Description
These Halloween Chocolate Cookies are rich, soft, and beautifully decorated with vibrant royal or easy cookie icing. Perfect for spooky celebrations, these cocoa-flavored treats combine a tender chocolate dough with festive icing designs that bring Halloween spirit to your cookie platter. Ideal for cookie cutters and creative decoration, they’re a fun baking project for the season.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (62g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (or dutch process cocoa powder), plus more for rolling and work surface
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Icing
- Royal Icing or Easy Cookie Icing (quantity as needed for decorating)
- Optional: gel food coloring for tinting icings
Instructions
- Make the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. The dough will be soft; if too sticky, add 1 tablespoon more flour.
- Roll the dough: Divide the dough into two equal parts. Dust parchment paper or silicone mats with cocoa powder or flour. Place one half of dough on the paper, roll out to an even 1/4-inch thickness, using more cocoa powder/flour if sticky. Repeat with second half.
- Chill the dough: Dust one rolled dough lightly with cocoa powder or flour, cover with parchment, place second rolled dough on top, then cover with plastic wrap or foil. Refrigerate for at least 1–2 hours or up to 2 days to firm up the dough.
- Preheat oven and cut shapes: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Remove dough from fridge, peel off top layer gently, and use Halloween-themed cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Re-roll scraps with dusting to continue cutting. Work quickly and refrigerate unused dough as needed.
- Bake the cookies: Arrange cookie shapes 3 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake for 11–12 minutes or until edges are set. Rotate pans halfway if your oven has hotspots. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
- Prepare the icing: Make royal or easy cookie icing. Divide into bowls and tint with gel food coloring as desired, adding drops slowly to reach preferred shade. Black icing may require more drops. Colors darken as icing dries.
- Decorate the cookies: Fill piping bags fitted with Wilton Piping Tip #4 with icing. Pipe borders around cookies, then fill centers with thin layers of icing to speed drying. Add details like sprinkle stripes or shapes while icing is still wet. For layered or fine detail (such as Jack-O-Lantern faces), use royal icing and allow layers to set before adding more. To thicken royal icing for finer details, beat in 2–3 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar. Attach decorations by piping a dot of icing on the back first.
- Let icing dry and set: Allow royal icing to dry about 2 hours, easy glaze icing about 24 hours. Cookies can be left uncovered while drying. To speed drying, place decorated cookies in the refrigerator on a baking sheet.
- Serve or store: Enjoy immediately or wait until icing sets. Decorated or plain cookies stay soft about 5 days at room temperature if tightly covered, and up to 10 days refrigerated.
Notes
- Use cocoa powder to dust rolling surfaces to prevent sticking without altering dough texture.
- If dough becomes too soft to handle during cutting, chill it again to firm up.
- Royal icing is better for fine details and layering as it sets more firmly and quickly.
- Easy cookie icing works well for a quick glaze finish but takes longer to dry and is less suitable for layered decorating.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without thinning the icing.
- Cookie cutters in Halloween shapes add festive fun but any shapes can be used.
- Store cookies in airtight containers to maintain softness.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Halloween cookies, chocolate cookies, royal icing, Halloween treats, chocolate sugar cookies, festive cookies
