Halloween Skull Cookies

Skull cookies are festive cookies shaped or decorated to look like little skulls, making them a fun choice for Halloween and Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations.

These skull cookies are an easy take on the traditional skull-shaped cookies often enjoyed during these celebrations. They’re made with an eggless, buttery cookie dough that’s rolled out and cut into skull shapes for a spooky twist. They’re simple, creative, and make such a fun and eye-catching Halloween cookie for kids.

How to make skull cookies?

This is just an overview. Scroll down for the full written recipe in the recipe card.

1. Make the linzer cookie dough as instructed.
2. Roll it to ⅛ to ¼ inch thickness and chill.
3. Using a skull cookie cutter, cut skull shapes from the dough.

4. Punch out eyes and mouth for one-half of the cookies, which will be the top layer of the sandwich biscuits.

To cut out eyes, use a Wilton 2A round piping tip and punch two holes for the eyes.

To make the mouth, gently press one side of the round fluted cookie cutter onto the lower section of the face, ensuring you don't cut all the way through.

5. Bake the cookies and cool.

How to Make M&M Flowers

1. Carefully cut M&M candies in half using a sharp knife.
2. On a piece of parchment paper, pipe a small dot of melted chocolate.
3. Arrange the M&M halves around the chocolate, cut side down, to form a flower shape.
4. Repeat to make as many flowers as you need.
5. Place the parchment in the fridge to let the chocolate harden and set the flowers.

Assemble Halloween Skull Cookies

1. Spread a layer of raspberry jam on the flat side of a whole biscuit.
2. Place a skull-shaped cut-out cookie on top and press gently to sandwich them together.
3. Add a small dollop of melted chocolate to one side of the "face," then carefully place an M&M flower on top to decorate.
4. Let the cookies set for at least 1 hour before serving, so everything holds together nicely.

Tips For Success

• Assemble on the day you plan to serve — the skull biscuits can soften from the jam if left assembled for more than a day.
• Use parchment paper when rolling out the dough — it helps prevent sticking better than flouring the counter.
• Choose a dark red jam, like raspberry, for that perfect “bloody” color that adds to the spooky vibe.
• Storage: Once assembled, keep the cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. For longer storage, keep the baked cookies (without jam) sealed for up to a week and add the jam just before serving for the best texture.

More Halloween Cookie Ideas

Looking for more fun and spooky Halloween-themed food ideas? These cute Halloween cookies are easy, creative, and perfect for adding some festive flair to your celebrations.

• Halloween bone cookies are easy and unique to make from scratch and are a fun baking project for kids to make.
• These candle cookies are made using buttery, crisp chocolate shortbreads and are shockingly easy to make.
• Spooky Halloween tree cookies are buttery, nutty, crisp, amazingly tender, and made using only a round cookie cutter.
• These Halloween finger cookies with almond nails are easy to make and a spooky Halloween cookie recipe.
• These chocolate thumbprint cookies are made with a simple sugar cookie dough, indented to resemble skulls and filled with red strawberry jam! It is a unique, fun, creative, spooky cookie idea for Halloween!