Halloween Skull Candle Cookies

Continuing on with the skull-themed cookies like I mentioned in my previous grim reaper cookie post, here's a fun design I think you'll like. It was definitely my favorite of the bunch. No Halloween is complete without skull candle cookies.

A candle atop a skull is a must-have to achieve the look of any Halloween setting-- creepy dungeons, witches' coven, lairs full of vampires, you name it. Naturally, I had to include it in this set.

These skull candle cookies were made simply with a cupcake with a candle cookie cutter. I bought this cutter on a whim, being drawn to the candle portion on top. I thought it might come in handy for a friend's upcoming birthday. As luck would have it, it worked out perfectly for Halloween. Here's how to make these bad boys.

The Icing Process

Just like I mentioned in my Grim Reaper post, these cookies use a great technique I learned from the Marlyn of Montreal Confections. Her Princess Realistic Eyes tutorial is one of my favorite techniques. She adds depth and dimension by first painting on the cookie surface, then flooding around it. Click here to check out the tutorial as well as all her other amazing YouTube videos.

Step 1

First, I sketched out a cartoon skull that filled most of the shape of the cupcake cookie. Then made a template of the sketch on quilting plastic. Card stock, a manila folder, or any sturdy material would work as well. Trace the skull image onto the cookie with a food marker.

Step 2

With black flood icing and a food-only paintbrush, paint the inner eyes and nose areas. Try not to get black icing on the outside of the outer line. Let the icing dry.

Step 3

To find the placement of the eyes and nose, use the template again and etch the outlines of the holes with a scribe tool or a toothpick.

Step 4

With white piping icing, pipe over the marker lines and the etching lines. Then, fill the middle area with white flood icing. Leave this to dry for a few hours.

Step 5

After the skull icing had time to set, it's time to add the candle wax detail. I used electric green 15-second icing to pipe out the first layer of a random drip design. Let this first layer set and crust over, then add more random drips with the same icing.  

Step 6

The final step is to add the finishing details. Use black piping icing to add teeth lines and a candle wick. For the flame, I marbled together orange and red 15-second icing.

Besides the grim reaper and these skull candle cookies, I also made a raven-on-a-skull design to complete this skull-themed batch.

To summarize what cookie cutters I used, here they are below along with the new addition of the angel cutter for the raven cookie. If you're curious, the angel cutter was part of this 101 Betty Crocker plastic cookie cutter set.

Tomorrow is officially Trick-or-Treat Day. I hope everyone going door-to-door has a fun and safe time. Also, remember not to over do it with candy so you can save room for cookies. Happy Halloween!