Chocolate Cinnamon Skeleton Cookies (Printable Version)

Spooky chocolate cinnamon cookies shaped like skeletons, decorated with sweet icing for Halloween fun.

# What You Need:

→ Cookie Dough

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
03 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
06 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
07 - 1 cup granulated sugar
08 - 1 large egg
09 - 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

→ Royal Icing

10 - 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - 1 large egg white
12 - 2-3 tablespoons water

# How to Make It:

01 - Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.
02 - Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated.
03 - Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until a cohesive dough forms. Avoid overmixing.
04 - Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
05 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
06 - Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out skeleton or gingerbread man shapes with cookie cutter.
07 - Place cookies on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set. Cool completely on wire rack.
08 - Beat egg white with powdered sugar and water until smooth and pipeable consistency is achieved.
09 - Transfer icing to piping bag fitted with fine tip. Pipe skeleton designs onto cookies. Allow icing to dry completely before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The chocolate-cinnamon pairing creates this warm spicy depth that makes these way more than just another holiday cookie
  • Kids go absolutely wild for decorating the skeleton faces and the dough is surprisingly forgiving if you want to reroll scraps
02 -
  • If the royal icing is too thick, add water literally drop by drop because you can always add more but you cant take it back
  • Chilling the dough is absolutely mandatory—warm dough will spread and your skeletons will look like theyve been through a heat wave
03 -
  • Work quickly when rolling out the dough because it gets soft and sticky in warm kitchens—I sometimes pop it back in the fridge for 10 minutes halfway through rolling
  • If you dont have a skeleton cutter, gingerbread men work perfectly and you can pipe whatever designs make you happy

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