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Looking for an easy Halloween dessert? These Monster Sugar Cookies are it! These soft, chewy and buttery sugar cookies are loaded with candy eyes and Halloween M&Ms.
These are my favorite no-roll sugar cookies, dyed in Halloween colors. Throw in some googly candy eyes and you’ve got yourself a fun monster-themed recipe. Plus, there are some bonus M&Ms in there too.
You can make these with just about any color combination, but I choose orange, purple and green for Halloween colors. I did a similar version of this for the 4th of July so you could easily adapt these for just about any holiday.
These cookies are actually super easy to make. The dough comes together in a snap. I do recommend refrigerating the dough. It makes a thicker, chewier and denser cookie. You’re going to love them, and so will your kids!
- Unsalted butter– slightly softened
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Cream of Tartar
- Salt
- Gel colors: Purple, Green, Orange
- M&Ms and Candy Eyes
This small stainless steel cookie scoop holds 1 tablespoon size of dough.
Edible candy eyeballs make a great decoration for cookies, cupcakes and more.
This simple technique makes for some pretty cool-looking cookies!
When you are coloring the dough, I recommend using gel colors instead of food coloring because they’re highly concentrated. They produce great colors without watering down the consistency. I used Chef Master but Americolor and Wilton are another popular brand and these ones from Walmart also work great. I highly recommend wearing food-safe gloves to protect your hands from turning colors.
- Prepare the cookie dough as instructed: Beat the butter and sugar until it’s well combined. Add the vanilla and eggs, again mixing until well combined. Then mix in the dry ingredients until the dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal size balls. Dye each one color (purple, orange or green). Flatten the ball of dough and place a couple of drops of gel color in the middle. Work the dough in your hands until the gel is incorporated.
- Use a small cookie scoop to spoon balls of dough, one color at a time, and place on the parchment paper. Combine one scoop of each color. Tear and press the dough back together to create a tye-dye effect.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the dough about 2-inches apart and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes prior to baking. Bake at 350° F 12-15 minutes.
- Add candy: Right when you pull these out of the oven, place the M&Ms and the candy eyes on top. Cool completely.
If you want to make this dough ahead of time and freeze it, go ahead and form the tricolored balls of dough and freeze in an airtight container. Thaw for a couple of hours until the dough is slightly colder than room temperature. Bake according to the instructions.
Once they’re baked and cooled, transfer them to an airtight container, store at room temperature. They will stay soft and chewy for several days.
More Easy Halloween Recipes
- Monster Munch Snack Mix
- Candy Corn Cupcakes
- Spooky Oreo Dip
- Candy Corn Cookies
- Halloween Hot Cocoa Bombs
- Mummy Dogs
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 20 Cookies
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
These soft, chewy and buttery sugar cookies are loaded with candy eyes and Halloween M&Ms.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups (285g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (420g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2g) cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon (1.2g) salt
- Gel colors: Orange, Purple, Green
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Soften the butter in the microwave for 10-12 seconds. Combine the butter with the sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed together. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix into the butter and sugar until the eggs are well beaten.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add into batter and beat on medium low speed until well combined and dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal size balls. Dye each one a color (purple, orange or green). Flatten the ball of dough and place a couple drops of gel color in the middle. Work the dough in your hands until the gel is incorporated.
- With one color at a time, use a small cookie scoop to spoon balls of dough onto parchment paper. Combine one scoop of each color. Tear and press the dough back together to create a tye-dye effect.
- Place the dough about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350° F 12-15 minutes. When the cookies come out of the oven, place a couple of M&Ms and candy eyes on top. Allow cookie to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
Notes
- Gel colors used: Purple, Green, Orange
- Freezing: If you want to make this dough ahead of time and freeze it, form the tricolored balls of dough and freeze in an airtight container. Thaw for a couple of hours until the dough is slightly colder than room temperature. Bake according to the instructions.
- Storing: Once they’re baked and cooled, transfer them to an airtight container, store at room temperature.
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
