Happy Friday! Since it’s October, it’s officially spooky season! Fall (and spooky season) is probably my favorite season and so the rest of the month will feature spooky recipes perfect for Halloween! This week, I’m excited to share these Oogie Boogie Cookies! Inspired by the infamous boogeyman from The Nightmare Before Christmas, these vanilla sugar cookies are topped with green royal icing.
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A couple weeks ago, I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas episode of Prop Masters on Disney+. It was so cool to see the intricate sets and clay characters that they used to make the film. A couple days after watching it, I came across a cookie cutter that looked exactly like Oogie Boogie and so I knew it had to be this week’s theme!
Technically this cookie cutter is a witch hat on top of a pumpkin, but it’s very close to Oogie Boogie’s body shape. If you don’t want to use a cookie cutter, you could also cut out a picture of Oogie Biggie to make a template and cut out the dough using a sharp knife. For these cookies, I made a regular vanilla sugar cookie dough, but you could also make them using my brown sugar spice cookie dough or my lemon cookie dough.
To make the dough, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Then, gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/4 -1/2 inch thickness. I generally prefer thicker cut out cookies, so I roll my dough closer to 1/2 inch. Cut out the cookies using the cookie cutter or paper template and sharp knife. Place cut out cookies on the prepared baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This helps the cookies keep their shape while baking. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool the cookies for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the royal icing, beat the powdered sugar and meringue powder together in a medium bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water and beat on medium high speed until glossy. The icing should create loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. If needed, add additional water, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon.
Place a scoop of icing into a separate bowl. Add black food coloring, stirring until fully incorporated. Add a couple drops of green and yellow food coloring to the remaining icing, stirring until fully combined. Transfer both bowls of icing to piping bags.
When you’re ready to decorate, cut the tips off of the piping bags. Using the green icing bag, pipe an outline around the cookie, leaving a bit of space between the edge of the cookie and the outline. Fill the cookie in by piping around the inside of the outline. The icing will spread out as you pipe, but use cookie decorating tools, such as a pick to help fill in any corners. Repeat until all cookies are iced.
Once the icing has partially set, use the black icing to pipe two eyes and a crooked smile on each cookie. You can use the cookie pick to pull the black icing into the green icing to make stitch-like marks. Let the icing set completely before storing the cookies.
Enjoy! Happy Spooky Season!
Oogie Boogie Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons meringue powder
- ¼ – ½ cup warm water
- green gel food coloring
- yellow gel food coloring
- black gel food coloring
Equipment
- pumpkin with witch hat cookie cutter or oogie boogie template and sharp knife
- piping bags
- cookie pick
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
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In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
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Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until combined.
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Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to ¼ – ½ inch thickness and cut into shapes using the cookie cutter. If you’re using a paper template and knife, place the paper template on the dough and cut around it using the sharp knife. Transfer cut out cookies to the baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
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Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let 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, beat sugar and meringue powder until combined.
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Add ¼ cup of water and beat on medium high speed until glossy. The icing should create loose ribbons when drizzled with a spoon. If needed, add additional water, a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Aim to have the icing ribbons disappear back into the bowl within 10 seconds of being picked up with the spoon.
-
Place a scoop of icing into a separate bowl. Add black food coloring, stirring until fully incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag.
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Add a couple drops of green and yellow food coloring to the remaining icing, stirring until fully combined. Transfer to a piping bag.
Assembly
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When you’re ready to decorate, cut the tip off of the piping bags.
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Using the green icing bag, pipe an outline around the cookie, leaving a bit of space between the edge of the cookie and the outline.
-
Fill the cookie in by piping around the inside of the outline. The icing will spread out as you pipe, but use cookie decorating tools, such as a pick to help fill in any corners. Repeat until all cookies are iced.
-
Once the icing has partially set, use the black icing to pipe two eyes and a crooked smile on each cookie. You can use the cookie pick to pull the black icing into the green icing to make stitch-like marks.
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Let the icing set completely before storing the cookies.