Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies
I decided to bake chocolate sugar cookies and decorated them as Jack Skellington from Nightmare before Christmas. Jack has relatively simple facial structures so decorating the cookies is a beginner-friendly and fun project for all ages.
Equipment
- Electric stand mixer or hand mixer
- Parchment paper
- Rolling Pin
- Piping bags or Ziplock bags
- Toothpick/scribe tool
- Baking sheets
Ingredients
Chocolate Sugar Cookie (Makes about 30 cookies – 2 inches in diameter)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold, cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon oil light/neutral flavor such as canola, grapeseed, or light olive oil
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg large
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour you may need as much as 2 cups
White Icing
- 1 1/2 tablespoon meringue powder
- 3 tablespoon warm water (NOT hot)
- 1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Black Icing
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 heaping cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons hot water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Some Black food coloring
Instructions
For Chocolate Sugar Cookie
- Cream the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with a mixer until the mixture is smooth. (Do not overbeat, as this will incorporate air into the dough, which may lead to spreading.)
- Add the egg and mix just until incorporated.
- Mix in the cornstarch, cocoa powder, and 1 1/4 cups of the flour.
- Continue adding more flour until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. (You may not need all the flour.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll the dough to a thickness of 3/8-inch with a rolling pin, between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Cut shapes using a round cookie cutter. (I used a cookie cutter in 2-inch diameter)
- Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies look dry on the surface, and feel firm around the edges, and set in the middle.
- Cool completely.
For White Icing
- In a deep bowl, add meringue powder and warm water.
- Beat this for about 1 minute until you have a white and frothy mixture.
- Add powdered sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla extract and start mixing at medium to medium-high speed.
- Continue mixing until your icing becomes thick and peaks start forming.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of water at a time to get to the consistency you need. My icing was between “Medium consistency” and “flood consistency.” More detailed explanations of icing consistency can be found here.
For Black Icing
- Whisk the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, hot water, and vanilla.
- If needed, add 1/8 teaspoon of water at a time to get to the consistency you want. (I recommend medium consistency)
- Add some black food coloring with a toothpick and mix until well combined.
For Assembly
- Place white icing in a piping bag/ziplock bag and snip a small corner off. (I cut enough to have a ¼ inch hole)
- Pipe the white icing on the chocolate sugar cookies. Pipe by starting from the outside rim and work your way toward the middle in a swirl motion. Do NOT worry about filling every gap while piping. Smooth out any bare spots by poking and moving the wet icing with a toothpick or a scribe tool until the cookies have solid surfaces. Let the icing completely dry before moving on to the next step.
![Cookie with white icing]()
- Place black icing in a piping bag/ziplock bag and snip a small corner off. (I cut enough to have a 1/8 inch hole)
- Draw Jack’s face. Looking at reference always helps. I referenced Jack’s face on the lighted necklace I had from Walt Disney World. There are always some good references online.
![Jack's Face on a Cookie]()
- Let the black icing dry completely.
