Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipes & Ideas

If you haven't heard us say it yet, we'll repeat ourselves: the pumpkin is Halloween's ultimate mascot. Pumpkins are quintessentially fall and beautifully orange, so they are the ideal subject for your festive sugar cookie creations. These crisp and colorful pumpkin sugar cookies are perfect with a glass of milk.

Do you believe in ghosts? Well, it doesn't really matter because these ghost cookies are so cute. The perfect dessert to serve at your Halloween party, these ghostly his-and-hers sugar cookies make a welcome break from the glut of Halloween candy. But just because you make these doesn't mean you have to forgo the candy.

To be perfectly honest, we don't know the origin of the candy corn and we don't care. All that matters is the overwhelming sugar rush once you eat just one. A trio of pretty colors made from simple white icing turn simple sugar cookies into colorful and adorable candy corn cookies.

Day of the Dead is Mexico’s holiday that celebrates those who have passed. Like Halloween, it is celebrated on October 31. Although a skull is the traditional Day of the Dead motif, you can stamp these cookies into any festive Halloween shape, from pumpkins and witches to cats and ghosts.

If there is one arachnid that truly embodies Halloween, then it is definitely the creepy, crawly spider. And what is even creepier and crawlier than a spider? Its web. These festive sugar cookies bring spiders and their webs to life. Plus, a little cocoa in the icing gives these spiderweb sugar cookies a little chocolate flavor.

Crispy sugar cookies, perfect for decorating for any number of occasions, have their place. But when you want to fill your cookie jar or grab a handful for a trick-or-treating snack, a sturdier, chewier cookie is in order. With crispy edges, chewy centers and just a hint of nutmeg, these classic sugar cookies only need some festive Halloween sprinkles.

Suzanne Goin, who used to work at Berkeley, California's Chez Panisse, adapted these sugar-edged cookies from the Chez Panisse Dessert cookbook. A more subtle nod to Halloween, the candied orange brings in both festive color and a delicious citrus flavor. These are perfect to serve costume-clas guests at any Halloween party.

This is Jacques Torres's recipe for sablés, a classic French butter cookie with a sandy, crumbly texture (sablé means "sandy")—though this fabulously dense version is actually more like shortbread. Just add some orange sprinkles and you’ll be set with a tasty Halloween sweet. Plus, you’ll want to be eating leftovers all week long.