If someone would have said to me when I was a child, “Marian, you’re going to see the world in decorated cookies when you get older”, I would have, first of all, not understood what they meant, and second of all, once I did understand, not believed them.
But, it’s true. Wherever I go, whatever I see, be it clothing, stickers, scrapbooking paper, posters, ads, whatever… I imagine what it might look like as a decorated cookie. Probably a bit of unique passion, but if you’re reading this, you might feel somewhat the same.
I’d already picked out which Halloween design I was going make for my step-daughter, until I saw these. Halloween characters by My Mind’s Eye scrapbooking paper {blackbird collection by Deena Rutter}. I knew I had to turn them into cookies.
Whimsical, fun and easy to use with a Kopykake projector as the outlines are already distinct.
If you’d like to make these, I’ve shared a step-by-step tutorial for each cookie below:
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How to Make Decorated Halloween Cookies
You will need:
- Sugar Cookie Recipe here or Gingerbread Recipe here.
- Royal Icing Recipe here.
- My Mind’s Eye Blackbird Paper
- Edible Frosting Sheets
& Edible Ink Printer and Food Coloring Cartridges (or ask your local bakery to print them for you)
- Clear Corn Syrup
- Paintbrush or Foam Brush
- Piping Tips (#2, star tip #16)
- Couplers
- Piping Bags
- Food Gel Colourings
- Kopykake projector (Im not skilled at drawing so need to use a Kopykake projector to trace the images)
Instructions
Cut cookie shapes and bake. The size can be determined by you. My cookie sizes were as follows; pumpkins (2 inch/5 cm circles), medium rectangles (3 by 5 inches/7.5 by 12.7 cm) and large rectangle (4 by 7.5 inches/10 by 19 cm).
How to Make the Witch, Frankenstein and Batboy Cookies
Step One: For the background of all the rectangular cookies, I used the My Mind’s Eye Blackbird Paper
Step Two: Using a #2 piping tip, outline and flood your cookies with white royal icing. Let your icing dry (12-24 hours).
Step Three: With a paintbrush only used for this purpose, apply a thin layer of clear corn syrup to the surface of the dry icing. Peel the backing from the frosting sheet and place onto the cookie. Adhere image to cookie by gently pressing from the centre and outwards.
Step Four: Outline your shape using a #2 piping tip and black royal icing. You can find tips on piping royal icing in see my cookie decorating tutorial or YouTube videos.
Step Five: Flood or fill in your outlines. Let dry 6-12 hours or more. How long depends on the humidity of your environment. Then add the next layer of icing details. Pictorials for each cookie follow so you can see the steps for each cookie.
Witch Cookie
Frankenstein Cookie
Batboy Cookie
Step Six: Thicken purple royal icing enough so that the icing forms a stiff peak when you dip a spoon in it and pull upwards.
Step Seven: Using a #16 star tip, pipe a shell border.
Step Eight: Serve as is or let them dry and package in a cellophane bag tied with ribbon.
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How to Make Pumpkin Decorated Cookies
Step One: Using a #2 piping tip, outline and flood your cookies with white royal icing. Let your icing dry (12-24 hours).
Step Two: Outline your shape using a #2 piping tip and black royal icing. You can find tips on piping royal icing in see my cookie decorating tutorial or YouTube videos.
Step Three: Fill or flood your pumpkin outline using a #2 tip and orange icing. The consistency of the icing is key. For a how-to on how to find the right consistency, please see this video here.
Step Four: Pipe the top layers of detail, letting the icing dry in between each stage. (See pictorial below for decorating steps).
Step Five: Serve as is or let them dry and package in a cellophane bag tied with ribbon.
And you’re done!
It was so amazing to see my step-daughter’s face when I gave her the cookies. I think her eyes were bigger than the eyes of the characters on the cookies. Such a great feeling!
Thanks to Niner of We Choose Organic and my web designer Arthur, for helping me with photos and to those of you on my Facebook page who gave me your input on what colour of border I should do, thank you!
Just a quick note about the Sweet of the Week. A new contest isn’t up this week because the contest is undergoing some new and fun changes. For example, you’ll be able to upload your own photos soon! Watch out for more details so that you can enter!
If you have any questions or comments, please drop me a line below and come join me on facebook, twitter, or youtube.
Have a Happy Halloween!
xo,
Marian
Too cute!
Those are AMAZING!
These are INSANELY incredible!! If someone would have told me when I was little that one of my “idols” would be a cookie decorator, I would have laughed
You combine 2 of my favorite things, scrapbooking & cookie decorating! You are outstanding!! 
the witch and the pumkins are soooo cute….AND EVRYTHING ELSE !!!
WOW, I adore all your creations, you are such an inspiration.
I love these! They are so cute.
Que trabalho maravilhoso!!
You are astounding. I love them!
@ Tammy and @ sandie: Thanks so much!
@ Amber:Wow, that’s quite the compliment. So sweet (and funny at the same time!). Btw, scrapbooking paper is out of this world adorable, fun, creative… a whole new world isn’t it! Do you have a favourite brand/line?
@ aiesha, @ Inma Miranda, @ lizangela, @ angela: Thank you! Gracias!
Adorable little characters! I have a question. . . I always apply my edible images/frosting sheets directly to my royal icing when it is wet. Is there a reason you use the corn syrup method? Thanks for all your inspiration.
@ Kelley Hart: Oh I forgot to mention that! (I have in other posts here and there). You can completely put the image on when the icing is wet. I just found that the corners curled up a bit by the time it was dry. I like the flat look of putting it on with corn syrup when the icing is dry.
@ Tammy:
I know! They are all simply PERFECT!!! She doesn’t make cookies, she paints pictures!
As always, STUNNING!!!
I just, I don’t even know what to say, everytime I look at your site, I realize everything that can be done on a cookie, and I still can’t believe it! Bravo!!!!
HERMOSO
Gracias!!
All of these cookies look amazing!!!! Thank you so much for the tutorial, you always provide such clear and precise instructions on how to make the cookies!! Love the look of the new site as well!!!
Hi Marian. I’m new to your site. (I stumbled across your youTube channel yesterday and soon after made my way to your beautiful site) Let me tell you, I’m already a BIG fan of your work! You are sooo detailed in explaining your work- thank you for that!! And the KopyKake post was amazing! you have inspired me to start cookie decorating. Just bought the last of my supplies last night and am now anxious awaiting for the weekend to arrive so I can have my first go at cookie decorating
@ Nancy Guzman:Oh, that’s so wonderful! Make sure you check out the cookie decorating tutorial, the consistency video and top 10 tips post before you start. My first experiences decorating cookies were a bit frustrating, and had I known those tricks, it would have been much easier. A little practice helps too, but I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun! Don’t hesitate to ask should you have any questions!
@ Laura @ GotChocolate: Mwah! Not perfect, but thank you!
@ Heidi, @ GarEli, @ Mighty Morgan: Many thanks!
Gorgeous cookies. Little works of art! Happy Halloween!
These are seriously adorable!!!!
I love them:) I got a printer this year and love how these use both piping and the paper.
Love them! So cute!
Sweeeeet! Will have to do some last minute baking! Will post a link with the final result
Thanks everyone!
@ Nico @ kunstgras: Please do share! I love to see what others make. xo
These cookies are fabulous! What a great idea to use an edible image as a background. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Your revamped site is great by the way!
Hi Marian!
AMAZING decorated cookies!!! I write you from Spain (sorry if my english is not too good…) and I really got in love with your Halloween Cookies, they are so cute!!!
I’ll try to bake some for my children.
Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
I m ur biggest fan ! U are amazing these cookies are the best.I wish i could make them. Sorry about my english i am from Mexico and your cookies are my inspiration.
Me encantan, son fantasticas, las adoro, se ven esquisitas.
Sooo cute!! I LOVE your cookies!
That is so cute and sweet. Congratulation.
So cute! thanks for sharing.
Hi Marian!
Guess what we made. I was “Mom, be careful what you wish for.” 
I’ve got such a story to tell you. When I saw your pumpkin cookies I was so delighted, and immediately showed them to my mom. And she wished to have a chance and make them! After a few ours I received a call from my dance teacher, who asked me to make some Halloween cookies for our party.
You can see the result here – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=212286955511544&set=a.198088823598024.49223.163428730397367&type=3&theater
@ Svetleto: You did an amazing job!!! Yay!!
Actually I didn’t tell you all the story. Here in Bulgaria we don’t have ready to use icing, and the caster sugar isn’t fine enough, so I made everything from sugar paste. The base I just roll and cut. For the other parts I used it thinned with some vodka.
@ Svetleto: Great creative thinking!! Congrats!!
Stunning as always!! I could never have the patience to make your gorgeous creations but I always love seeing what you come up with. Hope you’re well! xoxo
Hello Marian,
These cookies are adorable! I appreciate all the time and effort you put into your tutorials. I have a question about adding two colors side-by-side to a cookie. In your “Cookie Decorating Tutorial” you say that you if you pipe a dark color for the outline, you wait 24 hours to flood the center with a lighter color icing. Did you do that with these cookies also? Or if I’m flooding two colors right next to each other (like the mane of your little lions on your “How To Color Royal Icing Black” tutorial – do you wait a few minutes before you add the second color?
Thank you for your help – your recipes, photos and videos have helped me tremendously!
Have a wonderful day!
Jody
love your creativity ! so colorful
@ Jody Senna: That’s exactly right – I waited for 24 hours for the outline to dry and then flooded the centres. Technically you could wait 6-12 hours – It depends on the humidity of the environment, and in my case, I had to wait until I got home from work the next day.
(It’s a pretty dry climate where I am now). For the mane of the lion, I did wait an hour or so between those two colours. If they were darker colours, I would have waited 6-24 hours (again depending on humidity). You could technically wait a few minutes, but I guess I just play it safe and decorate other things (or clean or whatever lol), while I’m waiting.
Sorry it took me so long to answer this, I didn’t see it until now.
@ Shruti | A Spoonful of Yumm: Thanks!
@ marian:
Marian, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply – I can tell you’re a super busy lady! I really appreciate all that I’ve been able to learn from your tutorials and videos. Thanks again!
Jody
@ Jody Senna: My pleasure, I love to help if I can! xo
Where do you get your edible inks from? I keep seeing them online and then I read reviews of so many places not being legit and it being scams. Odd really. Wondering where you get yours?
@ Jennifer Paul Gibson: No problem, Jennifer. From KopyKake or Icing Images.com
@ marian:Thank you so much!
This is the first time I am using frosting sheets on my royal icing cookies I am very nervous as I purchased them and can’t afford any mistakes. So many sites say to apply to wet royal is that safe? Can I cut the sheets with a scissor.
Hi @ Maryanne: Yes, you can put it on wet icing. The reason why I personally don’t is because I find the edges curl up during the drying process, so, it’s a little more work to wait, add an extra step and adhere them with corn syrup, but most of time I wait.
If you’re doing a thick shell border, you could cover the ‘curling up’ with the icing.
All the best, Maryanne!