Thriller Tips for Decorating Scary-Good Halloween Cookies
Depending on how your October has rolled out, there's a good chance that you are 1) hoping to place an order for a simple Halloween Goody Box for your kids' lunch boxes and school parties. Or 2) you may feel like adding a spooky new tradition to your Halloween festivity lineup that would be the envy of the monster world - creating some scary-good Halloween cookies with your kiddos.
The truth is, either option works equally well when it comes to celebrating this terrifically terrifying holiday. All anyone really wants are a few sweet treats. #amiright?
In case you think otherwise, decorating cookies isn't just for Christmas (gasp!). This fun and delicious activity may be the best way to sink your fangs into the spookiest holiday of the year! (It's also the perfect excuse to sample dozens of sweet treats and toppings for those of us adults who desperately miss our trick-or-treating days).
So, whether you want your fully decorated and deliciously fun Halloween Goody Box delivered - free of shipping - to your door, or you want some thriller tips for decorating Halloween cookies of your own - we've got you!
To sugar cookie or not to sugar cookie?
Let's talk basics first - the cookie! Before you reach for your trusty sugar cookie recipe, let me tell you about our favorite kind of cookie for decorating.
You have several options for creating a scrumptiously ghouly cookie (like the well-loved sugar cookie), but our personal favorite is shortbread.
Yes, shortbread!
What makes shortbread particularly scream-worthy?
Shortbread is buttery, flaky, and packs more flavor into a single bite than Dracula. Heh Heh.
It has a softer bite with a snap when you chew it (I mean, can you taste it yet?)
It lends itself witchingly to any flavor - lavender, lemon, rosewater, even espresso.
You can alter shortbread more quickly to make them gluten-free (and maintain a RICHER flavor profile than a sugar cookie).
Shortbread crumbs stay softer for longer, while sugar cookies dry out faster.
Shortbread is our tried and true go-to for decorating cookies. However, it can break more easily during decorating if you don't make them thick enough - so the more cookie, the better.
It's time to decorate your spine-tingling cookie confections.
All you need to whip up your spookiest cookies yet are icing, some tempting toppings, and a few tools to help you out.
Icing
We recommend using Classic Royal Icing, a simple brew of powdered sugar, water with a bit of lemon juice, and pasteurized egg whites for the icing.
A quick icing tip: to keep it from hardening quickly, place a damp cloth or paper towel over the icing container. If it hardens, you can add a few drops of water and stir to liven it back up!
Toppings
Now for even more fun! Be sure to load up on some of these toppings for your petrifying creations:
Crushed Oreo cookies
Candy corn
Licorice for a creepy smile
Mini marshmallows (These make great teeth!)
M&Ms for eyeballs
Sprinkles (A classic, of course!)
Chopped-up candy bars
Tools
Wondering where you'll find everything you need to make these? Don't die of fright - you likely have all you need right at home! You can use:
Popsicle sticks as a spatula.
Toothpicks to tie-dye different colored icings - drag the tips together to swirl.
Stamps or other household items to imprint designs - wait for the icing to harden a smidgeon so things won't "stick" to it).
Make decorating Halloween cookies a new tradition!
Making cookies for special holidays and occasions is a holiday tradition that dates back for centuries. The ingredients were often rare or expensive (or both), so when cookies were present, you knew it was a special day!
Keep that tradition going, and make it your own this Halloween! Here's how to make this experience into an eerily hair-raising your family will howl for each year:
Create an experience. What movie do you particularly look forward to every year? Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, or a thriller?
Cultivate anticipation. Part of creating an experience is the anticipation - don't watch this particular movie until cookie night!
Plan & prep. Spend the week ahead planning your cookies, asking your kids what decorations they'd like to use, and setting up the evening events.
Get spooky! Decorate your home, turn on some Halloween music, and light a few jack-o-lanterns. For extra spooky-cookie points, dress up!
When your special night comes, gather your ingredients, decorations, and maybe even add some extra-tasty creative inspiration on the table with our Halloween Goody Box or a dozen of our EYE-scream cookies. Create and bake the cookies, let them cool and then, begin the movie, music and start decorating.
You're on your way to building a family tradition that might even rival trick-or-treating!