Description
Celebrate Día de los Muertos with these charming and easy-to-make Skeleton Cookies. Crisp buttery cookies flavored with anise and cinnamon are cut into festive shapes, baked to perfection, and decorated with royal icing and colorful food markers to create intricate skeleton designs. Perfect for sharing at parties or giving as seasonal gifts.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon anise extract or anise seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup orange juice
For the Decoration
- Royal icing (prepared according to package instructions)
- Colored food markers for decorating
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is creamy and light in color.
- Add Flavorings: Mix in the anise extract and cinnamon until well combined with the butter-sugar mixture.
- Incorporate Egg: Beat in the egg until the mixture is smooth and fully integrated.
- Add Orange Juice: Slowly add the orange juice to the wet mixture while continuing to mix until everything is well combined.
- Form Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until a dough forms. If too sticky, add a little extra flour.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight to firm up.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Roll out one disk on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out skeleton shapes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes or until edges turn lightly golden.
- Cool Cookies: Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat Rolling and Cutting: Repeat the rolling, cutting, and baking process with the second disk of dough.
- Prepare Royal Icing: Make the royal icing as per package directions, adjusting the consistency by adding a few drops of water until it resembles thick yogurt for easy piping.
- Pipe Icing Designs: Transfer icing to a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe the head, rib cage, and bones onto cooled cookies.
- Set Icing: Allow the royal icing to dry and harden for several hours or overnight to create a smooth surface for decorating.
- Decorate with Food Markers: Use colored food markers to add intricate details and vibrant designs on the hardened icing.
- Dry Decorated Cookies: Let the decorated cookies dry completely to set the food marker ink before handling or storing.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to prevent spreading during baking and to make rolling easier.
- If you don’t have anise extract, anise seeds or a small amount of licorice extract can be used for similar flavor.
- Ensure royal icing is thick enough to hold its shape but soft enough to pipe smoothly.
- Food markers are edible and perfect for adding fine details on royal icing once it has dried.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 95
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 65mg
- Fat: 1g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 9mg
