I love sugar cookies these Ghost Cookies are perfect for Halloween and a great way to enjoy one of my all time favorite cookies recipes!
Who is ready for Halloween? Today I wanted to show you how to make these Ghost Shape Sugar Cookies. These are perfect for a Halloween party or just because.
They are great for a kid friendly Halloween treat. If you haven’t yet, make sure you read my post on how to make the cutest pumpkin sugar cookies or these Easy Spider Cupcakes. These treats are the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit.
Why This Recipe Works
My kids and I love making these Easy Ghost Cookies. This recipe starts with a basic sugar cookie dough recipe then topped with homemade icing. If you prefer, you can easily make with Pillsbury Dough for an even easier recipe.
These cookies are perfect for your next Halloween Party or Halloween Activity.
Ingredients
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card.
Variations Ideas
- Icing – Use your favorite type of icing for this cookie recipe. I love the royal icing as it’s dries evenly and looks beautiful on these cookies, but buttercream frosting would look great too. Also, these cookies would be delicious just topped with melted white chocolate!
- Decorations – Get the kids involved to decorate these cookies. They can use mini chocolate chips for the eyes and sprinkles to add their finishing touches to this recipe.
- Shapes – Make your favorite Halloween design. I love getting a pack of cookie cutters so we have a couple of different options to make!
How to Make Ghost Cookies
Step 1 – First beat butter and sugar with a stand mixer or hand held mixer until the combination is smooth not grainy to the touch in a mixing bowl.
Step 2 – Then add in all 4 large egg at one time. Continue to mix. Next add in the vanilla. Continue mixing.
Step 3 – After that sift the four, baking powder, and salt together. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Continue mixing to make sure all ingredients are thoroughly blended in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed.
Step 4 – Make the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap completely covering the entire dough ball.
Step 5 – Lightly flour a wood cutting board, rub flour on the rolling pin, and work some flour into the batter. Roll the dough out on the cutting board and using then ghost shaped cookie cutter begin to make your cookies.
Step 6 – Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a metal spatula move the cut cookies to the parchment lined cookie sheet.
Step 7 – Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes. Check to see if the cookies are thoroughly baked.
Step 8 – Take the ghost cookies off of the cookie sheet and put on a wire rack to cool completely (about 10 minutes).
Step 9 – First mix together the royal icing ingredients, separate into bowls and dye each small bowl a color of your choice to make these beautiful ghost cookies. I used white, black, orange, green and purple but any colors would look great!
Step 10 – Outline the cookies with white icing the fill it in with more icing. Then add in eyes and nose with black icing or black food coloring.
Expert Tips
- Cookie Dough – We recommend preparing the cookie dough ahead of time as it needs time to chill in the fridge. Make sure it is covered plastic wrap before placing in the fridge.
- Cool Cookies – Before adding the frosting, make sure to cool cookies completely. I usually bake the cookies the night before decorating so they are completely cooled.
- Serving Cookies – Allow time for the frosting to cool before serving the cookies. We usually allow about 2 hours to rest the cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily freehand the ghost shape by cutting out a template and using a sharp knife to make the cutout. Here is the Ghost Cookie Cutter that we used and it worked perfectly.
Bake cookies for about 8 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on your oven and how thick your cookies are. Make sure to not overcook as they are best served soft and chewy.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4-5 days. We like to place in with wax paper in between the layers so the decorations do not get messed up.
Yes, you can freeze the sugar cookies baked or just the cookie dough. Find out all the tips on How to Freeze Cookies for Baking.
More Easy Halloween Treats
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Ghost Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients:
- 5 cups flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups soft unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
Royal Icing Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup powder sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Black purple, green, & yellow gold gel food coloring
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Instructions
For the Cookies:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and smooth.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until a soft dough forms.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes if needed to soften slightly.
- Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Roll the dough to about ¼-inch thickness.
- Cut out cookies with a ghost-shaped cookie cutter and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the edges are just set. Do not allow the cookies to brown.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Icing:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites, powdered sugar, and cream of tartar on medium speed for about 4 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. If the icing is too thin, beat in up to ¼ cup additional powdered sugar.
- Divide the icing into five bowls:Leave one bowl white. Tint one bowl green. Tint one bowl black. Tint one bowl yellow-gold. Tint one bowl purple.
- Transfer each color to a piping bag fitted with a #5 round tip.
- For flooding the cookies, thin part of the white icing by stirring in about 1 teaspoon of water until it flows smoothly. Leave the remaining white icing thick for outlining.
How to Decorate the Cookies:
- Outline each ghost with the thick white icing.
- Fill the center with the thinned white icing and use a toothpick to spread the icing if needed. Let the cookies sit for 1–2 hours, or until the icing is dry.
- Pipe five green dots across the top of each ghost's head. Let set for about 30 seconds.
- Add small black dots for the eyes and nose. Let set for about 30 seconds.
- Pipe two yellow-gold dots on each hand.
- Finish by piping eight purple dots along one side of the ghost, starting with larger dots at the bottom and gradually making them smaller toward the top.
- Allow the decorated cookies to dry completely for 2–3 hours before serving or storing.
