Perfect ghost cookies for Halloween, an incredibly simple recipe, ideal for this occasion. A simple shortcrust pastry base, with a pinch of baking powder to make these cookies even crumblier, is the starting point of this recipe. Once made and rolled out, you can get help from the little ones at home to make these ghosts with the cookie cutters you have or can purchase. In the recipe, I provide my shortcrust pastry to make these ghosts. If you have any leftovers, you can make any cookies you prefer or freeze it wrapped in parchment paper and stored in a classic freezer bag. When you want to reuse it, just take it out a few hours earlier and let it rest in the fridge. Below are some other ideas for your Halloween, while at the end of the recipe I will answer the most frequent questions.

#adv

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very cheap
Portions: 12-14 cookies
Cooking methods: Electric oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Halloween

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg (medium)
2 tbsps water (in place of yolk used in more classic recipes)
3 1/2 tbsps butter (melted)
3/4 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
Half teaspoon baking powder
as needed powdered sugar (you'll need enough to decorate the cookies once cooled.)

Tools

1 Spoon
1 Bowl
2 Parchment paper
1 Baking tray
1 Cookie cutter
1 Rolling pin
1 Sieve

Steps

To make the perfect ghost cookies for Halloween, work all the ingredients for the soft shortcrust pastry in a bowl. Pour in the flour and sugar. Add the cup of water at room temperature, the egg, and the melted butter heated in a double boiler or microwave, previously allowed to cool.
Continue working the dough in the bowl, adding the teaspoon of baking powder, first mixing it with a fork and then by hand, until you get a soft and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take the dough and place it between two sheets of parchment paper, lightly pressing it with your hands.
Then work it with a rolling pin, rolling out the pastry evenly.
Remember that it will rise slightly during baking, so roll it out to about half an inch thick.
Use the ghost shape to cut out the cookies. The shortcrust pastry base can be reused, but between each step, I recommend keeping it in the fridge wrapped in parchment paper. Alternatively, you can only make the cookies you want and follow my advice to freeze it as explained in the description.
With a sharp knife, cut out the eyes and mouth by simply piercing the shortcrust pastry.
Place the cookies on the baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated fan oven for 17 minutes or until fully golden at 356°F
Once the cookies are ready, let them cool completely. Then decorate them with plenty of powdered sugar before enjoying. If you don’t like sugar or want to try other ideas, here are some small tips below.