These Easy Halloween Cookies are such a fun and silly treat to make this October! When I say Easy Halloween Cookies, I mean EASY. Made with 4 ingredients and baked in under 30 minutes, this is the perfect recipe for the busy parents who want to have some Halloween fun with the whole family.
Seriously, how cute are these! Sugar cookie decorating is coming early this year, and these Frankenstein shaped cookies are the spookiest way to celebrate.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Family Fun – These are great to bake with the kiddos to make some long lasting Halloween memories, or maybe start new traditions!
So Easy It’s Frightening! – It doesn’t get much easier than 4 ingredients.. Actually wait it does! This recipe only requires 4 store bought, pre-made ingredients.
Homemade or Store Bought – You can make this homemade sugar cookie recipe or buy it pre-made.
For The Decorators – Okay, so you’re not much of a baker, but you love to decorate? Get as creative as you want with these adorable monster cookies!
Get Creative! – Feel free to add in some fun sprinkles to the dough, or add them to the top. Also, the fun doesn’t have to stop at Frankenstein cookies, color the dough orange and make pumpkins, or leave them plain and make some ghosts! The options are endless.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Recipe Discussion
Let’s discuss how to make this recipe, as well as the ingredients that are needed. Please take note that below you will find discussion, expert tips, and answers to frequently asked questions about this recipe to help you recreate it in your kitchen. If you *just* want the recipe itself, scroll down. The full printable recipe itself, with exact measurements and instructions, is found at the bottom of this page.
- Sugar Cookie Dough – Make sure to keep the premade sugar cookie dough chilled in the fridge until right before you use it. If you prefer to make a homemade sugar cookie dough, go for it! Just add green food coloring to the dough and you’re set.
- Food Coloring Gel – You’ll want black and green food coloring gel for this recipe. I find the gel works better than the liquid drops.
- Chocolate Frosting – To make your life easier, you can just purchase the premade chocolate frosting, but if you’d prefer, you can make it from scratch as well.
- Candy Eyes – This is optional, but if you have them on hand, they really give the character to these cookies! The candy eyes come in lots of sizes, and even different colors, so have fun with it!
How To Make Easy Halloween Cookies
- Start by preheating the oven to whatever temperature is listed on the sugar cookie dough packaging, or in the recipe. Next, line a baking tray with parchment paper and set that aside. Grab a large enough bowl to fit your sugar cookie dough and add 4 to 5 drops of the green food gel. Add more or less if you see fit.
- Fold the sugar cookie dough together until you have a nice, consistent green color.
- Roll out the sugar cookie dough onto a floured surface using a floured rolling pin. Grab some rectangle cookie cutters and start to cut out some cookies.
- Using the scraps of dough, roll out some ¾ inch balls to create the ‘bolts.’ Press the balls onto each side of the Frankenstein cookie.
- Lay the cookies on the parchment lined baking tray leaving a little room in between then put them in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until you see a very slight golden brown color on the edges of the cookie.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and carefully put the cookies on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
How To Decorate The Cookies
In a microwave safe bowl, add in the chocolate frosting and microwave it for about 30 seconds. Add in about 2 drops of black food coloring gel and stir until combined. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before adding it to a piping bag.
Now you’re ready to decorate! Make a Frankenstein face using the frosting and candy eyes. Get creative with different facial expressions, mouths, eyebrows, you name it! That’s the fun of it, no two cookies need to look the same!
Recipe Tips and Advice
Storage – Store these in an airtight container at room temperature, they’ll last about 4-5 days. To keep them soft, try storing them with a slice of sandwich bread in the container. Unless you are specifically using a crusting frosting (see blue box below), you will want to avoid stacking cookies on top of each other.
Materials – For this recipe you’ll need the following: A rectangle cookie cutter, rolling pin, parchment paper, baking sheet, microwavable mixing bowls, a wooden spoon or spatula, piping bag and tip (I used tip #3) and a cooling rack.
Working With the Dough – When rolling the dough out the first time, try cutting out as many rectangles as possible. The more you have to re-roll the dough, the more it cracks in the oven.
Perfectly Imperfect – Remember, Frankenstein is a monster, and is supposed to look kinda crazy! So, don’t worry if the cookies don’t look exactly like how you want them to, and get as creative with it as possible.
Soft vs Crusting Frosting
The frosting from the grocery store, as well as many homemade frostings, are on the soft side, and therefore they do not form a true “crust”. This means that you do not want to stack the cookies on top of each other, as the frosting might smear. If you need to stack your Easy Halloween Cookies, and want a crusting frosting, this Cookie Frosting is my favorite.
Recipe FAQs
Unfortunately with store bought dough, the cookies inevitably spread. However, it is pretty easy to reshape store bought cookie dough after it’s baked. Right when they come out of the oven, use a flat wooden spoon or butter knife and gently push the sides back in before the cookies cool and harden. If you don’t want to do that, my homemade cut out sugar cookie recipe won’t spread!
It depends on how long you bake them for! If you like them softer, take them out at about 8 minutes, or before you see the edges start to brown. If you like them a little crispier, keep them in the oven a bit longer, about 10 minutes.
More Recipes To Try
If you love these Easy Halloween Cookies, get ready for Christmas Sugar Cookie decorating with some more holiday baking recipes!
- Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Holiday Sugar Cookies
- How to Paint Sugar Cookies
- Melted Snowman Cookies
- Stacked Christmas Tree Cookies
More Halloween Recipes
Easy Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
- 16.5 ounce pre-made sugar cookie dough (or use homemade sugar cookie dough) package size is approximate
- 16 ounces chocolate frosting homemade or packaged
- 2 drops black food coloring gel
- 4-5 drops green food coloring gel
- candy eyes
- all purpose flour (optional) can be used to help roll out cookie dough to prevent sticking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven according to the sugar cookie directions on the label, or in recipe. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add sugar cookie dough to a large mixing bowl. Mix in 4 to 5 drops of green food gel to the sugar cookie dough.
- Roll out green sugar cookie dough. You can use all-purpose flour to prevent sticking to the countertop and rolling pin.
- Use a rectangle cookie cutter and cut out cookies.
- Add two small pieces of cookie dough 3⁄4 down the sides of the rectangle. This will create the bolt on each side of Frankenstein.
- Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or as directed on the package or in the recipe.
- Remove from the oven and place cookies on a cooling rack.
Frosting
- In a medium-size microwavable safe bowl add in frosting and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Stir in black food gel to the melted frosting. Add frosting to a piping bag.
- Create a fun Frankenstein face with the frosting and candy eyes. Allow frosting to set up before transferring to a plate or container.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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