You don't need fancy equipment to make the cutest Halloween sugar cookies! Use our two favorite piping tips to create 3 adorable shapes! Buttercream frosting and our top rated sugar cookie recipe are a winning combination! This technique is perfect for kids (recommended 8+) and moms, alike! This post contains affiliate links.
You might also like our sugar cookie decorating tips and videos for Christmas sugar cookies, Easter sugar cookies and Valentine sugar cookies!
Watch our step by step Sugar Cookie Decorating video!
How do you make the CUTEST Halloween cookies? It starts with the best sugar cookie dough, add in a few adorable cookie cutters, sprinkle in two basic piping tips, and end with a creamy buttercream frosting. It's a wining combination---promise.
Gone are the days of spreading frosting on with a butter knife or spoon. A piping bag and tip is easy to use and creates clean lines and adorable designs! This technique is simple and works for decorating ANY sugar cookie, no matter the shape! All you need is a small round tip (#5 or #7) and a large 1A tip (which is a REALLY LARGE round tip). We also like using star tips---check out these adorable llama sugar cookies!
Best Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe
Make up a batch of our no chill bakery style sugar cookies and our favorite vanilla buttercream frosting. This sugar cookie recipe is simply the best. The sugar cookie dough is flavored with vanilla extract and almond extract and taste amazing!
I don't use royal icing for my sugar cookies. Buttercream works just fine and I prefer the flavor. No need to flood or use multiple consistencies of icing. Make one batch of frosting and it will be the right consistency for everything! Buttercream frosting sets up after an hour, but still remains soft. I prefer to not stack these cookies, but they can be wrapped in cellophane bags to give as gifts. A sweet Halloween treat to share with friends and teachers!
For vivid colors try using gel food coloring. A little goes a long way to tint frosting without watering it down.
Favorite Cookie Cutters
I have a weakness for Ann Clark cookie cutters. These are our favorite Halloween shapes and you can find them on Amazon.
Best Frosting Tips for Easy Cookie Decorating
For these cookies we are using 2 different tips: 5 (or 7), and 1A. These are standard tips that are easy to work with and are very forgiving.
Amazon is the best place to order a 1A tip, but you can find the others at Joanns or Michael's. You might even find a great little starter set that includes both. Again, tip 1A is optional, but makes decorating large areas (like pumpkins) a breeze!
Tip: Buy 2 of each kind of piping tip. This makes it easier to work with a variety of frosting bags filled with different colors!
- 5 and 7 are small round tips. They are very similar in size, so just use what you can find!
- 1A is a large round tip.
Tips for using round tips: apply firm pressure for a smooth application. Keep the piping tip close to the cookie.
Other Useful Items for Cookie Decorating
- Disposable Frosting Bags: a disposable piping bag is convenient to have and you can just toss it after using.
- Couplers: couplers attach to the frosting bag and make it easy to switch out the frosting tip that you are using. With a coupler you can switch from a round tip to a star without filling a new bag with frosting!
How To Fill a Frosting Bag And Use a Coupler (Easy Tips)
Here is how to decorate 3 Halloween Sugar Cookies The Easy Way
Pumpkin, ghost and candy corn!
Watch our video for the BEST step by step tutorial and use the instructions below as a guide.
Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial
- Use a small round tip to cover the pumpkin stem with frosting.
- Use the large 1A round tip to frost the pumpkin. To use a 1A tip, hold the tip CLOSE to the cookie (¼" away). Squeeze the frosting and drag it across the cookie for a smooth application. I like going around each side, then filling in the center (watch video).
- These would be cute sprinkled with Halloween sprinkles!
Ghost Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial
- Outline the ghost with a round tip.
- Fill in the ghost cookie using a round tip and moving in horizontal lines (watch video).
- Use candy, sprinkles, or black icing for the eyes and a chocolate sprinkle for a mouth.
Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial
- Outline the tip of the cookie with white frosting. Fill in with horizontal lines.
- Outline center area with yellow frosting. Fill in with horizontal lines.
- Outline bottom section with orange frosting. Fill in with horizontal lines (watch video).
Now that you've made these adorable cookies, use the same technique to decorate bats, haunted houses, black cats and witch cookies!
For best results store decorated sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or chilled in the refrigerator.
You can also bake cookies ahead of time and freeze undecorated cookies in a freezer bag until ready to decorate!
Halloween Sugar Cookies
Halloween Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 cup flour
- ½ cup corn starch
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6-8 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine butter, shortening and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Turn mixer down and add egg, vanilla and almond extract. Add baking powder. Sift in flour* and cornstarch until mixed thoroughly.**Start with 3 ½ cups of flour, and if the dough seems too soft add the last ½ cup of flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.
- Lightly flour your working surface and shape dough into a large ball.
- No refrigeration necessary.
- Roll dough out on floured surface to desired thickness (I usually do ¼-1/2") and cut into shapes. Add flour to dough if it feels too sticky but a nice soft dough is what you want. Carefully transfer cut out cookie shapes with a spatula to a baking sheet.
- Bake on baking sheets* in the oven at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be soft. Let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.*For best results use light colored baking sheets.
Frosting
- Beat frosting ingredients together in a large bowl with electric mixer. Add more/less milk until desired consistency is achieved.
Decorating Cookies
- Fill decorator (we like disposible) bags with frosting and frosting tip.
- Follow the step by step guide above and WATCH our video to see how we used the tips #5 (or #7) and #1A to decorated the cookies!
Ashley says
If I’m wanting to make DIY cookie kits, Is this frosting able to set out at room temp in piping bags or should they be refrigerated?
Brandy says
Buttercream can stay out room temperature for a couple of days. There’s a small amount of milk in it, but it will be fine. I store my frosted cookies at room temperature.
Jeanie says
I used this cookie recipe for Halloween now going to make valentine cookies,this is the best recip I've used!!
Brandy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Vickie Embry says
Does the icing hard up like flooded cookies?
Brandy says
It sets up slightly. Enough to stack two cookies tall, but is not as hard as royal icing.
Sina says
Salted or Unsalted butter?
Brandy says
Hi! I use salted butter. If you use unsalted you can add a little salt to the dry ingredients.
Heather says
Does it need to be unsalted or salted butter or does is matter?
Brandy says
Hi! I use salted butter. If you use unsalted you can add a little salt to the dry ingredients.
Tammy says
Question, is the dough supposed to be crumblely or did I do something wrong? I try to roll it out and it keeps breaking apart. Thanks for the help.
Brandy says
Hi! It shouldn’t be very crumbly. It should form into a ball when pressed together and when rolled out feels like play doh. You can add a tablespoon or two of water to see if that helps!
Reisha Glavic says
Do you have a link to the food coloring you used for the icing?
Brandy says
Yep! https://www.amazon.com/Food-Coloring-Set-Cherrysea-Decorating/dp/B0B6C25MWY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=Gel+food+coloring&qid=1662638741&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNlNWQk1MTzVDWExPJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzk3NjA0MzZYRVc1VUdFTEtaUiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDAyNDExMlhWN1BMTENKWUtMUiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&_encoding=UTF8&tag=homswehom0f-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=28c424544ad6bbbd5f730f16817eb985&camp=1789&creative=9325
Reisha Glavic says
Hello!
I can’t find the videos of the step by step to decorate each cookie. I don’t think they will load on this link
Could you possibly send me a new link?
Thank you:)
Brandy says
Hi Reisha! The video plays right underneath the first image. Do you have a pop up blocker on? That might prevent it from playing in your browser.