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Best Spider Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

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Soft, buttery sugar cookies shaped like spiders, topped with glossy royal icing that dries hard enough to stack. A fun and forgiving Halloween treat that’s easy to customize and tastes as good as it looks.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks, 226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) fine sea salt or table salt
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (16g) meringue powder
  • 3–4 tablespoons (45-60ml) water, plus more as needed
  • ½ teaspoon black gel food coloring (or enough for deep black)
  • White gel food coloring (optional, for eyes)
  • Black sanding sugar or sprinkles (optional)
  • Edible glitter (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the cookie dough: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes with a stand mixer on medium speed). Scrape down the sides halfway through.
  2. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then beat until combined. The mixture may look slightly separated.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If too sticky, add an extra tablespoon of flour.
  4. Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  6. Roll and cut: Take one dough disk out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out spider shapes using a spider-shaped cookie cutter. Place cut cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gather scraps, press together, and re-roll to cut more cookies (yields 18-24 cookies).
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just barely starting to turn golden. Centers should still look slightly soft and pale. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. Make the royal icing: In a medium bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add 3 tablespoons of water and whisk until smooth. The icing should be thick but flow slowly from a spoon (like thick syrup). If too thick, add water a teaspoon at a time; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.
  9. Divide the icing into two portions. Add black gel food coloring to the larger portion until deep black. Reserve the remaining white icing for spider eyes.
  10. Transfer black icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (Wilton #2 or #3) or a squeeze bottle.
  11. Decorate: Outline the spider body with black icing, then fill in the center. Use a toothpick to spread icing into gaps and pop air bubbles. Pipe eight thin lines for legs (four on each side, angled slightly outward).
  12. While icing is still wet, add two small dots of white icing for eyes. Optionally, add a tiny black dot in the center of each eye for a pupil effect. If using black sanding sugar, sprinkle over wet icing on the spider body and tap off excess.
  13. Let decorated cookies sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) until icing is completely hard to the touch.

Notes

Don’t skip chilling the dough—it prevents spreading. Use gel food coloring, not liquid, for vibrant color without thinning the icing. For best results, let decorated cookies dry overnight before stacking. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Undecorated baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Keywords: spider cookies, Halloween cookies, sugar cookies, royal icing, Halloween baking, spider sugar cookies, easy Halloween cookies

Find it online: https://emmastirs.com/best-spider-sugar-cookies-with-royal-icing-recipe/