Easy Halloween Sugar Cookies are a soft, pinwheel sugar cookie recipe, made with fun holiday colors like green, orange, purple and black! Perfect for your Halloween celebrations.
Oh, how I love pinwheel cookies. They are so fun to make and are so incredibly soft and chewy. I love these because they stay soft for so many days – which just makes me so happy.
You see, I have this thing – I only like cookies on the first day. Once they start to dry out – I’m not a fan. But THESE pinwheel cookies – they are just as good on the second, third, and fourth days as they are on the first. SOOOOO delicious!
But the fun part about these cookies is that the color combinations are endless. I happen to love green and purple as my preferred Halloween colors. So of course those were my first batch.
But I know that a good portion of the population loves the traditional orange and black. But while I was at it – the green and black were calling me too.
Needless to say – I was up to my eyeballs in pinwheel cookies here and no one was complaining. We could all eat our weight in these cookies because they are SO GOOD!
Halloween Pinwheel Cookies
Here are some commonly asked questions
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
This is really a personal preference. If you are happy with just a little salt to cut the sweetness, then use salted butter.
I usually use whatever I have on hand & I really don’t pay too close attention to what butter I have. But I typically keep salted butter on hand & I love that little bit of extra salt with the sweet in this recipe.
These days with groceries being more difficult to find – I basically get whatever the store has available at the time and make it work.
How do I properly measure the flour?
The official way is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup & level off. This makes sure the flour isn’t packed tightly into your measuring cup, adding more than you need, as that will make your recipe too dry.
However – if you fluff your flour with a spoon, then gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup, taking care to not pack the flour – that should work for this recipe.
Don’t miss our Halloween Cookie Dough too!
Swirl Sugar Cookies
Can these cookies be made ahead of time?
You bet. This cookie dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days prior to baking. You may need to let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing and baking.
What do you mean by soft butter?
You will need to take your butter out of the fridge about an hour before you would like to bake the cookies for the butter to soften but not get too soft.
Pinwheel Sugar Cookies
How to make Halloween Sugar Cookies
- Combine flour, salt & baking powder in a bowl, mix and set aside.
- In another large mixer bowl, cream together the softened butter & sugar.
- Once smooth, add the eggs & vanilla and beat well.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time. Mix until the dough is smooth and flour is fully incorporated.
- Separate your dough into two equal parts.
- Color one of the portions of dough orange, and one black. Use the mixer to beat the color into the dough until you have reached the desired shade of each color. Be sure to rinse out the bowl and the beater inbetween the colors so that you don’t cross the colors and end up with something other than the desired color.
- Once the dough is tinted to the desired color – form it into a ball, then flatten it into a patty and then reshape the edges to form a rectangle.
- Wrap each flattened rectangle in plastic, and allow the dough to firm up in the refrigerator for about an hour or two.
After Chilling
- Roll out each ball of dough to about ⅛ – ¼” thick, and stack them on top of the other (I did orange on the bottom, then black).
- Trim the edges with a pizza cutter so you have nice, straight edges.
- If desired – Pour some sprinkles into your hand & brush the outside of the dough with a bit of water and then press the sprinkles into the outside of the dough log.
- Roll the dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the log of dough into ¼ – ½” thick cookies and place the rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet – approx 2 inches apart. The thinner the blade used to slice them, the better. A thick blade will tend to squish the dough.
- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until no longer shiny on top.
Ingredients for Halloween Sugar Cookies
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- butter at room temperature
- granulated sugar
- large eggs
- vanilla extract
- orange gel food coloring – I used electric orange *see notes for other color combos
- black gel food coloring – I used super black *see notes for other color combos
- Halloween sprinkles – if desired
Black/Green
- black gel food coloring – I used super black
- green gel food coloring – I used electric green
Purple/Green
- purple gel food coloring – I used electric purple
- green gel food coloring – I used electric green
How to soften the butter to room temperature?
First
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first being that you can take the butter (& any other ingredients that need to be at room temperature) out, leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prep for baking.
I usually start with all my chilled ingredients and pull everything I need out onto the counter before getting started – so I know for sure I have everything before I’m mid-way through I realize I’m out of something.
But sometimes it’s winter and that isn’t enough time to get the ingredients warmed up – OR – I’m just not that organized to plan ahead. It happens. So I have another couple of tricks.
Second
I place the butter in the microwave – wrapped in the paper. (don’t do this if it is wrapped in foil) Then I microwave for 2 seconds – flip – go another 2 seconds – flip again – and continue for 2 seconds on each side.
This is usually enough to get it perfect – sometimes stopping before if it feels soft enough. Take care when doing this method – overly softened butter from the microwave WILL ALTER the end result of the recipe. Don’t over-do it.
Third
My third method is to place the wrapped butter sticks in a zip-top bag and place it in a bowl of warm water. I do this with the eggs too. If the water isn’t too hot it can be THE PERFECT way to get “room-temperature” ingredients.
Sugar Cookies Halloween
Why do the ingredients need to be at room temperature?
Room temperature ingredients help to ensure that everything blends together perfectly. You don’t want any pockets of unblended butter. You want everything evenly disbursed for the perfect texture.
When your dairy products are at room temperature, they can create an emulsion. It’s essential to have an emulsion because air gets trapped, so the baked goods expand and get fluffy as it bakes.
Other Delicious Cookies
Sugar Halloween Cookies
What is the best way to store pinwheel cookies?
Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, place them in an airtight container or zip-top bag. They should stay soft for several days. I don’t recommend refrigerating them.
What are the best sprinkles for this dough?
This is important – just because the package says “sprinkles” doesn’t necessarily mean that it is in fact sprinkles.
I see a lot of people using colored sanding sugar that is labeled as sprinkles.
This will not work as well because when that sugar gets wet – like when mixed into a moist dough or when placed in the refrigerator, it will sweat & the color will bleed out.
Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe
Do I really need to chill the dough?
Yes, Yes, Yes! Chilling the dough is important for a couple of reasons. First – while the dough is chilling the ingredients are coming together. It gives a better overall flavor to the cookie.
The second and probably even more important than the first – is that chilling helps the dough hold together during the baking process.
Without chilling, the dough would not only be too sticky to really roll it into balls. But it would also spread way too much while baking – leaving flat and not very appealing cookies in the end. Please don’t skip the chilling process.
NOTE- This recipe will make 1 of the color combinations shown. If you want all of the color combinations – you will need to make 3 batches as there isn’t enough dough in the one recipe to divide it that many times.
Can this recipe be cut in half?
I understand wanting to cut this recipe in half. But it would be quite difficult to separate that small amount of dough into separate parts and then roll it into the log. You would be better off making the recipe as written and then freeze half of the dough for a later time.
Can this recipe be doubled?
You can, and we do it often. I actually find it easier to work with a larger portion of dough – but I do have to use my larger mixer to accommodate the increase in volume.
DON’T MISS THESE HOLIDAY E-BOOKS!
Products I love when making Halloween Sugar Cookies…
This cookie recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made pinwheel cookies before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love them. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this cookie recipe.
- electric orange food color
- electric purple food color
- super black food color
- electric green food color
- Halloween sprinkles
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- mixer
If you love this Easy Halloween Sugar Cookies recipe, you’re going to love these other Halloween treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Halloween Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange gel food coloring – I used electric orange *see notes for other color combos
- 1 tsp black gel food coloring – I used super black *see notes for other color combos
- Halloween sprinkles if desired
NOTE- This recipe will make 1 of the color combinations shown. If you want all of the color combinations – you will need to make 3 batches as there isn't enough dough in the one recipe to divide it that many times.
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt & baking powder in a bowl, mix and set aside.
- In another large mixer bowl, cream together the softened butter & sugar.
- Once smooth, add the eggs & vanilla and beat well.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time. Mix until the dough is smooth and flour is fully incorporated.
- Separate your dough into two equal parts.
- Color one of the portions of dough orange, and one black. Use the mixer to beat the color into the dough until you have reached the desired shade of each color. Be sure to rinse out the bowl and the beater inbetween the colors so that you don’t cross the colors and end up with something other than the desired color.
- Once the dough is tinted to the desired color – form it into a ball, then flatten it into a patty and then reshape the edges to form a rectangle.
- Wrap each flattened rectangle in plastic, and allow the dough to firm up in the refrigerator for about an hour or two.
- Roll out each ball of dough to about ⅛ – ¼” thick, and stack them on top of the other (I did orange on the bottom, then black).
- Trim the edges with a pizza cutter so you have nice, straight edges.
- If desired – Pour some sprinkles into your hand & brush the outside of the dough with a bit of water and then press the sprinkles into the outside of the dough log.
- Roll the dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the log of dough into ¼ – ½” thick cookies and place the rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet – approx 2 inches apart. The thinner the blade used to slice them, the better. A thick blade will tend to squish the dough.
- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until no longer shiny on top.
Notes
- 1 tsp black gel food coloring – I used super black
- 1 tsp green gel food coloring – I used electric green
- 3 tsp purple gel food coloring – I used electric purple
- 1 tsp green gel food coloring – I used electric green
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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