Spooky Sweet Halloween Pinwheel Sugar Cookies with Monster Candy Eyes

These Halloween Sugar Cookies are a true delight, combining a rich, buttery flavor with a perfect soft-yet-crispy texture that simply melts in your mouth. Their playful yet slightly spooky appearance, thanks to whimsical candy eyeballs, makes them an instant hit for any Halloween celebration. Get ready to bake a batch of treats that are as delicious as they are enchanting!

Halloween holds a special place in my heart, especially when it comes to crafting delicious and creatively spooky treats. It’s undeniably one of the best food holidays, offering endless opportunities to get festive in the kitchen! From savory breadstick bones to sweet creepy chocolate chip cookies and ghoulish pretzels, the possibilities are thrilling. And, of course, no Halloween spread is complete without these enchanting monster eyeball cookies!

While these captivating Halloween cookies require a little patience and attention to detail, the stunning perfect pinwheels you’ll achieve are absolutely worth every moment. The process involves rolling, stacking, and carefully forming the vibrant cookie dough into logs. Once chilled, all that’s left is to slice and bake them to golden perfection! The end result is a batch of cookies that are incredibly buttery, featuring wonderfully soft centers complemented by delightfully crispy edges.

The addition of edible monster eyes is what truly transforms these beautiful red and white pinwheels into an iconic Halloween dessert. These fun candy eyes are usually easy to find in most major grocery stores, especially during the autumn season, or you can conveniently order them online. They add that final touch of spooky charm, making each cookie a mini work of Halloween art!

Why You’ll Adore These Halloween Pinwheel Sugar Cookies

• Perfect for Planning Ahead: One of the best features of this recipe is its make-ahead friendly nature. While the cookie dough logs need to chill for a minimum of 4 hours before slicing and baking, you can prepare them up to four days in advance. This flexibility allows you to spread out your baking process, making holiday preparations much less stressful.
• Impressive Visual Appeal, Simple Execution: Despite their intricate appearance, these monster eyeball cookies are surprisingly straightforward to create. The mesmerizing pinwheel pattern is achieved through a simple technique of stacking two colors of dough, rolling them tightly, and then slicing. Your guests will be amazed by the professional look, yet you’ll know how easy it truly was!
• Effortlessly Festive & Fun: With just a few drops of food coloring and the charming addition of candy eyeballs, these classic sugar cookies are instantly transformed into a festive and thematic treat. They are absolutely perfect for any Halloween party, school event, or simply as a fun activity to enjoy with family, bringing smiles and spooky cheer to everyone who sees (and tastes) them.

• All-purpose flour: This foundational ingredient provides the essential structure for our cookies, allowing them to be rolled, stacked, and sliced without losing their form. It’s key to achieving that perfect pinwheel shape.
• Unsalted butter: Butter is crucial for the rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture that defines these sugar cookies. Using unsalted butter gives you control over the overall saltiness of the finished product.
• Granulated sugar: As the name “sugar cookies” implies, sugar is a primary component! Beyond sweetness, granulated sugar contributes to the moistness of the cookie dough, helps achieve those irresistible crispy edges during baking, and creates a beautifully golden finish.
• Red food coloring: This is where the magic happens for the visual appeal! Dying one portion of the dough a vibrant red creates a striking contrast with the natural white dough, forming the signature festive pinwheel design that makes these cookies so special for Halloween.
• Candy eyes: The ultimate touch for transforming these pretty cookies into delightfully spooky monster eyeball cookies! These edible decorations are placed immediately after baking, adding a whimsical and eerie character that is perfect for the Halloween theme. You can find them in most baking aisles or online.
• (Don’t forget baking powder and salt for leavening and flavor balance, and vanilla extract for that classic, warm aroma!)

See the recipe card below for full information on specific quantities and detailed preparation instructions.

1. Prepare the Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, meticulously sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Sifting helps to aerate the flour and ensures that these leavening and flavoring agents are evenly distributed throughout the dough, preventing lumps and promoting a consistent texture in your final cookies.
2. Cream Butter and Sugar: Using the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until the mixture becomes wonderfully light and fluffy. This step incorporates air, which contributes to the cookies’ soft centers and helps create that signature crisp edge.
3. Incorporate Wet & Dry Ingredients: To the creamed butter and sugar, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition to ensure they are fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract. Gradually add the sifted flour mixture to the stand mixer bowl, mixing on low speed until the ingredients are just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough cookies. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure everything is evenly blended.
4. Divide and Chill the White Dough: Carefully remove half of the prepared sugar cookie dough from the mixer. Gently form this portion into a neat square shape. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out, and place it into the refrigerator. This initial chill helps the dough firm up and makes it easier to handle for the next steps.
5. Color the Remaining Dough: Return to the stand mixer bowl with the remaining half of the dough. Add several drops of red food coloring (or your chosen color) to the dough. Mix until the color is vibrant and uniformly incorporated throughout the dough. You might need to add a few more drops to achieve your desired intensity.
6. Shape and Chill the Colored Dough: Once the colored dough is uniform, remove it from the mixer and form it into a square, similar to the white dough. Wrap it securely in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator alongside the white dough. Both pieces of dough should chill for a minimum of 2 hours. This extended chilling period is crucial for firming the dough, making it easier to roll and helping the pinwheel shape hold during baking.
7. Roll Out the Dough Rectangles: After the dough has sufficiently chilled, remove both squares from the fridge and unwrap them. Carefully cut each square in half so you now have two red rectangles and two white rectangles. Working one piece at a time, place a dough rectangle between two sheets of wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough evenly until it’s approximately 1/8-inch thick. This precise thickness is essential for creating crisp cookies and well-defined pinwheel spirals. Once rolled, remove the top sheets of wax paper from the white dough sheets.

8. Stack and Form Logs: Remove the top sheet of wax paper from the red dough sheets. Carefully place one red dough rectangle on top of each white dough rectangle. You will now have two distinct stacks, each composed of a white layer and a red layer. Starting from one of the shorter ends, tightly roll each stacked dough into a log. The tighter you roll, the more pronounced and beautiful your pinwheel pattern will be. Once formed, wrap both dough logs separately and securely in plastic wrap.
9. Chill Logs Upright: After wrapping, place each cookie dough log upright inside a tall drinking glass. This unconventional method is a pro tip: chilling the logs in glasses prevents them from flattening on one side, ensuring perfectly round pinwheel cookies. Chill them in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. This extended chill is critical for the dough to firm up completely, making it easy to slice without distorting the intricate pinwheel pattern.
10. Preheat & Prep: When you’re ready to bake, remove the chilled dough logs from the fridge. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (Silpat) to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
11. Slice the Cookies: Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the chilled dough logs into 1/4-inch thick rounds. The cold dough will maintain its shape beautifully. Arrange the sliced cookies on your prepared baking sheets, ensuring they are spaced about 2 inches apart to allow for slight spreading during baking.

12. Bake to Perfection: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Keep a close eye on them; they are ready when their edges just begin to turn a light golden brown. Overbaking can make them too crisp, so pull them out as soon as they reach this stage.
13. Add Spooky Eyeballs: Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, while they are still warm and soft, gently place one candy eyeball directly into the center of each pinwheel. The residual heat from the cookies will slightly melt the candy, helping the eyes adhere securely. Once the eyes are placed, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pro Tip for Round Cookies: It might seem unusual to store the dough logs upright, but trust this technique! Laying them flat in the fridge often results in one side becoming flattened. Placing the logs into tall drinking glasses helps them maintain a perfectly cylindrical shape, ensuring all your baked cookies come out beautifully round and uniform.

Frequently Asked Questions About Halloween Sugar Cookies

• Chocolate Halloween Pretzels
• Spooky Halloween Snack Mix
• Ghoulish Halloween Dirt Cups
• Easy Halloween Hand Pies
• Leftover Halloween Candy Blondies

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Dessert

Halloween Pinwheel Sugar Cookies

With their charming pinwheel design and edible monster eyes, these buttery cookies are the perfect spooky-yet-sweet Halloween dessert that’s sure to impress!

Author: Kelly Senyei

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 6 hours hrs

Cook Time 11 minutes mins

Total Time 6 hours hrs 11 minutes mins

Servings 36 cookies

Print Recipe

Ingredients

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  3 cups all-purpose flour

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  ½ teaspoon baking powder

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  ½ teaspoon salt

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  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

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  1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar

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  2 large eggs, room temperature

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  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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  Red food coloring (gel preferred)

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  Candy eyeballs (approximately 36)

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter with the sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated, then add the vanilla extract. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure no dry spots remain.
• Remove half of the dough and gently pat it into a square shape. Wrap this portion of dough securely in plastic wrap then refrigerate it.
• To the remaining dough in the stand mixer bowl, add several drops of red food coloring. Mix the dough until the color is vibrant and uniform throughout. Remove this colored dough, shape it into a square, wrap it securely in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it. Allow both pieces of dough (white and colored) to chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
• Once chilled, remove both dough squares from the fridge. Cut each dough square in half lengthwise to form four rectangles (you will have two white and two red). Place each piece of dough between two sheets of wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a rectangle that is approximately 1/8-inch thick. Carefully peel back the top piece of wax paper from each rolled dough sheet. Then, transfer each sheet of red dough and place it precisely on top of each sheet of white dough. (You will now have two distinct stacks of dough, each with a red layer and a white layer.)
• Starting at the shorter end of each stacked rectangle, carefully roll the dough as tightly as possible into logs. The tighter the roll, the more defined your pinwheel pattern will be. Wrap up the logs securely in plastic wrap, then stand each log upright inside a tall drinking glass and place the glasses in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. (Standing the dough upright, rather than laying it flat, is a crucial tip to prevent any flat sides from forming, ensuring your baked cookies will be perfectly round.)
• When you are ready to bake, remove the chilled dough logs from the fridge. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (Silpats). Using a sharp knife, carefully cut each log into even 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the sliced cookies on the prepared baking sheets, ensuring they are spaced about 2 inches apart to allow for proper airflow and slight spreading.
• Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until their edges just begin to turn a light golden brown. It’s important not to overbake them to keep their tender texture. Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press a candy eyeball into the center of each cookie while they are still warm and pliable. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Kelly’s Notes

• Chill Your Cookie Dough Properly: Properly chilling the dough is paramount for achieving tender cookies and ensuring they maintain their beautiful, round pinwheel shape during baking. Don’t rush this step!
• Buy Pre-Cut Sheets of Parchment Paper: For a hassle-free baking experience, especially when dealing with multiple batches, I highly recommend using pre-cut sheets of parchment paper. They make lining baking sheets quick and easy.
• Add the Eyes Right Away: To ensure the candy eyes adhere securely, add them as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, while they are still warm. Then, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Don’t Overmix: Once you add the flour, mix just until combined. Overmixing develops gluten, which can result in tough cookies.
• Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure butter and eggs are at room temperature. This helps them cream together smoothly and incorporate air efficiently, leading to a lighter, fluffier cookie.
• ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!

Nutrition

Calories:
115
kcal

,

Carbohydrates:
15
g

,

Protein:
1
g

,

Fat:
5
g

,

Saturated Fat:
3
g

,

Cholesterol:
22
mg

,

Sodium:
36
mg

,

Potassium:
21
mg

,

Sugar:
7
g

,

Vitamin A:
170
IU

,

Calcium:
7
mg

,

Iron:
0.5
mg

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