A tray of chocolate cookies can become a whole Halloween scene: pale ghosts, orange pumpkins, and bats with outstretched wings. Start with one cocoa dough, choose a few cutters, and let the icing give each cookie its character.

These cut-out cookies make a cheerful centerpiece for a party table or a baking afternoon. Keep the decorating simple with white icing and sprinkles, or bring out the small piping tips for jack-o’-lantern faces. The baking method stays the same whichever look you choose.

Plan your baking day

Makes: approximately 24 cookies, each 3–4 inches across
Prep: 2 hours
Bake: 11–12 minutes per batch
Total: approximately 3 hours 30 minutes, plus icing setting time
Oven: 350°F (177°C)

Give the dough its refrigerator time before cutting. It goes into the refrigerator after rolling, already at its baking thickness. This lets you work with soft dough while rolling and firm dough while cutting.

Choose your icing before you start shopping. Royal icing suits piped faces and layered details; a thin coating sets in about 2 hours. The easy glaze suits simple colored shapes and sprinkles, needs no mixer, and takes about 24 hours to set. Either way, leave room in your schedule for the cookies to cool completely before decorating.

Halloween chocolate cookie recipe

Have ready mixing bowls, a whisk, an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, a rolling pin, parchment paper or silicone baking mats, 2–3 large baking sheets, Halloween cookie cutters, and a cooling rack. For decorating, use piping bags with a round #4 tip, a smaller #2 tip for royal-icing details, and a toothpick or icing scribe. A squeeze bottle also works for the easy glaze. Couplers are useful if you want to switch piping tips between colors.

Cookie ingredients

• 1½ cups (188g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the measuring cup and leveled
• ¾ cup (62g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus extra for rolling and the work surface
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup (12 tablespoons; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Royal icing or easy cookie glaze, using one of the recipes below
• Optional: gel food coloring

For the designs described below, you may also want candy eyes and Halloween sprinkles. These are optional decorations.

Method

1. Combine the dry ingredients

Use a medium bowl to whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Keep this mixture aside while you prepare the butter mixture.

2. Beat the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes, until creamy and smooth. Use an electric hand mixer or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Add the egg and vanilla, then beat on high for about 1 minute. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again as needed so everything is incorporated.

3. Finish the dough

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture on low speed, stopping when combined. Expect a soft dough. If it is too sticky and soft to roll, mix in 1 additional tablespoon of flour.

4. Roll both portions

Divide the dough equally. Lightly dust two large pieces of parchment or two silicone mats with cocoa powder; flour is also suitable. Put one portion on each piece. Dust the rolling pin lightly with cocoa or flour and roll each portion to an even ¼-inch thickness. Add a little more dusting powder where needed to prevent sticking. The outline of each sheet of dough does not matter; keep the thickness consistent.

5. Refrigerate the rolled dough

Dust the top of one sheet of dough lightly with cocoa or flour, cover it with parchment, and stack the second sheet on top. Cover the stack with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least 1–2 hours, or leave it refrigerated for up to 2 days.

6. Cut the Halloween shapes

Once the dough is chilled, heat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2–3 large baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Take out the top sheet of dough and cut your shapes.

Gather and reroll the scraps, lightly dusting the work surface and rolling pin with cocoa or flour as needed. Continue cutting until the dough is used, then repeat with the second sheet. Work promptly. If the remaining dough becomes warm or soft, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before continuing.

7. Bake, then cool completely

Set the cutouts 3 inches apart on the lined sheets. Bake for 11–12 minutes, until the edges are set. If your oven heats unevenly, rotate the sheet halfway through baking.

Leave the cookies on their baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely before adding icing.

8. Prepare and color the icing

Make either icing recipe below. For a classic Halloween palette, divide the icing into four equal portions: leave one white and tint the others orange, black, and green. Start with 1–2 drops of gel coloring, stir, then add more only as needed. Black may need more coloring; remember that the shades deepen as the icing sits and dries.

9. Decorate the cookies

Read through your chosen design before filling the bags. Fit piping bags with a round #4 tip; one bag is enough if you are using a single color. Pipe a border around each cookie, then fill inside it with a thin layer of icing. Use a toothpick or scribe to guide icing into small gaps.

• Ghosts: Use white icing, then attach candy eyes with a tiny dot of icing on the back of each eye.
• Bats and witch hats: Add sprinkles to an iced bat body or a stripe across a hat while that icing is wet. You can ice the surrounding areas immediately; the sprinkled section does not need to dry first.
• Pumpkins: Fill with orange icing and add a green stem. The orange base does not need to set before you add the stem.
• Jack-o’-lanterns: Choose royal icing and let the orange base set before piping a face or green leaves on top. Use the smaller #2 tip for these details. Simple eyes, a triangle nose, and a zigzag smile are enough to make a face.

If the royal icing becomes too thin or needs more body for detailed piping, beat in 2–3 additional tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar. Easy glaze is better suited to simple shapes and sprinkles than to fine lines or layered faces.

10. Allow the icing to set

Leave the decorated cookies uncovered while the icing dries: allow about 2 hours for royal icing or 24 hours for easy glaze. A thick layer or very thin royal-icing consistency can take longer. You may move the cookies onto a baking sheet and refrigerate them to help the icing set a little faster.

11. Serve or store

You can eat the cookies before the icing sets, but wait until it has set fully before stacking or packaging them. Keep plain or decorated cookies tightly covered for about 5 days at room temperature, or up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Pick one icing

Royal icing

Yield: approximately 3 cups. Use this option for the detailed faces and layered decorations.

• 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted, plus more if needed
• 3 tablespoons meringue powder, not plain egg white powder
• 9 tablespoons room-temperature water, plus more if needed
• Optional: 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon another flavored extract, such as lemon, coconut, or peppermint
• Optional: gel food coloring

With an electric mixer and whisk attachment, mix the sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add the water and optional extract; whip on high for 1½–2 minutes. Lift the whisk: a drizzle should blend into the surface within 5–10 seconds. If too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time; 10 tablespoons total may be needed, or 12–14 in especially dry conditions. If too thin, whip a little longer or add sifted sugar. Divide and tint as described above, adding a few drops of water if stirring thickens it. Protect unused icing in the bowl with a damp paper towel touching its surface.

Easy cookie glaze

Yield: approximately 1½ cups, enough for about 24 cookies. Choose this for simple icing and sprinkles.

• 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract; for white icing, replace it with the same amount of water
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 4½–5 tablespoons (67–75ml) room-temperature water, plus a little more only if needed
• A pinch of salt, optional
• Optional: gel food coloring

Stir the sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, 4½ tablespoons (67ml) water, and optional salt with a fork. The mixture will be stiff. Switch to a whisk and add ½ tablespoon (8ml) water. A ribbon falling from the whisk should remain visible briefly before blending in. If necessary, whisk in another ½ tablespoon (8ml) water, or a little more, to reach that consistency. Divide and tint as described above. Use a piping bag or squeeze bottle, and add sprinkles while the icing is wet.

Make them ahead

Refrigerate the rolled dough: Keep it covered for up to 2 days, then cut and bake as directed.

Freeze baked cookies: Plain or decorated cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let any icing set completely, then pack the cookies in a freezer-safe container with parchment between layers. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Freeze unrolled dough: After mixing the dough, divide it into two portions and flatten each into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then let the disks stand at room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll as directed and refrigerate the rolled sheets for 45 minutes to 1 hour before cutting and baking.

A few details to check before baking

• Measure the flour carefully. Use the listed weight, or spoon the flour into the cup and level it rather than packing it down.
• Keep the thickness even. Thin edges and thick centers will not bake at the same rate.
• Rechill soft dough. If shapes are getting difficult to handle, use the 10-minute refrigerator break before cutting more.
• Watch the edges. The chocolate color makes browning less obvious; use the stated baking time and set edges as your cues.
• Match the icing to the design. A simple ghost needs very little detail. A pumpkin with a piped face needs royal icing and time for the base to set.

Set out the finished cookies together on a large platter, or package them once the icing is completely dry. A handful of different expressions will give the whole batch its Halloween personality.