Day of the Dead Cookies (Printer-Friendly Version)
Colorful sugar skull cookies bring festive Día de Muertos flair to your celebration.
# Required Ingredients:
→ Cookies
01 -
375 g all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
02 -
4 g baking powder
03 -
2 g kosher salt
04 -
227 g unsalted butter, softened
05 -
200 g granulated sugar
06 -
1 large egg
07 -
15 ml whole milk
08 -
5 ml pure vanilla extract
→ Royal Icing
09 -
600 g powdered sugar
10 -
90 ml whole milk, plus extra for thinning
11 -
60 ml light corn syrup
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1.25 ml pure vanilla extract
13 -
Black food coloring
14 -
Teal food coloring
15 -
Orange food coloring
16 -
Green food coloring
17 -
Purple food coloring
18 -
Yellow food coloring
# Step-by-Step Instructions:
01 -
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Reserve for later use.
02 -
In a separate large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
03 -
Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until fully combined.
04 -
Gradually add the reserved flour mixture, mixing until a uniform dough forms.
05 -
Shape dough into a flat disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
06 -
Preheat oven to 175°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 3 mm thickness. Use skull-shaped cookie cutters to form shapes and transfer to prepared trays.
07 -
Freeze cookies on trays for 10 minutes to help shapes hold during baking.
08 -
Bake until the edges are lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
09 -
In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth.
10 -
Transfer about one-quarter of the icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe outlines on cooled cookies.
11 -
Thin half of the remaining icing with additional milk, 5 ml at a time, until flowing consistency is reached. Pour into a piping bag and flood outlined cookies, spreading for full coverage.
12 -
Divide remaining icing among six bowls and tint each with black, teal, orange, green, purple, and yellow food colorings.
13 -
Spoon each colored icing into piping bags fitted with small round tips and decorate cookies with festive skull designs.
# Handy Cooking Tips:
01 -
Sugar cookie dough may be prepared up to three days in advance and stored, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator.
02 -
Baked cookies can be frozen for up to three months and decorated after thawing.
03 -
Use unsalted butter for optimal control of salt content; omit the added salt if using salted butter.
04 -
Decorate each skull with your own choice of colors and patterns for a unique presentation.