Description
Celebrate Halloween with these festive Royal Icing Cookies featuring soft, buttery cookie bases decorated with vibrant orange, black, and white royal icing. Perfect for party treats, the cookies are adorned with themed candy skulls and sprinkles, making them a spooky and delicious addition to your holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, chilled
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups + 2 tbsp (375 g) all-purpose flour
For the Royal Icing
- 4 egg whites
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp butter emulsion (or butter flavoring)
- ¼ tsp almond emulsion (or almond extract)
- Water, as needed
- Gel food coloring (orange and black)
Decorations
- Halloween candy skulls (for coffin cookies)
- Sprinkles (for cauldron cookies)
Instructions
- Make the Cookie Dough: In a mixing bowl, cream the chilled butter and granulated sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt until fully incorporated. Gradually add the all-purpose flour and mix until the dough forms and ingredients are well combined.
- Chill the Dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes. This helps the cookies maintain their shape during baking and makes the dough easier to roll out.
- Cut and Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to your desired thickness. Use Halloween-themed cookie cutters to shape the cookies. Place the cutouts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for approximately 11 minutes, or until the edges are just set but not browned to ensure softer cookies.
- Cool the Cookies: Transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely before decorating to prevent the icing from melting.
- Prepare the Royal Icing: In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Gradually add powdered sugar while continuing to mix until the icing is smooth. Add vanilla extract, butter emulsion, and almond emulsion, mixing well. Adjust the consistency by adding small amounts of water as needed to reach a pipeable texture.
- Color the Icing: Divide the royal icing into separate bowls. Tint one portion orange, one portion black, and leave one portion white using gel food coloring, mixing each until evenly colored.
- Decorate the Cookies: Fill piping bags fitted with #1 or #2 tips with the different colored icings. Outline and flood the cookies with the royal icing. While the icing is still wet, embellish coffin-shaped cookies with candy skulls and cauldron cookies with sprinkles to enhance the Halloween theme.
- Dry the Icing: Allow the decorated cookies to dry completely in front of a fan or a small heater to help keep the icing shiny and firm.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to prevent spreading during baking and to maintain cookie shape.
- Do not overbake cookies to keep them soft; avoid browning edges.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without altering icing consistency.
- Adjust water quantity gradually in royal icing to avoid too thin or too thick icing.
- Ensure cookies are thoroughly cooled before decorating to prevent melting of icing.
- Allow decorated cookies to dry completely for best texture and appearance.
