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–+ servings

Jack Skellington Cookies (Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe)

Spooky-sweet sugar cookies with chocolate ganache filling and royal icing, decorated to look like The Pumpkin King himself.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Decorating Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Servings 12 cookie sandwiches

Equipment

  • Stand/Hand Mixer
  • 9x11 Baking Sheet
  • Parchment Paper
  • Piping Bags
  • Black food coloring gel+ fine round tip (or a plastic piping bag with tiny hole)
  • Small round piping tip (for cutting Jack’s nose holes)

Ingredients
  

For the Sugar Cookies

  • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract

For the Chocolate Ganache Filling

  • 1 cup semisweet/dark chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoons black cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup heavy cream

For the Royal Icing

  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 9 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Decorating

  • Black food coloring gel

Instructions
 

Make the Sugar Cookie Dough

  • In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
  • In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix well.
  • Gradually add dry ingredients until a dough forms.
  • Divide dough in half, wrap, and chill for 1 hour.

Cut + Bake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  • Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness.
  • Use a round cutter for the faces.
  • Use the small round side of a piping tip to cut out Jack’s nostrils and a paring knife to shape out the eyes.
  • Place on lined baking sheets and bake 8–10 minutes, until edges are set. Cool completely.

Make the Ganache

  • Heat heavy cream until steaming (not boiling).
  • Pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 2 minutes.
  • Stir until smooth and glossy. Chill slightly until spreadable.

Fill the Cookies

  • Spread ganache on the bottom of one cookie and sandwich with another, putting enough so that when the two cookies are sandwiched, the ganache comes through the holes in the top cookie.

Frost + Decorate

  • Fill a piping back with the white royal icing and pipe to completely flood the top cookie. Let set.
  • Use black tinted meringue frosting to pipe Jack’s stitched smile and eye details.

Notes

Tip: Keep his face simple — bold black and white contrast makes the design instantly recognizable!
Keyword cut out sugar cookies, halloween desserts, jack skellington cookies
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