Halloween baking doesn’t have to mean artificial colors and dyes. These adorable cookies were decorated with Chefmaster Natural Colors and the results are vibrant, fun, and quite boo-tiful. From cat jack-o-lantern pumpkins to cute ghosts, here’s how I we brought these cookies to life - naturally.

Ingredients:

Classic Sugar Cookie Dough (No Spread):

1 Cup / 2 Sticks (226g) Unsalted Butter (softened to Room Temperature)

1 Cup (212g) Granulated Sugar

1 Large Egg (at Room Temperature)

3 Cups (380g) All-Purpose Flour

3 Tablespoons (30g) Cornstarch

1 Teaspoon (8g) Salt

2 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract 

1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Butter Extract

1⁄2 Teaspoon (2g) Baking Powder 


Royal Icing:

2 Lbs Powdered Sugar

3/4 Cup Warm Water

5 Tablespoons Chefmaster Deluxe Meringue Powder

1 Tablespoon Clear Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup (Optional)

Tools & Utensils:

Kitchen Scale

Measuring Cups & Spoons

Stand Mixer or electric mixer

Bowls

Spatulas

Cookie Baking Sheets

Parchment paper (or silicone baking mats)

Cookie cutter (or Sharp Knife)

Tipless Pastry bags

Preparation:

1. Cut your butter into small squares (about ½ to ¾ inch) and set aside to soften.
2. Prepare and measure the rest of your ingredients.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Prepare your Cutout Cookies:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Using a paddle attachment, beat your butter and sugar on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. The time it takes may be less or more here. The color will lighten and become a pale yellow. Try to avoid over-mixing here.
3. Add your egg, vanilla, almond, and butter extract until just barely combined. (Can substitute or add flavorings at this step if desired) Scrape the sides of the bowl and re-beat them together if necessary.
4. Beat in the flour mixture to your wet ingredients a 1/2 cup - 1 cup at a time until the dough starts to form. Once all flour is combined, the texture should not be sticky (but will be soft) and should form a ball easily. If it is still sticky to the touch, add a bit more flour a tablespoon at a time. Humidity and weather can affect your flour amounts.
5. Form dough into a ball and split it into 2 equal parts for easier roll out further on. Skip to step 7 if you aren't going to "development chill".
6. Roll between lightly floured parchment or cling wrap at your desired thickness and chill dough in the refrigerator or freezer for a minimum of 3 hours up to 12 hours. This is my recommended "development chill" process to let the ingredients settle together.
7. Take out your cold dough, cut out shapes and "quick freeze" in the freezer once more until they are firm before baking. This should only be a few minutes depending on your freezer temperature. You may also do this in the fridge.
8. For your leftover dough, while it is workable (but still cold) and cut more shapes. If your dough becomes too soft, quick freeze for a couple minutes. Try to refrain from rolling dough more than 3-4 times as it can add air bubbles and cause spreading.
9. Remove your chilled shapes and immediately bake for 7-10 minutes and remove when the cookies turn matte, and you no longer see a sheen. The sheen is from the butter! Baking time should be around 7-8 minutes for 1/4" and 8-10 for 3/8" or 5/16". Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then flip the cookies over (top side down) onto the baking sheet and leave to continue cooling for 10 minutes. My secret for super flat cookies! Or you may also take a flat spatula and carefully press onto the tops of the cookies in a circular motion to remove any potential puffing.
10. Place on a cooling rack until completely cool to the touch before decorating.

Make your Royal Icing:

1. Using a Whisk attachment, whisk together your meringue powder and warm water until it resembles a frothy foam on speed
2. Once foamed/bubbly and your cream of tartar and vanilla until combined.
3. Slowly add in your powdered sugar a cup at a time until all your powdered sugar is added. Start on low and then slowly increase your mixer speed to medium high or speed 6 for a few minutes. The strength of your mixer will ultimately depend on how long you reach the stiff peaks.
4. While your mixer is on, add in the corn syrup and white food coloring and mix for another minute.
5. Once finished mixing, your results should be a thick and fluffy royal icing. It should not have any flow to it, aka. stiff peaks.
6. Check for consistency:
   1. Thick piping: stiff peaks, like toothpaste
   2. Outline: 15–20 second consistency
   3. Flood: 10 second consistency
7. Divide into bowls and color as needed with Chefmaster natural liqua-gel food coloring. For this set, you will need the following colors:
   1. Brown – made with Chefmaster Natural Brown
   2. Light Purple – made with Chefmaster Natural Purple
   3. Ivory or Tan – made with a small amount of Chefmaster Natural Brown in white icing
   4. Black – made with Chefmaster Natural Black and Black Cocoa Powder
   5. Peachy orange – made with equal parts Chefmaster Natural Pink and Chefmaster Natural Orange
   6. White

Decorate your Cookies

1. Orange Pumpkin

• Outline and flood the pumpkin shape with Natural Sunset Orange icing. Let dry completely.
• Pipe curved lines from top to bottom or add a few dots in range if sizes to create the pumpkin texture.
• Add a brown stem using Natural Brown icing, adding vertical lines once dry for dimension.
• Optional: Pipe delicate ivory vine swirls for extra detail

2.    Ivory Pumpkin

• Outline and flood with white icing and let dry.
• Pipe thin curved vertical lines to create the ribbed sections of the pumpkin.
• Add a stem at the top using Natural Brown. Adding vertical lines once dry for dimension and texture.
• Optional: Brush with a pearl or shimmer dust for an elegant finish.

3.    Witch Hat

• Outline and flood the entire hat with Natural Purple icing. Let dry.
• Pipe an orange hat band across the base using Natural Sunset Orange.
• Add a buckle in Natural Black for contrast.
• Optional: Add a shading detail along the edges with a slightly darker purple, blending gently. You may use dust or edible paint with a food grade brush. Add the holes in the band using an edible marker.

4.    Ghost Holding a Cat

• Make an icing transfer of the cat beforehand. Let dry. (You may skip this and pipe on later)
• Outline and flood the ghost with white icing. Leaving a space for the eyes Let dry.
• Fill in the eyes with Natural Black.
• Once the cat is piped on or added via transfer, pipe on the ghost arm for dimension on top of the cat.
• Optional: Add shading to the ghost using black dust or edible paint for extra definition.

5.    Cat Jack-o-lantern

• Smear your purple icing in the center of the cookie in a thin layer and let dry.
• Outline and flood the pumpkin-cat shape with Natural Black. Let dry completely.
• Pipe a brown stem at the top for detail.
• Optional: Add darker purple shading inside the eyes and smile for a glowing and depth effect.

6.    Cat in a “Boo!” Box

• Using a transfer or (pipe on later), trace the big box flap on parchment paper and fill in to let dry completely.
• Outline and flood the box in Natural Brown, make sure to do each flap separately and let dry in between.
• Pipe or write “Boo!” on the box with Natural Black or edible black marker
• Outline and flood the cat shape in white. Leaving space for the eyes. Leave the ears empty.
• Add ears with small black triangles. Then fill the center with your purple.
• Take your transfer (or pipe on the box flap) and attach to your box. Let dry for a few minutes.
• Add black oval eyes and a curled black tail hanging out of the box.
• Optional: add brown shading within the box and black shading on the cat for dimension and depth.

Tips for Successful Halloween Cookies

• Tipless piping bags = smoother lines. Cut your piping bags against the seam to create a rounder edge for the icing to come out from.
• Layer drying & doing sections helps prevents bleeding
• Use a scribe or needle tool for precision
• Use a fan or dehydrator in humid climates to help icing set quicker and create a smooth and glossy effect

Download the Cookie Designs & Outlines

Do you want to recreate this exact set? We’ve got you covered!

• Download the template pack with printable outlines, cutter references, and decorating guides to help you plan each cookie design:
  • Click here to download the Halloween Natural Cookie Set Template Pack (Includes: 2 pumpkin shapes, ghost with cat, cat in a box, cat Jack-o-lantern, Witch hat)
• Print it, trace it, or use it as a reference while decorating. If you have similar cutters or want to use different shapes - feel free to change it up and make it unique.

Great for beginners and planners alike!