Slice ‘n’ Bake Halloween Cookies

A homemade butter cookie with a surprise pumpkin inside.

Is it too early for Slice ‘n’ Bake Halloween cookies? I don’t think so! Halloween is such a fun holiday to bake for. I just love it! We have a party at our house every year and this is a recipe I thought would be so cute. Just wanted to try it first to make sure it would work. And boy did it ever! Are these adorable or what? I made Christmas themed Slice ‘n’ Bake cookies last year and they came out great. They were easier than I thought. So creating a Halloween themed cookie was no problem.

 

 Roll remaining dough into small snake-like strips and place around the pumpkins.

 Gently roll in sprinkles. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

 Cut 1/4-inch slices, place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350°F.

Slice ‘n’ Bake Halloween Cookies are perfect for your next party!

{Slice ‘n’ Bake Halloween Cookies}

3 cups (415g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (210g) granulated sugar
8 ounces (226g) unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Orange and green food coloring (I used Wilton brand)
Sprinkles

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl. With an electric mixer, beat on medium for 3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and almond. Mix until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix on medium until a dough forms. Divide dough into thirds. Keep two thirds plain. Of the remaining dough, color a small piece green and the rest orange. I found it easiest to incorporate the color by kneading the dough with my hands.

Roll the orange dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Roll out a long narrow piece of green and attach it to the orange dough. Using a 1-inch pumpkin cookie cutter, cut as many pumpkins as you can (making sure that the stem part is on the green dough). Combine the scraps and roll again. Cut more pumkins. Repeat. Stack the pumpkins together in 3 rows.

Take the remaining plain dough and divide into thirds. Divide each third into smaller pieces that you roll out into narrow ropes of dough. Place the ropes around the pumpkin stacks. Gently roll to smooth edges. You will end up with 3 logs of dough. Roll each log in sprinkles, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.

Once chilled, slice 1/4-inch thick cookies and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool. Serve immediately or store covered for up to 1 week. They will also freeze well for longer life.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Lise is the mom, baker and recipe developer behind the blog, MomLovesBaking.com. She loves creating sweet treats, taking lots of pictures and sharing the step-by-step photo instructions with you. She shares all kinds of desserts which include some healthy choices. Some gluten-free recipes,  some skinny recipes and a savory recipe here and there. She especially loves easy recipes!