Blood-Spattered Halloween Cookie Ideas for a Spooky Party

These blood-spatter Halloween cookies look spectacular and are surprisingly simple to make. The splatter step is especially fun and never fails to impress guests and trick-or-treaters. If you enjoy seasonal baking, try these for your next Halloween party — they’re dramatic, eye-catching and delicious.

Blood Spatter Halloween Cookies – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer-friendly version, see the recipe card below)

This recipe includes both UK metric and US cup measurements.

Note: Pay attention to chilling and setting times between stages to ensure good results.

Ingredients

Makes about 30–35 cookies.

For the cookies

• 250g (1 + 1/8 Cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 200g (1 Cup) golden caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg, beaten
• 450g (3 + 1/2 Cups) plain flour

For the royal icing

• 2 large egg whites
• 500g (4 Cups) icing sugar
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Red food colouring gel

Essential equipment

• Electric stand mixer or hand mixer
• Spatula or wooden spoon
• Rolling pin
• 3 bowls
• 7cm cookie cutter
• Baking tray
• Piping bag (or piping bottle)
• No.3 writing nozzle
• Fork

You can use a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, but a piping bottle can make flooding easier.

Cookie instructions – Part 1

In a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter (250g), sugar (200g) and vanilla (1 tbsp) until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg and mix until combined.

Tip in the flour (450g) and fold with a wooden spoon until it just comes together into a dough. Turn out onto a work surface, knead gently to form a ball, then divide into two portions.

Roll each portion between two large sheets of baking paper to about 6mm (1/4″) thick. Place both sheets in the fridge to chill for about 1 hour — chilling helps the cookies keep their shape when cut.

Royal icing instructions

In a clean bowl or mixer, beat the egg whites (2), icing sugar (500g) and a squeeze of lemon juice on high for about 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add cold water, a drop or two at a time, mixing between additions until the mixture loosens to soft peaks.

Spoon 3–4 heaped tablespoons of this thicker icing into a small bowl, cover tightly and reserve — this stiffer icing will be used to pipe borders.

Continue to add water, a little at a time, to the remaining icing until you reach a flooding consistency. Take 5–6 tablespoons of that flooding icing, colour it red, cover and set aside for the blood spatter. Cover the rest of the white flooding icing and set it aside too.

Cookie instructions – Part 2

Once the dough has chilled, remove from the fridge and cut as many 7cm circles as possible. Re-roll scraps to cut more cookies until the dough is used up. Chill the cut cookies for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 190°C (fan 180°C / 374°F).

Line a baking tray and space the chilled cookies, allowing room for slight spreading. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges turn golden, turning the tray halfway for even colouring. Cool on the tray a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Decorating instructions

When cookies are completely cool, fill a piping bag with the stiffer border icing and pipe a neat edge around each cookie. Let the borders set for 15–20 minutes.

Once borders are firm, mix the white flooding icing and pour it into a piping bottle to flood the centres. Allow the flooded surface to set for 1–2 hours so it becomes firm to the touch.

For the splatter: protect your workspace and lay newspapers underneath. Stir the red flooding icing well, dip a fork into it, and flick or splatter the icing over the cookies to create random blood-spatter patterns. Work a few cookies at a time if you prefer. Let the splatter set for another 1–2 hours.

These cookies are dramatic, crunchy and lightly vanilla-scented — a perfect showstopper for Halloween. You can freeze uncooked dough in an airtight bag or tub for later use.

If you’re new to baking, consider reading a basic beginner’s guide to build confidence before trying more advanced decorating techniques.

Loved this post? Pin it!

Blood Spatter Halloween Cookies Recipe

Yield:
30-35

Prep Time:
1 hour

Chilling/Setting Time:
3 hours 35 minutes

Cook Time:
10 minutes

Total Time:
4 hours 45 minutes

Grotesquely gruesome blood-spatter Halloween cookies that are fun to make and perfect for a Halloween treat.

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 250g (1 + 1/8 Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp
• 200g (1 Cup) Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 450g (3 + 1/2 Cups) Plain Flour

For the royal icing

• 2 Large Egg Whites
• 500g (4 Cups) Icing Sugar
• Squeeze of Lemon Juice
• Red Food Colouring Gel

Essential equipment

• Electric Stand Mixer (or a Bowl with an Electric Hand Whisk)
• Spatula/Wooden Spoon
• Rolling Pin
• 3 Bowls
• 7cm Cookie Cutter
• Baking Tray
• Piping Bag
• No.3 Writing Nozzle
• Piping Bottle*
• Fork

Instructions

Cookie instructions part 1

1. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg and mix until combined.
3. Fold in the flour with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
4. Bring into a ball, split into two and roll each to 6mm thick between two sheets of baking paper. Chill for 1 hour.

Royal icing instructions

1. Beat egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice until stiff peaks form.
2. Add cold water 1–2 drops at a time until softened to soft peaks. Put 3–4 heaped tbsp aside for the border icing and cover.
3. Continue thinning the remaining icing to a flooding consistency. Put 5–6 tbsp into a small bowl, colour red for the blood spatter and cover.
4. Cover the rest of the white flooding icing and set aside.

Cookie instructions part 2

1. Remove dough from the fridge and cut out as many 7cm circles as possible. Re-roll scraps and continue. Chill for 15 minutes and preheat oven to 190°C (fan 180°C / 374°F).
2. Space cookies on a lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until edges are golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Decorating instructions

1. Mix the border icing well, fill a piping bag with a No.3 nozzle, and pipe borders around each cookie. Allow to set for 20 minutes.
2. When borders are set, mix the white flooding icing and pour into a piping bottle. Flood the centres and leave to set for 1–2 hours.
3. Stir the red blood-spatter icing, lay cookies on newspaper, dip a fork into the red icing and flick it to create random splatters. Repeat until all cookies are decorated and allow to set completely for 1–2 hours.

Notes

*You can use a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle but a bottle is a little easier.

Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature and consume within 7 days.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

• 
  PME No.3 Stainless Steel Writing Nozzle
• 
  Wilton 2 Pack – Mini Piping Bottles

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 35
Serving Size: 1

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 180Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 0gSugar: 20gProtein: 2g

Nutritional information should be used as a guideline. Check labels for allergens where applicable.

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to hear about it! Please leave a comment or tag on social media.