Happy Friday! Nightmare Before Christmas is returning to movie theaters this weekend. To celebrate, I’m excited to share Jack’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies! These soft gingerbread cookies have a pumpkin twist and are decorated with royal icing and dark chocolate! Is it Halloween? Is it Christmas? Who cares it’s delicious!
When I was at Disneyland in August, I was excited to ride Haunted Mansion with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Even though I’m not super familiar with Nightmare Before Christmas, I thoroughly enjoyed the overlay. Haunted Mansion was completely transformed and there were so many great details. I loved the spooky and silly mix of Halloween and Christmas including the real gingerbread house in the baquet hall.
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However, my favorite part of the entire experience was the very talented cast member who welcomed me in. After reciting an intricate (and rhyming) poem about how Jack and Sally have taken over the Haunted Mansion, he ended the welcome by saying “Is it Halloween? Is it Christmas? Who cares it’s August!” and that really stuck with me. It was one of many wonderful cast member interactions I had during my trip. I just loved how much fun he was having and felt it really summed up the Halloween/Christmas/Haunted Mansion mash up.
So, I was inspired by all of this to create Jack’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies. Similar to the movie, Jack is attempting Christmas, but it comes out with a distinctly Halloween twist. These soft, spiced gingerbread cookies are made with a hit of pumpkin puree, which gives them a lovely fall flavor. If you’re looking for a regular spiced gingerbread, be sure to check out my recipe!
To make these cookies, start by sifting together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until it’s light and fluffy. Add in the egg, molasses, and pumpkin puree, beating until well combined. Gradually add in the flour mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. If you like a thicker cookie, aim for around 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out the cookies using your favorite Halloween cookie cutters. For these cookies, I used a mix of Halloween shapes from Wilton (bat, coffin), a plain round cookie cutter, and cookie cutters from a Nightmare Before Christmas set (Zero, Oogie, pumpkin, and ghost). The Nightmare Before Christmas cookie cutter set is made by Best Brands. I ordered a set online through Poshmark, but they’re also available on other resale sites like ebay and Mercari.
Place the cut out cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, roll out the second half of the dough and cut out the remaining cookies. Bake the cookies at 350 F for 8-12 minutes or until the cookies are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown. Let them cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate the cookies, I used plain white royal icing and dark chocolate. To make the royal icing, first whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the warm water, beating on medium speed until the icing is smooth and glossy. Then, beat the icing on high speed until it holds stiff peaks. Add additional water, a tablespoon at a time, until the icing creates loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon. If it feels too loose or too thick, add additional powdered sugar/water. If you would like to use colored royal icing, feel free to add a few drops of gel food coloring!
Transfer the icing to a piping bag to decorate. For these, I used a tipless piping bag but you can also use a regular piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip. Decorate the cookies however you’d like! I really like chocolate dipped gingerbread and so I also used melted some Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers and dipped the bats and coffins in it. Let the icing and the chocolate set for a couple hours before serving!
Enjoy Jack’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies! Happy Halloween/Christmas/October!
Jack’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons meringue powder
- 1/4 to ½ cup warm water
Decorations
- 4 oz Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers
Equipment
- Halloween cookie cutters
- piping bags
- small round piping tip
Instructions
Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies
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In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Add in egg, molasses, and pumpkin puree; beat until well combined.
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Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until incorporated.
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Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
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Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness. If you like a thicker cookie, aim for about ½ inch thickness, but know they’ll take a little longer to bake.
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Dip cookie cutters in a little bit of flour and then cut out the cookies from the dough.
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Place cut out cookies on prepared baking sheets and bake for 8-12 minutes, until cookies are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.
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Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Royal Icing
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
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Add ¼ cup of warm water and beat on low speed until well combined. Beat on high speed until glossy and the icing holds stiff peaks.
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Stir in additional warm water, a tablespoon at a time, until icing creates loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon. If needed, add more water or sugar to get the right consistency.
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Transfer icing to a tipless piping bag or a piping bag fitted with a small round tip to decorate.
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Decorate the cookies as desired. Let the icing set before serving.
Chocolate Decoration
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Place the melting wafers in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
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Dip desired cookies into the chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to scrape off excess chocolate.
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Place dipped cookies on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper to let chocolate set.