Sugar Skull Cookies

I’m not one of those fancy cookie decorators. I promise.

But, I do have a few tips about how those fancy cookie decorators get their designs so pretty and perfect. And of course, a recipe for some delicious cookies with absolutely amazing royal icing.

Cookie decorations don’t have to always be an artwork, but sometimes it is fun to take a little extra prep time and go above and beyond with a cookie decoration. If I can have so much fun decorating my sugar cookies, i’m sure you’ll have a blast icing the delicious sugar cookies with royal icing.

Our sugar skull cookie recipe is the perfect recipe to pull out for your upcoming Halloween party, or for celebrating Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) this fall.

We like to make a double batch of these cookies, and share with family and friends. The sugar skulls are delicious and look so fancy using our royal icing recipe.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, we focus most of our recipes on healthy eating. However, we realize that sweets and treats also have a time and a place in our diet.

We write our recipes to be full of detailed instructions, tips and tricks, healthy eating plan points (if applicable), and nutritional information. If you are ready to start baking, grab your skull cookie cutter and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Sugar Skull Cookie Recipe.

Ingredients in Sugar Skull Cookie Recipe

Cookie Ingredients

• Unsalted butter: Be sure it’s at room temperature, and definitely unsalted butter. Using salted butter wouldn’t work for this recipe.
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract: A baking staple, vanilla extract provides a subtle vanilla flavor to the sugar cookies.
• Flour: You’ll need a sifter to sift flour and other dry ingredients together.
• Baking powder: Baking powder is different than baking soda. Make sure you grab baking powder for this recipe.
• Salt
• Skull Shaped Cookie Cutter: We’ve used this one from Amazon, however any size cookie cutter will work. Just be mindful if you use two differently sized cookie cutters, the smaller skull shapes will bake faster than the larger cookies.

Royal Icing Ingredients

• Egg whites: Not the yolks, just the whites.
• Powdered sugar
• Cream of tartar
• Gel Food Coloring

How to Make Sugar Skull Cookies

Sugar Skull Cookie Recipe Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, not grainy.
2. Add all eggs at once, and continue to mix.
3. Add vanilla and continue mixing.
4. Sift the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then add it to the wet mixture.
5. Continue mixing on low speed until all of the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
6. Make the cookie dough into a ball, then wrap it in saran wrap or plastic food film. You’ll completely covering the entire cookie dough ball.
7. Put covered dough ball in the refrigerator for about 6 hours (overnight works well, too!)
8. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
9. Pull the dough out and let it sit and soften so you can work with it.
10. Spread flour over your work station and on your rolling pin, and work some into the batter, if needed.
11. Press dough onto the cutting board, roll dough with a rolling pin, and use the skull cookie cutter to cut your cookies.
12. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper, and use a metal spatula to move the cut skull cookies to the cookie sheet.
13. Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes.
14. Take the cookies off the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To prepare royal icing:

1. Combine all ingredients except food coloring into a mixing bowl, and mix on medium speed for about 4 minutes.
2. If icing is not peaking, add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar.

To decorate the cookies:

1. Divide the icing into the number of bowls (or colors) that you’ll use.
2. Add 2-3 drops of each gel food coloring to each bowl of icing. Stir well.
3. Spoon each color of icing into individual piping bag fitted with #5 tips. Twist the open end of the bag to push the icing to the tip. You could also use icing writers.
4. Locate a picture of the Sugar Skull or Day of the Dead cookies on Google and print it out. Using the picture as an example, draw the outline on the cookie using a Food Writer. Of course, you can always be creative and design your own.
5. Outline each of the skull cookies in white. You’ll go back later and fill them in with watered down icing.
6. Outline the designs first with your colored frostings, then fill the closed designs in with the same color.
7. When you’re done with the facial designs and they’re dry, add 1 teaspoon of water to your white icing. Slowly fill in the rest of the face up to the outline and let the frosting set.

Recipe Tips

• If you don’t have parchment paper, you can also put the skull shaped cookies on lightly buttered cookie sheets to bake.
• It’s really important to let the cookies cool before trying to frost them.
• When making the royal icing, stiff peaks form when you have reached the right consistency. These stiff peaks are what you are looking for. If they aren’t forming, you’ll want to add a bit more powdered sugar.
• When putting down flour on the surface for rolling the dough, be sure not to use too much flour. Over-flouring the sugar cookies will result in more of a chalky flavor.
• There are so many wonderful youtube videos that help you learn how to decorate cookies with royal icing. The key is to always outline the area first, before filling in with the remaining color. Even if your decorating doesn’t look great, the cookies will still taste great!

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Sugar Skull Cookies

Created by: Becca Ludlum

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 23 minutes mins

Servings 12

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How to make Sugar Skull cookies: Wondering how to get those beautiful and intricate designs on Day of the Dead or Sugar Skull cookies? Here’s a tutorial!

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Equipment

• Skull Cookie Cutter
• Rolling Pin
• Baking Sheet

Ingredients 

Cookie Ingredients:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups butter unsalted, room temperature
• ▢ 2 cups sugar
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ ¼ tsp vanilla
• ▢ 5 cups flour
• ▢ 2 tsps baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp salt

Royal Icing Ingredients:

• ▢ 2 egg whites
• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ▢ gel food coloring

Instructions

Cookie Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and not grainy. 1 ½ cups butter 2 cups sugar
• Add all eggs at once, and continue to mix. 4 eggs
• Add vanilla and continue mixing. ¼ tsp vanilla
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add to wet mixture. 5 cups flour 2 tsps baking powder 1 tsp salt
• Continue mixing on low speed until all of the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
• Make the dough into a ball, then wrap it in plastic wrap (completely covering the entire dough ball).
• Put dough ball in the refrigerator for about 6 hours (overnight works well, too!)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Pull the dough out and let it sit and soften so you can work with it.
• Spread flour over your work station and on your rolling pin, and work some into the batter, if needed.
• Roll the dough onto the cutting board and use the cookie cutter to cut your cookies.
• Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper, and use a metal spatula to move the cut skull cookies to the cookie sheet.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes.
• Take the cookies off the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing Directions:

• Combine all ingredients except food coloring into a mixing bowl, and mix on medium speed for about 4 minutes. 2 egg whites 1 cup powdered sugar ½ tsp cream of tartar
• If icing is not peaking, add ¼ cup powdered sugar.

To decorate the cookies:

• Divide the icing into the number of bowls (or colors) that you’ll use.
• Add 2-3 drops of each gel food coloring to each bowl of icing. Stir well.
• Spoon each color of icing into individual frosting bags with #5 tips. Twist the open end of the bag to push the icing to the tip. You could also use icing writers.
• Locate a picture of the Sugar Skull or Day of the Dead cookies on Google and print it out. Using the picture as an example, draw the outline on the cookie using a Food Writer. Of course, you can always be creative and design your own!
• Outline each of the skull cookies in white. You’ll go back later and fill them in with watered down icing.
• Outline the designs first with your colored frostings, then fill the closed designs in with the same color.
• When you’re done with the facial designs and they’re dry, add 1 teaspoon of water to your white icing. Slowly fill in the rest of the face up to the outline and let the frosting set.

Nutrition

Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 790IU | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2.7mg

Make This Recipe?

Make sure to follow on Pinterest @bludlum and on Instagram @beccaludlum