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Who says gingerbread cookies have to wait until Christmas? These Halloween gingerbread cookies put a spooky-season twist on the classic gingerbread person by removing the heads and adding a little raspberry or strawberry jam for a creepy finishing touch. They’re easy to make, fun to decorate, and just gruesome enough for a Halloween party without being too scary.
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Related: 15 Gingerbread Recipes
Headless Halloween Gingerbread Cookies
The best part is that you don’t need special Halloween cookie cutters. A traditional gingerbread cutter works perfectly—just give each cookie a Halloween makeover before it goes into the oven.
Because the decorating is so simple, these cookies are also a fun choice for a Halloween baking day with kids. Let everyone customize their own cookie with different icing details, sprinkles, or candy decorations. You can make each one look slightly different while keeping the same playful, headless Halloween theme.
Headless Halloween Gingerbread Cookies
These crispy gingerbread people lose their heads for Halloween and get a splash of red jam around the neck for an easy edible Halloween treat.
Prep Time: About 20 minutes
Bake Time: 10–15 minutes
Oven Temperature: 325°F
Ingredients
- 10 ounces (300 grams) self-rising flour
- Pinch of salt
- 4 ounces (100 grams) caster sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 ounces (50 grams) margarine or dairy-free spread
- 3 tablespoons golden syrup
- 4 tablespoons milk or water
- 1 tablespoon raspberry or strawberry jam
How to Make Halloween Gingerbread Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and lightly grease a baking sheet.
- Add the flour, salt, and ground ginger to a mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, gently warm the sugar, margarine or dairy-free spread, and golden syrup until combined.
- Pour the warm mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until everything comes together.
- Add the milk or water and mix until a firm dough forms. Knead the dough lightly until smooth.
- Roll out the dough and cut out gingerbread people using a person-shaped cookie cutter.
- Now comes the Halloween fun. Carefully use a knife to remove most or all of each gingerbread person’s head. You can make the edges around the neck slightly uneven for a creepier look.
- Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10–15 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. They may still feel slightly soft when they first come out of the oven but will become crisp as they cool.
- Once completely cool, use a small pastry brush or clean food-safe brush to dab raspberry or strawberry jam around the neck of each cookie.
Make Them as Spooky, or Silly, as You Like
The missing heads are enough to give these gingerbread cookies their Halloween makeover, but not every cookie has to look exactly the same. Give some a tiny trail of jam, add a larger dab to others, or cut the cookies at slightly different angles before baking.
For a kid-friendly Halloween party, keep the jam decoration simple and silly rather than overly gruesome. You could also decorate the gingerbread bodies with icing, candy buttons, sprinkles, or Halloween colors.
A Fun Halloween Party Treat
These Halloween gingerbread cookies would be fun on a Halloween dessert table, served after a spooky movie night, or made as a weekend baking activity with the kids. Arrange them on a platter with pumpkins, ghosts, and other Halloween cookies for an easy themed dessert display.
They’re also a fun reminder that gingerbread doesn’t have to be reserved for December. One gingerbread person cookie cutter can easily work for more than one holiday when you get a little creative.
Recipe originally contributed to The Review Wire by guest contributor Blair Chavis in 2011. Post updated August 2026.
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