Description
Create festive Spiderweb Halloween Cookies perfect for your spooky celebrations. These classic sugar cookies are soft, buttery, and beautifully decorated with royal icing to resemble spiderwebs, topped optionally with mini chocolate chips or candy spiders for that extra creepy touch.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Decoration
- Black and white royal icing or decorating gel for piping
- Mini chocolate chips or candy spiders for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare baking sheets: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and to ensure even baking.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to evenly distribute the leavening agents and salt.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, which helps create a tender cookie texture.
- Add eggs and extracts: Mix in the large egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract if using, combining well to ensure smooth batter.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until a soft dough forms without overworking to maintain tenderness.
- Form cookies: Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart, and flatten each slightly with your palm for even baking.
- Bake the cookies: Bake for 8–10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden, indicating doneness while keeping the centers soft.
- Cool the cookies: Let cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, ensuring icing adheres properly.
- Decorate with royal icing: Once cooled, use white royal icing or decorating gel to frost the tops entirely. Pipe black circles over the white base, then drag a toothpick from the center outward to create a spiderweb effect on each cookie.
- Add finishing touches: Top with mini chocolate chips or candy spiders in the center of the web for a spooky, festive look.
- Set the icing: Allow the icing to completely set before serving or storing the cookies to avoid smudging the design.
Notes
- You can prepare the cookies a day in advance and decorate them once cooled for convenience.
- Use gel food coloring to tint royal icing if making it from scratch for vibrant, consistent colors.
- These cookies are perfect for Halloween parties or spooky lunchbox treats for kids and adults alike.
