How to Make Chubby Ghost Cookies

To accompany the haunted houses I showed last week, I also made these decorated ghost cookies. I should mention though, these aren't your typical ghosts. I designed these ghost cookies to be more sassy than they are spooky.  

These chubby ghost cookies got some curves, for sure. But that was intentional. You see, their curvy, round bellies provide a large enough area to add a nice personalized message. For this tutorial, I'll show how to add a "Boo" bunting banner to these ghosts. However, I'll share a few other decorating ideas at the end of this post to showcase how versatile this ghost can be.  

Ghost Cookie Cutters

Added to the shop are two types of ghost cookie cutters: a fat and a thin design.

I'll be focusing on the fat ghost design for this tutorial, but the same decorating steps can be applied to the thin ghost cookies as well.

The ghost cookies shown in the pictures below are the LARGE size option.

Template for the Ghost Cookies

I provided a downloadable template for the all the Halloween design ideas this season. In the template file, I’ve included designs for the two ghosts, as well as the haunted house, the pumpkin, the candycorn, and the basic witch cookies.

You can download the ghost and the other Halloween cookie templates HERE.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by cutting out the template and tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

What's great about ghost cookies is there isn't a lot of colored icing required. Mostly, it's involves just white icing with a few additional select accent colors needed.

To decorate these cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• White outline and flood royal icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)
• Light Blue outline icing (I used Americolor Wedgewood.)
• Orange medium icing (I used Americolor Orange.)
• Black outline icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

Step 1

Begin by outlining and flooding the entire cookie with white icing. Let the cookie dry completely (about 2-4 hours) before moving on.

Step 2

Once the base icing layer is set and dry, add the eyes and smile with black icing. Then add the center flag banner with orange icing.

As the center flag icing is setting up, add the ghost outline with light blue icing. Next, add the remaining two outer banner flags. Let everything dry for another 2 to 4 hours.

Step 3

Lastly, add the final details. Add the letters, "B-O-O", on each of the flag banners with white piping icing. Then, add the black banner string detail on top of the flags. (I used a PME #1 tip for these details.)

Video Tutorial

The steps above are demonstrated in the time-lapsed video below.

This was just one way of decorating ghost cookies. The large belly on these sassy spooks allows plenty of room for personalization and creativity.

I had some fun playing around with fonts and "Boo" puns. In addition, one could add someone's name for a cute gift idea.

Speaking of gift ideas, I teamed up with my brother at OwlHouseCo to come up with creative packaging options.

The LARGE size of these ghost cookies fit perfectly in these 4" x 4" gift boxes. Add a little flair to the presentation with one of OwlHouseCo's ghost gift tags to complete the look.

Thin Ghost Cookies

I also wanted to mention another ghost option I have available.

These thin ghost cookies are a smaller alternative to the fat ghosts I showed above. They use the same decorating steps as shown in this tutorial. Their smaller size also makes them a fun option for a 3-piece gift set.

When group together, three of these ghost fit perfectly in this favorite 7″ x 4.5″ BRP Box. You can have them hold different items too, like the letters, "B-O-O".

Or, for a more adult-themed set, have these ghost cookies hold a party drink. I'm sure they'll be a hit at any Halloween party gathering, or as a unique and clever host gift.

Again, you can find all the coordinating ghost tags in OwlHouseCo's Etsy shop.