are browned. Carefully remove cookies and cool on a wire rack. Once cookies are completely cooled then you can frost them.
- To make frosting, place egg whites in a bowl with the vanilla. Beat until frothy with an electric mixer.
- Next, add in cream of tartar and one cup of sugar. Carefully mix until combined, adding the rest of the sugar slowly. Once all of sugar is added, beat on high-speed for about 5 to 7 minutes or until frosting has stiff and glossy peaks.
- Add food coloring as desired.
- Frost and enjoy!
Love these cookies!
You made them first!
chocolate frosting would be a good alternative frosting
next time, just for you
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