Description
Chocolate Skeleton Cookies are a spooky and delicious treat perfect for Halloween. These cinnamon-infused chocolate cookies are tender yet sturdy enough to hold intricate skeleton designs piped with classic royal icing. Finished with a sprinkle of white sanding sugar, these cookies combine rich cocoa flavor with sweet, delicate decoration, ideal for festive celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Royal Icing
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2½ tablespoons meringue powder (or powdered egg whites)
- ¼ cup water
- White sanding sugar, for decoration
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using an electric mixer, beat the unsalted butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, ensuring everything is fully incorporated.
- Combine Dough: Add the dry flour mixture to the butter mixture in two batches, mixing each batch just until combined to avoid overworking the dough.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough in half and wrap each half tightly with plastic wrap. Flatten into disks and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or optionally overnight, to firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Roll Dough: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to about ¼ inch thickness.
- Cut and Arrange Cookies: Use a 5-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut shapes from the rolled dough. Transfer the cutouts to unlined baking sheets, rerolling scraps once to maximize dough use.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until they spring back when lightly touched, approximately 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks completely.
- Prepare Royal Icing: In a mixing bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix and scrape the sides of the bowl intermittently for about 10 minutes until the icing reaches the consistency of soft whipped cream.
- Decorate Cookies: Transfer the royal icing to a piping bag fitted with a #2 plain tip. Pipe skeleton designs by outlining skulls, adding circles for eyes and mouths, and flooding the face area. Sprinkle some cookies with white sanding sugar for added texture and visual interest.
- Dry and Serve: Allow the decorated cookies to dry completely before serving or storing. This ensures the royal icing sets firmly.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is crucial to prevent spreading and to ensure crisp edges while maintaining a tender center.
- Using meringue powder in royal icing ensures a stable, smooth finish ideal for intricate piping work.
- Be sure to allow the royal icing to dry fully to avoid smudging decorations.
- These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or frozen for longer storage.
- The cinnamon adds a warm spice that balances the rich cocoa flavor in the cookie dough, enhancing the overall taste experience.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 264 kcal
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 38 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 44 mg
