If you’re looking for an easy Halloween treat that’s fun, festive, and guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face, these Halloween sugar cookies are it. They’re soft, buttery, and sweet, with colorful Halloween sprinkles mixed right into the dough.
These cookies are also incredibly simple to make. There’s no rolling, cutting, or decorating individual cookies required. Just mix the dough, fold in the sprinkles, scoop it onto a baking sheet, and bake.
We especially love how easy it is to customize these Halloween sugar cookies with different sprinkles. Add a few extra on top before baking, and you’ve got a festive cookie that’s perfect for Halloween parties, school treats, or a spooky movie night at home.
Looking for more Halloween treats? Try our mini Halloween cupcakes next!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: There’s no rolling pin or cookie cutters needed. Just scoop and bake.
- Perfectly festive: Halloween sprinkles make these cookies instantly ready for the season.
- Soft and buttery: The cookies have a tender texture with lightly browned edges.
- One-bowl-friendly: The wet ingredients and dry ingredients come together quickly with minimal fuss.
- No complicated decorating: The sprinkles do all the decorating work for you.
- Great for Halloween parties: They’re easy to make in a batch and perfect for sharing.
- Kid-friendly: Kids can help fold in the sprinkles or add extra sprinkles to the tops.
- Easy to customize: Use your favorite Halloween sprinkle mix to give them your own look.
- Simple ingredients: You probably already have many of these basic baking ingredients in your pantry.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Butter: The rich, creamy base that gives these cookies their soft texture and buttery flavor.
- Halloween candy sprinkles: The fun star of the cookies! They add festive color, a little crunch, and make these perfect for Halloween.
- Corn syrup: Helps keep the cookies soft and gives them a slightly chewy texture.
- Baking soda & baking powder: Help the cookies rise and spread just enough for soft centers and lightly browned edges.
Variations
- Use different sprinkles: Try black and orange, purple and green, or any Halloween sprinkle combination you love.
- Add extra sprinkles: Press additional sprinkles onto the tops of the dough balls before baking for an even more festive look.
- Add chocolate chips: Stir in some mini chocolate chips along with the Halloween sprinkles.
- Try white chocolate: White chocolate chips would add a creamy sweetness that pairs well with the sugar cookie dough.
- Use seasonal sprinkles: You can easily adapt this recipe for other holidays by swapping out the Halloween sprinkles.
- Add food coloring: A little orange, purple, or another Halloween-inspired color can make the dough even more festive.
- Make smaller cookies: Use a smaller scoop for bite-sized treats and adjust the baking time as needed.
- Make them extra sweet: Drizzle the cooled cookies with a little melted white chocolate for an easy finishing touch.
How to Make Halloween Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Then beat in the remaining wet ingredients.
Step 2: Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Then, mix them into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in the Halloween sprinkles.
Step 3: Place dough balls on a prepared baking sheet using a cookie scoop. Sprinkle with more sprinkles.
Step 4: Bake until the edges are slightly brown. Cool the cookies for 2 to 3 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use softened butter: Butter that’s softened to room temperature creams much more easily with the sugar.
- Cream the butter and sugar well: Give the mixture about 3 minutes to become creamy before adding the other ingredients.
- Don’t overmix the dough: Once the dry ingredients are added, mix just until everything is combined.
- Fold the sprinkles in gently: This helps keep the sprinkle colors from bleeding too much into the dough.
- Use a cookie scoop: A 1 ½-inch scoop helps keep the cookies a consistent size so they bake evenly.
- Add extra sprinkles on top: A few additional sprinkles make the finished cookies even more festive.
- Don’t overbake: Pull the cookies when the edges are just starting to brown. They’ll continue to set as they cool.
- Let them cool on the baking sheet: The 2-3 minute rest helps the cookies firm up before you move them.
- Use parchment paper: It makes transferring the cookies easier and keeps the baking sheet cleaner.
- Let them cool completely: Give the cookies time to finish setting on a wire rack before storing or decorating further.
Halloween Sugar Cookies FAQs
Yes! Use whatever Halloween sprinkle mix you like. You can use traditional orange, black, and purple sprinkles or choose a mix with fun shapes and colors.
Make sure you’re using softened butter rather than melted butter. Also, avoid overmixing the dough once the flour has been added.
The cookies are ready when the edges start to get slightly brown. The centers may still look soft when you remove them from the oven.
Yes. You can make the cookies ahead of time and store them in an airtight container once they’re completely cooled.
Absolutely! Kids can help add and mix the sprinkles into the dough and, of course, add extra sprinkles to the tops before baking.
Definitely. Simply swap the Halloween sprinkles for seasonal sprinkles to make these cookies for different holidays and celebrations.
Halloween sugar cookies will last for up to a week in an airtight container.
Yes, you can. Freeze the cookies in an airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper.
Halloween Sugar Cookies are Great With
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Halloween Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup
- ½ cup Halloween candy sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat egg, vanilla, and corn syrup into mixture until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder and salt together.
- Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.
- Fold in the Halloween sprinkles.
- Using a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop, place rounded cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet.
- Add more sprinkles on top of cookie dough balls, if desired.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to get slightly brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use softened butter: Butter that’s softened to room temperature creams much more easily with the sugar.
- Cream the butter and sugar well: Give the mixture about 3 minutes to become creamy before adding the other ingredients.
- Don’t overmix the dough: Once the dry ingredients are added, mix just until everything is combined.
- Fold the sprinkles in gently: This helps keep the sprinkle colors from bleeding too much into the dough.
- Use a cookie scoop: A 1 ½-inch scoop helps keep the cookies a consistent size so they bake evenly.
- Add extra sprinkles on top: A few additional sprinkles make the finished cookies even more festive.
- Don’t overbake: Pull the cookies when the edges are just starting to brown. They’ll continue to set as they cool.
- Let them cool on the baking sheet: The 2-3 minute rest helps the cookies firm up before you move them.
- Use parchment paper: It makes transferring the cookies easier and keeps the baking sheet cleaner.
- Let them cool completely: Give the cookies time to finish setting on a wire rack before storing or decorating further.
These are super cute! Sprinkles are such a simple way to make cookies for any occasion or season.
I can’t get enough of these. They are super tasty and so easy. You can’t beat that combo.
The kiddoes loved, loved, loved these. These will be on repeat all season long for sure.
The tender cookies and sweet frosting were such a perfect combination for Halloween!
I baked these cookies for a Halloween get-together and had so much fun decorating them. The cookies were tender and had a nice buttery sweetness!
Such an easy cookie recipe for Halloween. The colorful sprinkles make them festive without much extra work, and the soft buttery texture makes them hard to resist.