Description
These festive Halloween Sugar Cookies feature colorful dough tinted with vibrant gel food colorings and can be rolled into logs with sprinkles for a spooky, fun treat. The recipe yields soft, buttery cookies perfect for Halloween celebrations, offering creative color combinations and a delightful sweetness.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Colorings & Decorations
- 1 tsp orange gel food coloring (electric orange)
- 1 tsp black gel food coloring (super black)
- Halloween sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients: In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir well and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Add wet ingredients: Beat in the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla extract until well incorporated.
- Combine flour mixture: Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing continuously until the dough is smooth and the flour is fully incorporated.
- Divide and color dough: Split the dough into two equal portions. Tint one portion with orange gel food coloring and the other with black gel food coloring. Use a mixer to evenly blend the colors into each portion of dough, rinsing the bowl and beater between colors to avoid contamination.
- Shape and chill dough: Form each colored dough into a ball, then flatten into a patty and reshape edges to make a rectangle. Wrap each dough rectangle in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.
- Roll and stack dough: Roll out each chilled dough rectangle to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Stack the dough layers, orange on the bottom and black on top.
- Add sprinkles (optional): Brush the outside edges of the dough stack lightly with water, then press Halloween sprinkles onto the edges if desired.
- Form dough log and chill: Roll the layered dough into a log, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up.
- Preheat the oven: Set oven temperature to 350°F (175°C).
- Slice and bake: Using a sharp thin blade, cut the dough log into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick cookies. Place the rounds spaced about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cookie surfaces are no longer shiny and edges are set.
- Cool and serve: Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- For different color combinations, try the following gel food coloring blends: Black/Green (1 tsp black + 1 tsp electric green), Purple/Green (3 tsp electric purple + 1 tsp electric green).
- This recipe makes dough sufficient for one color combination; to make multiple colors, prepare multiple batches.
- Use a very sharp, thin knife or blade to slice the chilled dough logs for clean, uniform cookies without squishing.
- Chilling the dough thoroughly is crucial for easier slicing and cookies that retain shape while baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
