Chocolate Cinnamon Skeleton Cookies (Printable View)

Spooky chocolate cinnamon cookies shaped like skeletons with sweet icing—perfect for Halloween gatherings.

# What You Need:

→ Cookies

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→ Royal Icing

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# How-To Steps:

01 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly combined.
02 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated.
03 - Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture, mixing just until dough comes together. Avoid overmixing.
04 - Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic 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 lightly floured surface. Cut out skeleton or gingerbread man shapes with cookie cutter.
07 - Place cookies on prepared baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.
08 - Beat egg white with powdered sugar and water until smooth and reaches pipeable consistency.
09 - Transfer icing to piping bag with fine tip. Create skeleton designs on cookies and allow to dry completely.

# Expert Advice:

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  • The cinnamon and cocoa combination creates this mysterious warmth that regular chocolate cookies just dont have
  • These cookies hold their shape beautifully, so your skeleton designs actually look like skeletons after baking
  • The recipe makes exactly two dozen, which is perfect for sharing or keeping all to yourself
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  • Chilling the dough is mandatory because the butter needs to firm up again or your skeleton shapes will blob into unrecognizable forms in the oven
  • These cookies continue cooking on the baking sheet after you take them out, so remove them when the edges look set but the centers still feel slightly soft
  • The royal icing thickens as it sits, so keep your bowl covered with a damp cloth while decorating to prevent it from hardening
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  • Use a kitchen scale for the flour if you have one because cocoa powder compacts differently than flour and measuring by cup can be inaccurate
  • Rotate your baking sheets halfway through baking time so all skeletons darken evenly instead of having burnt feet on one side

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