These Halloween sprinkle cookies always get me excited for spooky season. The dough is super simple to make, so I have plenty of time to focus on the decorations–which are so easy by the way! I divided and colored the dough with food coloring, then swirled it back together to create a marbled look. Then, I rolled the cookies in a delightfully crunchy mixture of Halloween sprinkles. These Halloween sugar cookies are deceptively easy to make and even more fun to eat!
Halloween Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
My Halloween-themed cookies are practically magic! They basically do all the decorating work themselves. The marbled sugar cookie dough combined with a generous roll in sprinkles creates bold, eye-catching colors without fussy icing or piping bags. It bakes up beautifully into giant, spooky Halloween cookies with pockets of sweet white chocolate and a satisfying crunch from the sprinkles. My kids especially love helping with the rolling and swirling, so it doubles as a fun kitchen activity.
Email this Recipe
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe directly to you!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Easy Dessert Recipes.
Chill for Color and Crunch
After rolling your marbled cookie dough in Halloween sprinkles, pop the dough balls into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking. This quick chill keeps the sprinkles from melting or bleeding into the dough and helps the marbled colors stay bold and distinct through baking.
Halloween Sprinkle Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Hand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature (1 stick)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- Food coloring neon green, orange, and purple
- Halloween sprinkles *
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy.½ cup salted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add in the flour and baking powder. Mix until just combined. The dough will be very crumbly.2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Stir in the white chocolate chips.½ cup white chocolate chips
- Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, add one color to each portion, and mix until the color is uniform.Food coloring
- Take a bit of each of the 3 different colored doughs and roll them together to form a ball. The colors should swirl a bit together. Repeat until you have 6 large cookies
- Roll the top and sides of the cookies in your Halloween sprinkles, place on a greased cookie sheet, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.Halloween sprinkles
- While the cookies chill, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Bake the cookies for 18 minutes.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, if there are any spots that look bare, go ahead and add some sprinkles to the hot cookie.
- Cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack.
Notes
- Don’t worry if the dough looks crumbly at first. It will soften up when you add the coloring.
- Use gel food coloring in small increments and knead it fully into each dough portion. Gel keeps the colors intense without overhydrating the dough, preventing spreading and color bleeding.
- This recipe was designed to make 6 oversized cookies. If you’d like to make smaller cookies, you’ll need to shorten the baking time.
- Because sprinkles can affect spread, I recommend baking one “test” cookie first to see how it behaves. This lets you adjust chilling time or baking time for the full batch.
- Let your cookies sit on the cooling rack for at least 5 minutes after removing them from the oven so they don’t fall apart.
- If you see any bare spots on your cookies when you remove them from the oven, add a few more sprinkles to them while they’re still hot.
How to Make Halloween Sprinkle Cookies Step-by-Step
Mix the Dough: In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together ½ cup of room-temperature salted butter, ¾ cup of brown sugar, and ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Beat in 1 large, room-temperature egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add in 2 cups of all-purpose flour and ½ teaspoon of baking powder, and mix until just combined. The dough will be very crumbly; that’s okay! It will soften up when you add the coloring later on. Stir in ½ cup of white chocolate chips.
Color the Dough: Divide the dough into 3 equal portions (about 234 grams per bowl), and add one color to each portion. I used neon green, orange, and purple gel food coloring to achieve these vivid colors. Mix until the color is uniform.
Marble the Cookies: Take a bit of each of the 3 different colored doughs (about 39 grams of each dough) and roll them together to form a ball. The colors should swirl a bit together. Repeat until you have 6 large cookies (about 117 grams each). You can make smaller cookies, but you’ll need to reduce the final baking time accordingly.
Roll, Chill, and Bake: Roll the top and sides of the cookies in your Halloween sprinkles, place them on a greased cookie sheet, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much and will protect the sprinkles from melting. While the cookies chill, preheat your oven to 375°F. Bake your Halloween sprinkle cookies in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. When the cookies come out of the oven, if there are any spots that look bare, go ahead and press a few sprinkles to the hot cookie. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before enjoying.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Halloween sprinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
Leave a Reply