Jack-o'-lantern Cookies

If you are a beginning cookie decorator looking for a simple design that makes use of multiple decorating techniques, Jack-o'-lantern cookies are for you!

There's some brush work, edible ink work and some segmented piping and it's all basic and easy to do.

To get started, bake mini pumpkin cookies and an equal number of larger base cookies and also have ready a black edible ink marker, a small "food only" brush, a batch of royal icing, gel colorings (I used orange, delphinium blue and moss green) and two pastry bags fitted with #2 tips.


Here's how to decorate them:

Start off by outlining and flooding the base cookies with white royal icing using one the pastry bags and a #2 tip.  Let the base cookies dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Once the base cookies are dry, mix up some blue royal icing and thin it to medium consistency. Drop about a teaspoon full onto the cookie and use your brush to spread it out evenly. It won't look perfectly smooth but that's the point, you want to add a textural look to the cookie.

After you have covered all of the base cookies, set them aside to dry. Reserve any leftover icing to use as "glue" when it's time to stick the cookies together.

Now it's time for the mini pumpkins, mix up a very small amount of medium consistency moss green royal icing.

Paint the stem of all of the pumpkins.

Mix up some medium consistency orange icing and place it a pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip. Following the curves of the cookie add orange to just the center segment. Do this to all of the pumpkins and let them dry for at least 20 minutes.

Add orange to the outside segments. This segmented piping adds so much texture and realism to the pumpkin. Let the icing dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Add a dollop of icing to back of the pumpkins and stick them onto the base cookies.

It will look like this.

Now for the fun part, get out your edible ink marker and turn the pumpkins into Jack-o'-lanterns.

Let the ink and the "cookie glue" dry completely before packaging.

Double Decker Ghost Cookies

These double decker ghost cookies are a favorite of mine. They were quick to make and I think they're super cute too.

I cut the ghosts using a mini-cutter from a Halloween set that my mom gave me more than 15-years ago. No worries though, mini-cutter sets are still easy to find in stores today and online. Two stores where I've had good luck finding the sets are Michael's and Cost Plus World Market.

When making double decker cookies, my one tip is to cut the top cookies about half of the thickness of the base cookies— This just keeps the cookie from looking too bulky. The ghosts are 1/8-inch thick and the base cookies are 1/4-inch thick.

Here's how I made them:

Outline and flood base cookies and set them aside to dry completely.

Outline and flood ghost cookies with white icing and while the icing is still wet, drop on the eyes and mouth using black medium consistency icing and a #2 tip. Let the ghosts dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Once the base cookies and ghost cookies are dry, adhere them together using piping consistency royal icing as glue. A little goes a long way, so don't add too much or it will squish out and ruin the look. Use an edible ink marker to write "Boo!" and pipe a border.

Wait for the royal icing "glue" and border dry completely before packaging.

Bat Macarons

A batch of macarons and a black edible ink marker are all you need to create these Halloweeny (is that a word?) bat macarons.

You might think you also need some artistic ability, but that's wrong because trust me, if I can draw a bat, you can draw a bat. To prove it, here's how in four easy steps:

All you need is a batch of macarons, sorted into pairs and a black edible ink marker. Add the bats before you fill the macarons.

Step 1:

Draw a wide "U" shape across the center of the macaron and curve the ends down a bit. Think of making a valley between two hills.

 Step 2:

Draw a circle or a "boulder in the valley" and add two small triangles for ears.

Step 3:

Don't let this next step trip you up because it doesn't have to be perfect. From each end of the wide "U" swoop downward and draw three upside down "U" shapes and connect them by drawing a seventh upside down "U" centered under the circle.

 Step 4:

Use your marker to fill everything in and voila, you have a bat!

An assortment of Halloween party appropriate macarons.

How To Decorate Pumpkin Cookies (In Three Easy Steps)

These Pumpkin Cookies can be decorated in three easy steps using a piping technique that adds diminision and interest.

And now is the perfect time to learn how to make them since they are ideal for fast approaching Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations.

I made my pumpkins mini-sized and used them to top a batch of double-decker Fall cookies but they are definitely cute just the way they are too.

My recent batch of double-decker cookies.

Here's how to decorate them in three easy steps:

Step 1:

Outline and fill the two outside sections of the pumpkins with flood consistency royal icing. Let this dry for at least 15 minutes before moving on to the next step.

Step 2:

Outline and fill in the middle sections with the same icing. You might need to use a skewer or scribe tool to ease the icing all the way to the inside edges of the already filled sections.

Step 3:

Finally add a green stem using a paint brush and piping consistency royal icing. I have a small stiff square tip brush from Wilton that I recommend using. By painting on the stem you eliminate having to use a pastry bag and it gives that rough textured look of a real pumpkin stem.

Adding Dimension To Cookies

These mini pumpkin cookies would be pretty blah if they were flatly decorated with orange royal icing. Adding dimension by dividing the pumpkin into segments makes them look so much better because it adds realism and interest.

And, adding dimension to cookies really is simple. For the pumpkins, all I did was divide the pumpkin into three segments by piping a border. I then waited for about 5 minutes for the border to set and then filled in the segments.

Once you learn the technique, you'll want to use it in other cookie designs because it just looks so good.

For more tips on how to add dimension to your sugar cookies watch my Easter decorating video here.

And, here's how to decorate the mini pumpkins:

Color and thin some royal icing. You want to make sure your icing is the correct consistency. For this, you need 10-second icing which means that if you draw a line through your icing with a spoon, it will take 10 seconds for it to settle back together.

Use a #1 pastry tip to divide the pumpkins into three segments and let them set for 5 to 10 minutes before proceeding to the next step.

With the same icing and same #1 tip, fill in the segments.

These pumpkins are transformed in no time.

Add some color to the stem of the pumpkin and that's it - so cute and so simple.

Candy Corn Cookies

For Halloween I prefer to make mini decorated cookies because I can get more than 60 with just one batch of dough and let's face it, it's better to share smaller-sized sweets this super sugary time of year.

One of the easiest mini Halloween cookies to make are these candy corn cookies. I used a 4-inch round cutter to make them by simple slicing the round into eighths.

Only three colors of icing are needed and the cookies can be decorated all at once.

Here's how:

Cut a 4-inch round of cookie dough.

Cut the round into fourths.

Cut the fourths in half and bake.

Ice the bottom third of the cookies with yellow royal icing.

Immediately add a layer of orange icing.

Finally add white icing at the top and that's it. These cookies come together amazingly fast.