Description
Celebrate the Day of the Dead with these festive and delicious skull-shaped cookies. These butter-rich cookies are infused with almond paste for extra flavor, then dipped in white candy coating and beautifully decorated with colorful candies and black icing to bring the iconic sugar skulls to life. Perfect for adding a touch of tradition and fun to your holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1-1/4 cups butter, softened
- 1-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 ounces almond paste
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Decoration
- 2 packages (12 ounces each) white candy coating melts
- Optional decorations: Jumbo sprinkles, peppermint candies, candy-coated sunflower kernels, Skittles, Twizzlers Rainbow Twists, Good & Plenty candies
- Black paste food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the almond paste and continue beating until combined. Next, beat in the large egg, 2% milk, and vanilla extract to form a smooth batter.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt. Gradually add this flour mixture to the creamed wet ingredients, mixing well until a cohesive dough forms. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up.
- Roll and cut cookies: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use a floured 5-inch skull-shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Place the cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes or until they become firm to the touch. After baking, let cookies stand on the baking sheets for 2 minutes to set before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
- Melt candy coating: In a large, shallow, microwave-safe dish, melt the white candy coating melts according to package directions, heating in short increments and stirring frequently to avoid scorching.
- Dip cookies: Dip the top side of each cooled cookie into the melted white candy coating, allowing any excess to drip off. Place the coated cookies on waxed paper to set.
- Decorate: While the candy coating is still wet, apply optional decorations such as jumbo sprinkles, peppermint candies, candy-coated sunflower kernels, Skittles, Twizzlers Rainbow Twists, or Good & Plenty candies to customize each skull.
- Color black icing: Tint any remaining white candy coating with black paste food coloring to create black icing. Using a piping bag, pipe mouth designs and other details on the skull cookies.
- Set and serve: Allow the candy coating and icing decorations to fully set at room temperature before serving or packaging the cookies.
Notes
- Ensure butter and egg are at room temperature to create a smooth dough.
- Chilling the dough helps prevent spreading during baking, keeping cookie shapes sharp.
- Use a variety of small colorful candies to make your Day of the Dead cookies vibrant and festive.
- Work with small amounts of melted candy coating at a time to prevent hardening while decorating.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- For a stronger almond flavor, you can add a few drops of almond extract in addition to the almond paste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
