Take a break from Halloween candy with these spooky-sweet Gingerbread Halloween Skeleton Cookies! This easy, small batch recipe makes cut-out gingerbread cookies that are tender and full of trademark gingerbread flavor. Decorate the cookies with royal icing and your favorite sprinkles for a fun Halloween treat!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Chill1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cookies, Gingerbread, Halloween, Royal Icing, Skeleton, Small Batch
In a small mixing bowl, add the butter and brown sugar. Use a hand held mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla extract. Continue to beat until the yolk and molasses are mixed in well. The batter may look a little curdled - which is ok.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 large egg yolk, 3 tablespoons molasses, unsulphured, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sprinkle, or sift, the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt over the top of the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until not dry streaks remain.
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon salt
Pour the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and gently form into a disc. Cover the dough tightly in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness. If you want thicker cookies, don't roll the dough so thin.
Use a cookie cutter to cut out your shapes, and place the cookies at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Re-roll any scraps to cut into more cookies. I don't recommend re-rolling the dough more than twice.
I recommend baking one baking sheet of cookies at a time. While the first batch is baking, refrigerate the other baking sheet of cookies. Note - If the cookies feel as though they got too warm while rolling and cutting, place both baking sheets in the refrigerator to cool for about 10 minutes before baking.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are set. If you want crispier cookies, bake for a couple minutes longer. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to the cooling rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cool, make the royal icing and decorate the cookies!
Royal Icing
In a small mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon of milk. Whisk together until the powdered sugar is moist. Add a teaspoon of milk at a time to get to your desired icing/decorating consistency.
¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 to 2 teaspoons milk, any kind, ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
Notes
Serving Size - The number of cookies in your batch will depend on how thick you roll out your cookie dough, and the size of your cookie cutters.
Larger Batch - This recipe has only been tested as a small batch. If you double the recipe to make a larger batch, let me know how they turn out!
Refrigerate Cut-Out CookiesBefore Baking - I recommend refrigerating the cut-out cookies before baking to keep them from spreading.
Bake 1 Baking Sheet at a Time - Bake one cookie sheet at a time to get an even bake.
Crispy Cookies - For a crispier cookie, bake for 1 to 2 more minutes.
Royal Icing - This is a simplified version of royal icing. For a traditional cookie-decorating royal icing (which probably includes egg whites or meringue powder), there are a lot of recipes on the internet!
Storing and Freezing Baked Cookies - The cookies can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen tightly wrapped in plastic, and in a ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Freezing Cookie Dough - The cookie dough can be frozen tightly wrapped in plastic, and in a ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling out and cutting into shapes.