Name: Halloween Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 2 cups butter softened; 2 1/2 cups sugar; 6 eggs; 7 cups flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 4 teaspoons cream of tartar; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 4 teaspoons almond extract; 8 ounces cream cheese; 2 tablespoons butter softened; 16 ounces confectioners sugar 1 package; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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Get ready to fall in love with these Halloween Sugar Cookies. These buttery, flakey, and golden brown sugar cookies are topped with a tried and true cream cheese frosting that will leave you reaching for seconds. Perfect for Halloween parties, gifting to neighbors (or trick or treaters!), or when you want a fall themed treat.

Halloween sugar cookies with orange cream cheese frosting and green frosting stems staggered on top of each other with fall decorations in the background

If you know me you know I absolutely love baking, entertaining, and decorating for the holidays, especially fall and Christmas! The moment I get the pumpkin shaped cookie cutters out, everyone knows the spooky, scary, and silly halloween decorations are soon to come.

Of course, no Halloween prep is done without a few batches of these mouth watering sugar cookies. And I promise, once you’ve tried them with my famous tangy cream cheese frosting, there’s no going back to grocery store dough or tubs of frosting.

What makes these cookies so bewitching

The cream cheese frosting: I've tried so many different homemade frostings but there's nothing quite like a cream cheese frosting. It's a bit tangier than buttercream and 100x better than any store-bought frosting to truly take your sugar cookies to bakery level. I also use it on my Christmas sugar cookies!
They're made with almond extract: Trust me on this one, the combination of almond extract WITH vanilla extract will make your cookies the first dessert to fly off the table. If you don't have almond extract, I would highly recommend grabbing some next time you go to the store.
Seriously so easy to decorate: If you're baking with little hands or just looking to get crafty, these are the best cookies to decorate. The dough rolls out like a dream and they don't puff up in the oven. Giving you an even surface for frosting and decorating. If you need another easy recipe, you'll love these no bake cookies or these cake mix cookies.

What you'll need to make halloween sugar cookies

Butter and sugar: These are the heart of this recipe and give the cookies their soft texture you're going to love. I use two full cups of softened butter which sounds like a lot, but it makes them super super tender. Pair that with 2½ cups of sugar, and you’ve got a sweet, buttery dough.
Eggs: You'll need 6 eggs for this cookie recipe which sounds like a lot, but they're key for binding the dough and giving the cookies just the right amount of lift.
Dry ingredients: The combo of all purpose flour, baking soda, and cream or tar tar helps give these cookies the perfect lift. The cream of tar tar is what sets these cookies apart in terms of fluffiness and they're just not the same without it.
The secret ingredients: Listen to me when I say that you need to use both almond extract and vanilla extract. It's the best kept bakers secret to getting flavorful sugar cookies.
Frosting ingredients: If you're anything like me, you love the frosting just as much, if not more than the cookies. Grab some full fat cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and more vanilla extract for the frosting.

How to make halloween sugar cookies

Top down image of softened butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl for sugar cookie recipe — Start by creaming the softened butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Take your time here, the goal is bakery style cookies.

six eggs in a large mixing bowl with creamed butter and sugar to make halloween sugar cookies — Next, mix in the eggs one at a time. Once those are fully mixed in, go ahead and add the vanilla and almond extracts. This is where the dreamy cookie flavor starts to take place (don't skip the almond extract).

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glass bowl filled with dry sugar cookie ingredients — In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients. Be sure everything is mixed well do you don't have little pockets of baking soda in your cookies.

dry ingredients in a bowl on top of wet ingredients for sugar cookies — Now slowly and carefully add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. You can do this in stages so the flour doesn’t make a mess. Mix on low until a soft cookie dough starts to form. It should be thick but not sticky. Be careful not to over-mix, we want these cookies to stay extra soft.

bowl of cookie dough ready to be rolled into sugar cookies — Once the cookie dough is ready, divide it into two equal portions and place into separate bowls. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, then let them refrigerate for at least two hours. Please don't skip this part, you want easy to roll dough and cookies that hold their shape.

Sugar cookie dough rolled out onto a countertop with parchment paper. — After the dough has chilled, roll the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Grab your favorite Halloween cookie cutters and shape your cookies.

Leaving some space in between, place the cookies on a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 8–10 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Do not even think about frosting until they're completely cooled.

ingredients for homemade cream cheese frosting in a glass bowl — In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together on high until it's creamy and smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, mixing until you get a fluffy frosting that's spreadable. You can adjust the texture as needed by adding more sugar to thicken it or a tiny splash of milk to loosen it up.

Tricks and Treats for Perfect Cookies

Use softened (not melted) butter: I bet you've heard this a million times but softened butter does actually work better than melted or cold butter. Cold butter won’t cream properly and melted butter will make your cookies spread too much. Let your butter sit out overnight for about an hour before you start baking for the perfect texture.
Lightly flour your surface: I know it's tempting to throw a bunch of flour on the counter to prevent the cookies from sticking, but that can make them turn out dry. You don't need that much flour to prevent sticking (as long as your dough is chilled).
Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat: This helps the cookies bake evenly and prevents the bottoms from browning opposed to greasing a cookie sheet. Plus, it makes clean up easier.

Halloween Sugar Cookies

What makes these cookies so bewitching

What you'll need to make halloween sugar cookies

How to make halloween sugar cookies

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