Deliciously buttery vanilla cookies with a black cherry jam filling are shaped as Jack Skellington from the book and film – The Nightmare Before Christmas. These Easy Jack Skellington Cookies are family-friendly and absolutely perfect for Halloween & the Holidays!
Easy Jack Skellington Cookies
‘This is Halloween! This is Halloween!’ It’s my favourite time of the year, scary horror movies, hot drinks and spooky baking! One of my all time favourite holiday films is ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. And let’s settle this debate, do you think it’s a Christmas movie or Halloween movie? I’ve always thought Halloween, but let me know what you think in the comments! Regardless, I think we can all collectively agree that Jack is spooky, yet super cute, hence why I am so excited to share these cookies with you.
Looking for more Jack Skellington treats, check out my Jack Skellington Pop Tarts and Jack Skellington Truffle pops. Also check out the videos here.
Ingredients you’ll need:
You only need a few super simple ingredients to make these cookies. Most of which you may already have in your kitchen cupboard. If not, I’ve listed them below so make sure to jot them down on your next shopping list / or your next grocery run.
- Dairy-free block butter : Make sure your butter is chilled, directly from the fridge.
- Caster sugar : Use fine white sugar. Always make sure that the sugar you’re using is vegan friendly.
- Plain / all purpose flour :
- Vanilla extract : You can use vanilla extract, seeds from a vanilla pod or vanilla bean paste for the ultimate vanilla flavour!
- Icing sugar : Make sure to sieve it before dusting over the cookies to prevent any lumps.
- Black cherry jam : You can use homemade or store bought. I use a smooth vegan friendly store-bought Black Cherry Jam.
- Black food gel : Make sure it’s vegan friendly.
Equipment needed:
Here is a list of the tools needed to make these Easy Jack Skellington Cookies:
- Food processor / stand mixer : Personally I like to use a food processor for cookies, but you are more than welcome to use a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
- Piping bag : Used to pipe the jam filling onto the cookies. Alternatively just spread the jam on with a knife or spoon if you don’t have piping bags.
- Circle / round cookie cutter : To keep things easy, I use circle cookie cutters when cutting out the cookies. Feel free to use whatever size you prefer. I like to use 3” round cutters.
- Round piping tips : Use the end of the piping tips to chomp out the face details, like the eyes and nose. You could even use mini round cookie cutters, fondant presses or even cut out the face details by hand using a knife (this way will take a bit longer).
- Rolling pin : You can use any rolling pin you like, but I recommend a French rolling pin for even cookies.
How to make Easy Jack Skellington Cookies
We’ll start by making the cookies, and then once they’re baked and cooled, we’ll fill them with delicious black cherry jam and top them with a powdered sugar ‘Jack’ cookie to really bring them to life!
- Cookie
In a food processor, add in the butter, sugar, flour and vanilla. You may also need a few teaspoons of ice-water. Blend until it turns into a thick dough. Wrap in grease-proof paper and chill until firm.
- Preparing the cookies
Roll out the dough in-between 2 sheets of grease-proof paper or a clean floured work surface. Roll out and chomp out rounds using a circle cookie cutter. To half of the cookies, use a small circle cookie cutter or end of a piping tip to cut out the eye holes and the nose holes.
- Bake
Place on a lined baking tray and bake until golden in colour. Allow to cool.
- Icing
Mix the icing sugar, vanilla and milk in a bowl. Dip the tops of the cookies with the face details on, allow excess to dip off. Set aside to set. Colour some icing with black food gel and pipe on the mouth details.
- Filling
Spread or pipe the jam on the plain cookies and place a iced ‘face’ cookie on top. Press down to stick.
- Serve
Serve and enjoy!
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Easy Jack Skellington Cookies
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Made with soft sugar cookies and vanilla icing, these Jack Skellington cookies are vegan-friendly and perfect for Halloween Baking.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cookies
- 200g of dairy-free block butter (cold and cubed)
- 100g of caster sugar
- 300g of all purpose / plain flour
- Ice-water (if needed)
Ingredients for the filling
- 50g of black cherry jam (homemade or shop bought)
Ingredients for the icing
- 200g of icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Black food gel
- Dairy-free milk (see step 1)
Instructions
Method (cookies)
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour, mix into a thick dough. If it’s too thick, you can add in a teaspoon of ice-water. You can combine by hand on a clean worktop or in a food processor. Transfer the dough into plastic wrap or baking paper and chill in the fridge for at least 40 minutes -1 hour to firm up.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C fan and line a baking tray with grease-proof paper.
- Once the dough is chilled and firm to the touch, roll out to approximately 1 – ½ cm thickness on a heavily floured work surface (this prevents the dough from sticking). Cut into rounds using a circle cookie cutter. Place the shapes on the lined baking tray. To half of the cookies, chomp out the eyes and nose shapes (see video for reference).
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes. You can even turn the tray half way through to ensure an even baking.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack. Repeat until all the cookies are baked.
Method (icing)
- In a bowl, add in the icing sugar and vanilla. Add in a teaspoon of dairy-free milk at a time until it comes to a thin, toothpaste like consistency.
- Dip the top of the cookies with the face on and allow any excess icing to drip back into the bowl. Allow to dry / set.
- Colour some icing with black food gel, transfer into a piping bag and snip off the tip. Pipe on a large line for the mouth and little lines for the details (see photos for example).
Method (filling)
- Spread or pipe some of the black cherry filling onto the cookies without the faces on and press one of the iced cookies on top to sandwich. Don’t add too much filling or it’ll ooze out the eye holes and around the outside of the cookies.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
To store: Store the cookies in a sealed / air tight container in the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before enjoying. Best eaten within 3 days of making.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
I can’t wait to make these for my halloween party this year!!!!!!!
Oh man these are so cool! I want to have a Halloween party just to share them! x
Author
Hello Helen, Aw thank youu! Let me know what you think! xx
Easy and yummy! Made for Christmas cookies
does the icing for these harden?
hey, could we freeze these ?
my poor Jack’s all look a bit demented and no where near as cute as yours. Fun to make though & very tasty
Author
Aw i am so happy you enjoyed!! xx