Halloween Cat Sugar Cookies
These black cat sugar cookies are buttery, crisp, and perfect for Halloween! Decorated with black royal icing and candy eyes, they’re easy to make and great for parties or spooky fun with kids.
Equipment
- cat-shaped cookie cutter
- Piping bag with a plain round tip or a small icing bottle with a plain round tip optional, but helpful
- Toothpick to pop bubbles in royal icing
- Sifter optional, but helpful
Ingredients
Cutout Cookie Base
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
Royal Icing and Decorating
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 Tbsp meringue powder
- 9-10 Tbsp water
- Black gel food coloring
- Candy eyes optional
Instructions
Bake Cat Cutout Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, then gradually add it to the wet ingredients. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough in half, flatten into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour (definitely don't skip the chilling!).
- Once chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Use a cat-shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the cookies for 8–10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn lightly golden. Let cool completely before decorating.
Decorate Cat Cookies
- In a medium bowl sift together the powdered sugar, meringue powder. Add water until the icing is smooth and slightly thickened but still fluid (You’re aiming for a consistency that coats the back of a spoon and slowly runs off—not too thick, not too runny)
- Add black gel food coloring until the icing is a deep black. If you're planning to add whiskers, leave a small spoonful of white icing before coloring the rest black.
- There are 2 easy ways to decorate:
- Option 1: The Easy Way (Dipping)Dip each cookie face-down into the black icing. Lift it out, let the excess drip off, then flip and lay on parchment paper to set. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to pop any bubbles.
- Option 2: The Pretty Way (Piping)Transfer the black icing to a piping bag or bottle with a small (like the one that looks too small to be true) tip and outline each cat, then flood the center with more icing. Use a toothpick to help fill in gaps and pop any air bubbles.
- While the black icing is still wet, add two candy eyes to each cat. If you’re adding whiskers, wait for the black icing to set, then use white icing to pipe thin lines from the nose area outward.
- Allow icing to set a full 6-8 hours before stacking cookies.