Description
Celebrate Day of the Dead with these festive chocolate sugar cookies, flavored with cocoa and cinnamon, and beautifully decorated with sweet icing and colorful candies. Perfect for sharing and honoring tradition.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling dough)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
Decoration
- Skittles
- Sprinkles
- Candy corn
- M&Ms
- Cinnamon hearts
- Candy-coated sunflower seeds
- Licorice
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until evenly combined.
- Prepare Dough: In a large bowl, beat softened unsalted butter and powdered sugar on medium speed for about 1 minute until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again until fully incorporated. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until the dough just comes together.
- Chill Dough: Form the dough into a disc shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Roll Dough: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Use oval, egg, or skull-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the cut cookies for about 15 minutes until firm.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are crisp and set. Remove from the oven and transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
- Make Icing: In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and milk until smooth and well combined. Transfer the icing to a quart-size resealable plastic bag and snip off one corner to create a piping bag.
- Decorate Cookies: Outline each cookie’s edges with the icing, leaving a small border, then fill in the center with more icing. Use a toothpick to help spread the icing evenly. Decorate with assorted candies such as Skittles, sprinkles, candy corn, M&Ms, cinnamon hearts, candy-coated sunflower seeds, and licorice to create fun, colorful designs.
Notes
- These decorated chocolate sugar cookies are perfect for Day of the Dead celebrations.
- Chilling the dough and the cut cookies before baking helps maintain the shape during baking.
- Use a variety of candies for vibrant and festive decoration as per preference.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 156
- Sugar: 16 g
- Sodium: 5 mg
- Fat: 6.25 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.83 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.96 g
- Trans Fat: 0.25 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.3 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 1.6 g
- Cholesterol: 22 mg
