Spooky halloween cookies for the perfect party!
It’s that time of year again! Costumes are starting to flood shop shelves, your neighbours are hanging little ghosts and spooky decorations from their windowsills, and everyone is beginning to plan their Halloween parties… that’s right, Halloween is just around the corner! And what better treat to serve at your Halloween party than a batch of homemade spooky sugar cookies? Sweet, delicious and decorated with a delightfully creepy twist, these Halloween thumbprint cookies are guaranteed to be a hit with both kids and adults alike!
These Halloween thumbprint cookies are the perfect baking project for little ones who love getting creative in the kitchen. They’re super easy to make, require simple ingredients and produce wonderfully spooky results without all the fuss. The thumbprint technique is simple enough for little hands to help with, making this a fun and festive activity to enjoy together during the Halloween season. Whether you’re making them for a Halloween party, a spooky movie night or simply as a sweet autumnal treat, these cookies are sure to bring a little extra Halloween magic to your kitchen!
And the best part? You don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to whip up a batch! These spooky sugar cookies take less than 30 minutes to prepare, with a further 10–20 minutes of cooking time, making them a fantastic last-minute addition to your Halloween party spread. Before you know it, you’ll have a tray of delicious homemade cookies ready to decorate, share and enjoy.
So, grab your mixing bowl, gather the kids and get ready to bake up some Halloween fun! With their sweet sugar-cookie base and fun thumbprint design, these spooky little treats are an easy and delicious way to celebrate the most frightfully fun time of the year.
Half a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
200g/7oz ordinary flour, 60g/2¼oz strawberry jam, and 40g/1½oz melted dark chocolate
Spooky halloween cookies- step by step instruction guide!
Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan/Gas Mark 4) and line a large baking tray with baking paper, making sure the tray is ready to go once your cookie dough is prepared. This will help prevent the cookies from sticking to the tray and make them much easier to remove once baked. Next, add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer or a wooden spoon, beat the ingredients together until the mixture becomes pale, light and fluffy. This step is important as it helps create a soft, tender texture for your sugar cookies, so take your time to cream the butter and sugar together properly.
Step 2
Once the mixture is light and fluffy, add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat everything together again until the ingredients are fully combined and the mixture is smooth. The egg yolk helps bind the ingredients together, while the vanilla adds a lovely sweetness and flavour to the cookies. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula if needed, so that all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Once everything is well combined, you're ready to move on to the next step and continue making your spooky Halloween thumbprint cookies!
Add the flour and beat until a soft dough is formed. After dividing the mixture into 30g/1oz balls, gently flatten them. Make two holes for the "eyes" by pressing your index fingers into each ball of dough. To allow for spreading while baking, arrange the biscuits on the baking tray with space between them.
Before filling your cookies, give the jam a good stir in a small bowl to loosen it and make it easier to work with. You want the jam to be smooth enough to spoon or pipe into the cookies without too much effort. Once ready, carefully fill each of the eye holes with a little jam. You can do this using a teaspoon, gently spooning the jam into each indent, or use a piping bag for a neater and more precise finish. If you're baking with the kids, the spoon method is a simple way to let them get involved!
Step 5
Once all the cookies have been filled, carefully place the baking tray into your preheated oven and bake for around 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies turn a lovely light golden colour. Keep an eye on them towards the end of the baking time, as you want the cookies to be lightly golden around the edges while still maintaining their soft, delicate texture.
When the cookies are ready, remove the tray from the oven and leave them to cool completely on the baking tray. The cookies will be quite delicate while they're still warm, so it's best to resist the temptation to move them straight away. Allowing them to cool on the tray helps them firm up and hold their shape, while the jam filling has time to set. Once completely cooled, your spooky Halloween thumbprint cookies will be ready to serve and enjoy!
Step 7
Transfer the melted chocolate to a small piping bag and snip a tiny hole in the end. Carefully pipe a line underneath the jammy eyes to create the mouth of your spooky skull. Next, pipe small vertical lines across the mouth to create the look of little teeth. Take your time with the decorating and have fun creating different skull faces for each cookie. You can make the mouths slightly longer or shorter, depending on the look you're going for. If you're baking with the kids, let them get creative and give each skull its own personality!
Once decorated, leave the chocolate to set before serving. Your spooky skull cookies are now ready to enjoy, making the perfect Halloween party treat to share with family and friends- so when they ask trick or treat, treat is the only right answer!
