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+ servings
A plate with ugly sweater cookies

Sugar Skull Cookies

Chef Adriana Martin
The sugar skull cookies are homemade sugar cookies baked to celebrate the Day of the Dead. These are tasty decorative edible cookies with colorful motifs.
5 from 57 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine American Contemporary
Servings 12 cookies
Calories 258.18 kcal

Equipment

  • Hand mixer
  • Mixing bowls
  • Skull cookie cutter
  • Oven
  • Cookie sheets
  • Waxed paper
  • Cooling rack
  • measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (sifted) used King Arthur flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened and cubed (1 stick of butter)
  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup colorful sugar motifs flowers, sugars, etc
  • 1 tube colorful decorating gel
  • 1 tube black decorating icing

Royal icing

  • 1/2 cup royal icing mix
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar sifted
  • 2 teaspoons water could require more, add water one teaspoon at a time
  • 1/4 teaspoon anise extract optional

Instructions
 

  • Cream the butter using the hand mixer and add the sugar, the almond and vanilla extracts, and the egg. Mix again until getting a uniform consistency. Add the sifted flour and combine using your hands. The dough will be ready when has a playdough consistency.
  • Place the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic. Refrigerate for a few minutes and take out. Add some flour and roll using the rolling pin. Do not work the dough too much, needs to be as cold as possible before cutting.
  • Use a skull cookie cutter and cut the forms. Place the cookies on a baking sheet previously covered with waxed paper. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes. Do not overcook. Take the cookies out of the oven and place them in a rack for cooling.
  • Prepare the royal icing combining all the ingredients on the list. Just be careful with the amount of water. The royal icing needs to be runny but not watery, so add the water slowly.
  • Begin covering the cookies with the withe icing and let them dry. When the royal icing has set start decorating first with the black icing, and then with the colored gel. Use colored sugar and sugar flower motifs for decorating.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 258.18kcalCarbohydrates: 43.58gProtein: 2.69gFat: 8.22gSaturated Fat: 5.01gCholesterol: 33.98mgSodium: 55.8mgPotassium: 44.19mgFiber: 0.56gSugar: 27.33gVitamin A: 256.16IUCalcium: 14.67mgIron: 1.03mg
Keyword baking, cookies, sugar cookies, sugar skulls
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