Whip up a batch of these fun Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies for your family movie night at home. Or serve these fun multi-colored sugar cookies at your Halloween party this fall.
Either way, these are delicious and easy homemade sugar cookies that offer bright vibrant colors that will excite both kids and grown-ups alike!
Need a few more Halloween cookies? Serve these chewy maple cinnamon Halloween Mummy Cookies or these super cute Jack Skellington cookies for a full on Nightmare Before Christmas theme.
Add in these fun Jack Skellington Hot Chocolate Bombs and give the kids a fun way to enjoy a hot cup of cocoa.
Why You’ll Love These Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies
- A favorite Nightmare Before Christmas fan-inspired recipe.
- Fun Halloween recipes that will get everyone excited.
- You only need simple ingredients for this cookie recipe.
- The bright colors to look like Sally’s patchwork dress and are fun for the Halloween season.
- You can serve up these Sally cookies at Halloween or Christmas time!
More Holiday Cookies to Love
Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies
Kitchen Equipment Needed
- Cookie baking sheets
- Stand Mixer or Electric hand mixer
- Whisk Attachment
- Paddle Attachment
- Large Bowl / Mixing Bowl
- 3 Small Bowls
- Medium bowl (microwave safe)
- Piping Bag (to pipe on black icing)
- Wire Rack for Cooling
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutter set for round circles (optional)
Ingredients
These Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies are a simple sugar cookie with added food coloring and chocolate.
BUTTER: Unsalted butter that is softened to room temperature is best for mixing.
SUGAR: Granulated sugar is what you will use as the sweetening agent for the cookies.
EGG: Room temperature eggs work best for mixing fully into the cookie batter.
VANILLA: Pure Vanilla Extract adds a nice splash of sweetness to the cookies.
FLOUR: All-purpose flour that is scooped into a measuring cup, then ensure it is leveled off. You’ll also use the flour to make a floured surface for prepping the cookies. Don’t want that cookie dough sticking!
FOOD COLORING: I used dark yellow, lilac, and a turquoise blue color for the cookies.
CHOCOLATE: Melt chocolate chips and use it for piping the stitches on the cookies.
How to Make Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep your baking sheets by lining them with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer using a whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter (room temperature) and sugar.
Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix together while scraping the sides of the bowl until well combined.
Switch out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment. Add in all of the flour and mix on low speed until all the flour is combined and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Divide the dough equally between three small bowls. Tint with food coloring – starting with just a little and adding more as needed. Knead with your hands until smooth and uniform in color.
Pinch a small amount from each color and gently press together to form dough balls about the size of a golf ball and then flatten to about 3/8 of an inch thick. Place on prepared baking sheets and repeat until all your dough is gone.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be set and very slightly starting to brown. Watch closely, as it doesn’t take much to over bake your Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies. We want them just right with a soft texture.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack / cooling rack so they do not continue baking. Let cool completely before decorating.
When ready to decorate, melt the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl. Heat in 20 second increments, stirring in between each heating session until smooth. Transfer the chocolate into a piping bag or Ziploc bag (or even a small squeeze bottle). Cut a really small hole in the bottom corner of the bag for piping the small lines.
Trace the seams of the colors with crisscross lines to look like stitches on Sally’s dress.
Allow the chocolate to cool before serving.
Tips and Variations
Here are a few simple tips and variations you can use for these Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies:
- Feel free to use a pre-made cookie dough if you don’t want to make homemade cookies.
- Use black gel food coloring to add to the chocolate to make the stitches color more black.
- Simply use pre-made black cookie icing to make the Sally stitches instead of chocolate. You can usually find it on the baking isle in your grocery store. It comes in a small tube or squeezable bag.
- If you over heat your chocolate (try not too!) then add a little vegetable oil or shortening to the chocolate to help it smooth out.
- Feel free to shape the sugar cookie dough into other shapes if you don’t want circle cookies.
How Far in Advance Can I Make these Cookies for a Party?
Cookies tend to dry out easily, so make the day before you plan to serve up these cookies.
Or make and freeze the Sally’s cookies for 1-2 weeks. Then thaw the cookies the morning of when you plan to serve up the cookies for the best quality.
How do I Make Sugar Cookies Soft?
Sugar cookies will be softer if you leave the cookie dough a bit thicker and slightly under cook them in the oven.
If you want a crispy sugar cookie then opt for a thinner sugar cookie when you place it on the cookie sheet. The thinner the cookie the easier it will become crispy as it bakes.
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you go to stack the cookies then make sure that you place a layer of wax paper between the stacks of cookies to prevent messing up the piping of chocolate. You just need the cookies to be fully set up or it will ruin the stitches.
You can also freeze any cookies you don’t eat right away for up to 4-5 months. Just place in a sealed bag or freezer-friendly container. Then thaw at room temperature when ready to eat.
I love how these Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies keep the bright colors rolling for the holiday season. Serve them up for Halloween and Christmas!
Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies - Sally Cookies
Whip up a batch of these fun Sally Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies for your family movie night at home. Or serve these fun multi-colored sugar cookies at your Halloween party or Christmas party.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 cups All-purpose Flour
- Food coloring, dark yellow, lilac purple, turquoise blue
- Melted Chocolate Chips, to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep your baking sheets by lining them with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using a whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter (room temperature) and sugar.
- Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix together while scraping the sides of the bowl until well combined.
- Switch out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment. Add in all of the flour and mix on low speed until all the flour is combined and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Divide the dough equally between three small bowls. Tint with food coloring - starting with just a little and adding more as needed. Knead with your hands until smooth and uniform in color.
- Pinch a small amount from each color and gently press together to form dough balls about the size of a golf ball and then flatten to about 3/8 of an inch thick.
- Place on prepared baking sheets and repeat until all your dough is gone.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be set and very slightly starting to brown. Watch closely, as it doesn't take much to over bake your Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies. We want them just right with a soft texture.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack / cooling rack so they do not continue baking. Let cool completely before decorating.
- When ready to decorate, melt the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl. Heat in 20 second increments, stirring in between each heating session until smooth. Transfer the chocolate into a piping bag or Ziploc bag (or even a small squeeze bottle). Cut a really small hole in the bottom corner of the bag for piping the small lines.
- Trace the seams of the colors with crisscross lines to look like stitches on Sally's dress.
- Allow the chocolate to cool before serving.
Notes
See recipe tips and variations in the recipe post.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 9mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 4g
Nutritional values are estimates and not exact.