Description
These festive Halloween Sugar Cookies are vibrant, colorful, and perfect for spooky celebrations. The recipe features two-tone dough tinted with bright gel food colorings, rolled together into a log and sliced into delicious, soft sugar cookies with fun sprinkles on the edges. Easy to prepare and bake, these cookies are ideal for parties or holiday treats that delight kids and adults alike.
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
Coloring and Decoration
- 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 thoroughly. Set this mixture aside for later incorporation.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add eggs one at a time and pour in the vanilla extract, then beat the mixture well to combine all wet ingredients evenly.
- Combine Dry and Wet Mixes: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in batches while mixing continuously until a smooth dough forms and no dry flour remains visible.
- Divide Dough: Split the dough into two equal portions for coloring purposes.
- Color the Dough: Add orange gel food coloring to one half and black gel food coloring to the other. Beat each colored dough separately with the mixer until the color is fully incorporated and vibrant. Rinse the mixing bowl and beaters in between colors to avoid mixing.
- Shape and Chill Dough Patties: Shape each colored dough into a ball, flatten them into patties, then reshape edges into neat rectangles. Wrap each rectangle tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.
- Roll and Stack Dough: On a clean surface, roll each dough patty to about ⅛ to ¼ inch thickness. Stack one colored dough on top of the other (orange typically on bottom, black on top).
- Trim Edges and Add Sprinkles: Use a pizza cutter to trim straight edges from the stacked dough layers. Optionally, brush water on the dough edges and press Halloween sprinkles to decorate the outside of the dough log.
- Roll Dough Log and Chill Again: Carefully roll the stacked dough layers into a tight log shape. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set the shape before slicing.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to prepare for baking.
- Slice and Bake Cookies: Using a thin, sharp blade, slice the chilled dough log into ¼ to ½ inch thick rounds. Place the cookies approximately 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are no longer shiny and edges are set.
- Cool and Serve: Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- To create different color combinations, prepare additional batches of dough with alternate gel food colorings such as green (1 tsp), purple (3 tsp), or combinations like Black/Green and Purple/Green as desired.
- This recipe yields enough dough for one color combo; to make multiple combos, prepare separate batches accordingly.
- Using a thin, sharp blade when slicing the dough log helps prevent squished cookies and maintains clean edges.
- Chilling the dough multiple times is important for easier handling and maintaining shape during baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 35mg