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How To Make These Amazing Jack-O-Lantern Cookies Recipe

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All October long make these spooky Jack-O-Lantern Cookies. Sugar cookies are cut out in the shape of pumpkins and decorated as Jack-O-Lanterns with black sparkly eyes, nose, and mouth, and then covered in a bright orange pumpkin body. 

How To Make These Amazing Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

These Jack-O-Lantern Cookies are perfect for snacks, afterschool snacks, and serving at Halloween parties.

These beautiful cookies are easy to make and look like you bought them from a bakery. 

These Jack-O-Lantern Cookies are a cinch to decorate. You can even get your kids to help ice these cookies.

The bright orange and green icing makes these cookies stand out and they’re just as delicious too!

In about an hour, you’ll have tender cookies decorated like spooky Jack-O-Lanterns ready to enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES

Sugar cookies are decorated as Jack-O-Lanterns with orange, black, and green icing for a delicious snack the whole family will enjoy this Halloween!

Are you ready to get started?

You’ll find the specific ingredient amounts and detailed instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of this post.

HOW TO MAKE JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES

KITCHEN TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

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This fun and easy Jack-O-Lantern Cookie recipe uses everyday kitchen staples to create a yummy snack your family will love.

All you need is:

  • butter 
  • sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract
  • flour
  • powdered sugar
  • milk
  • some food coloring gel: orange, green, and black
  • Halloween sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and blend on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add flour one cup at a time, and mix at low speed until all the flour has been added, and soft cookie dough has formed.

rolling pin and dough

Place about 1/4 of the dough on a floured surface, and with a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick.

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIE RECIPE

Cut out the cookies with the cookie cutters, and place them on baking sheets, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Continue until all the cookie dough has been rolled, cut out, and baked.

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIE RECIPE

When cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool.

While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla on low speed until blended, then mix on higher speed until mixed completely.

Divide the frosting evenly, into three individual dishes or ramekins.

Add a few drops of food coloring to the frosting, and stir well until the desired color is reached.

Add colored frosting to clear piping bags, and snip off the tip of each bag, leaving a small opening at the tip of the bag.

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIE RECIPE

Pipe the black frosting in the opening for the eyes and mouth.

Sprinkle the black sugars on top of the frosting, and with a small brush, brush away any excess sugars.

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIE RECIPE

Pipe the orange frosting around the edges of the cookies, then fill in each cookie with the Orange, all but the cutouts for the eyes and mouth – see photo.

Pipe the green frosting onto the stem of the cookies, and sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles on the stem.

Pipe thin lines of orange frosting down the cookie to mimic pumpkin spines – see photo.

In about an hour, you’ll have a beautiful Jack-O-Lantern cookie that’s sure to become a new favorite every Halloween!

cookies on a white board

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES TIPS AND QUESTIONS

If you’ve never made Halloween-themed cookies before, don’t worry! Below are some common questions and helpful tips.

Hopefully, this will answer any questions you may have.

If not, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll answer the best I can.

HOW LONG DOES IT REALLY TAKE TO MAKE JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES?

This Jack-O-Lantern Cookie recipe takes approximately 82 minutes. TOTAL. This includes:

  • About 20 minutes to make the cookie dough and cut out the cookies
  • Close to 10 minutes to bake the cookies
  • Around 15 minutes to cool the cookies
  • 7 minutes to make the frosting and color it
  • 30 minutes to decorate the cookies
cookies on a white plate

HOW DO I STORE JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES?

You can store Jack-O-Lantern Cookies in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 7 days or in your freezer for up to 3 months.

Simply unthaw the cookies at room temperature.

CAN I USE STORE-BOUGHT FROSTING INSTEAD OF HOMEMADE FROSTING?

Yes, you can use store-bought frosting instead of homemade frosting.

Purchase the kind that is used to decorate sugar cookies.

It saves you time creating the homemade frosting. 

CAN I MAKE JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes, you can easily make Jack-O-Lantern Cookies ahead of time.

Simply keep them stored in an airtight container until ready to serve. 

WHAT GOES WELL WITH JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES?

Jack-O-Lantern Cookies go well with a wide variety of Halloween snacks.

These recipes would be great to serve together at a Halloween party.

Some of my personal favorites include:

cookies

CAN I USE REGULAR FOOD DYE INSTEAD OF GEL FOOD DYE?

No, I do not suggest using regular food dye instead of gel food dye to make the frosting.

The color of the frosting is more intense when you use gel food dye and you require less of it so the frosting doesn’t get watered down. 

This spooky Jack-O-Lantern Cookie recipe not only tastes great, but it’s also incredibly versatile.

Try turning these into sandwich cookies by filling them with a buttercream frosting and sandwiching two cookies together. YUM!

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIE on a white plate
Yield: 25 Cookies

Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

All October long make these spooky Jack-O-Lantern Cookies. Sugar cookies are cut out in the shape of pumpkins and decorated as Jack-O-Lanterns with black sparkly eyes, nose, and mouth, and then covered in a bright orange pumpkin body. 

Prep Time 57 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 22 minutes

Ingredients

  • COOKIES:
  • 2 cups of Butter - softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups of Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 3 teaspoons of Vanilla
  • 5 cups of Flour
  • FROSTING:
  • 2 cups of Powdered Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of Milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
  • Food Coloring Gel - Orange, Green, and Black
  • Halloween Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and blend on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  3. Add flour one cup at a time, and mix at low speed until all the flour has been added, and soft cookie dough has formed.
  4. Place about 1/4 of the dough on a floured surface, and with a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick.
  5. Cut out the cookies with the cookie cutters, and place them on baking sheets, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
  6. Continue until all the cookie dough has been rolled, cut out, and baked. 
  7. When cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool.
  8. While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla on low speed until blended, then mix on higher speed until mixed completely.
  9. Divide the frosting evenly, into three individual dishes or ramekins.
  10. Add a few drops of food coloring to the frosting, and stir well until the desired color is reached.
  11. Add colored frosting to clear piping bags, and snip off the tip of each bag, leaving a small opening at the tip of the bag.
  12. Pipe the black frosting in the opening for the eyes and mouth.
  13. Sprinkle the black sugars on top of the frosting, and with a small brush, brush away any excess sugars.
  14. Pipe the orange frosting around the edges of the cookies, then fill in each cookie with the Orange, all but the cutouts for the eyes and mouth - see photo.
  15. Pipe the green frosting onto the stem of the cookies, and sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles on the stem.
  16. Pipe thin lines of orange frosting down the cookie to mimic pumpkin spines - see photo. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

25

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 329Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 124mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 3g

Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

WHAT’S NEXT

I hope you enjoy this fun Halloween cookie recipe as much as my family does!

If you get a chance to use this recipe, let me know! Leave me a comment below, or share it with a picture on Instagram or Facebook! Don’t forget to tag me @kelly_reci_ and use the hashtag #kellysthoughtsonthings so I can see how you use it!

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