Halloween Chocolate Mummy Cookies

Original Video Tutorial HERE.

With Halloween just around the corner, I’ve been having so much fun dreaming up spooky treats in the kitchen. If you’re looking for something that strikes that perfect balance between slightly terrifying and utterly adorable, these Chocolate Mummy Cookies are calling your name!

We’re starting with a rich, buttery chocolate sugar cookie dough, cut into fun gingerbread men shapes and dressing them up with simple white royal icing bandages and little pearl eyes. They look like they’ve just stepped off an ancient Egyptian movie set, but they come together with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Let’s get baking!

Jump to Recipe

Why This Works

The cold butter method: Using cold cubed butter helps the cookies maintain their sharp gingerbread man shape in the oven without spreading into blobs.

Dutch-processed cocoa: It gives the cookies a deep, sophisticated chocolate flavor that balances out the sweetness of the royal icing.

No-spread dough: The addition of a little cornflour and oil ensures a tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb that holds up beautifully to being handled and decorated.

What you will need:

Cookies

115g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
⅔ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
¼ cup cornflour
½ cup cocoa powder
1¼ to 2 cups plain flour

Icing & Decorating

1 egg white
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1½ cups icing sugar
Pearl balls (for the eyes)

Em’s Pro Tips:

When piping your mummy bandages, don’t worry about being too neat! Imperfect, criss-crossing lines actually make the mummies look much more charming and authentically wrapped. Also, get your pearl eyes ready right beside you before you start piping, as royal icing can form a skin pretty quickly!

Change It Up

Mini Mummies: If you want bite-sized treats for a party platter, use a smaller gingerbread cutter and reduce the bake time to around 6–8 minutes.

Candy Eyeballs: If you can’t find pearl balls, store-bought edible candy eyeballs with little black pupils look hilarious and give them heaps of personality.

Spiced Chocolate: Add a pinch of cinnamon or a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients for a Mexican hot chocolate-inspired flavor twist.

How to Make It

The Cookies

Cream the base: Using a hand mixer or bench mixer, beat together the cold butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and creamy.

Add the egg: Add in the egg and mix until just combined.

Add dry ingredients: Mix in the cornflour, cocoa powder, and 1¼ cups of plain flour.

Form the dough: Continue adding extra flour a little at a time until the ingredients form a cohesive dough ball that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.

Prep for baking: Preheat your oven to 160°C and line two large baking trays with baking paper.

Roll out: Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper until it’s about 1cm thick. (Rolling between paper is my absolute favorite trick to keep things mess-free!)

Cut and place: Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out your shapes, transferring them to the prepared baking trays with a little space between each.

Bake: Pop them into the oven and bake for 9–12 minutes, or until the cookies look dry on the surface, feel firm around the edges, and are set in the centre.

Cool completely: Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking trays before attempting to decorate (hot cookies and royal icing do not mix!).

The Icing & Decorating

Whisk the base: Using an electric hand mixer, whisk the egg white and lemon juice together in a small bowl until frothy.

Thicken into icing: Gradually add the icing sugar, beating continuously until smooth and glossy. If the icing feels too runny to hold its shape in a piping bag, add a little extra icing sugar until it reaches a thick, pipeable consistency.

Wrap your mummies: Transfer the royal icing to a piping bag (or a small ziplock bag with the very tip snipped off). Pipe zig-zagging “bandages” back and forth across the body and head of each cookie, leaving a small gap for the face. Press two pearl balls into the icing for spooky little eyes!

How to store:

At room temperature: Store your decorated cookies in an airtight container with layers of baking paper in between them for up to 4–5 days.

Freezing: You can freeze the baked, undecorated chocolate cookies for up to a month. Thaw completely at room temperature before whipping up a fresh batch of royal icing to decorate!

Happy Baking!

I can’t wait to see your sweet and spooky treats. Don’t forget to tag me in your photos. I love seeing what you’re creating in your kitchens!

More Halloween Recipes

HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATE MUMMY COOKIES

Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Spooky-cute chocolate sugar cookies dressed up in sweet royal icing bandages for a fun Halloween treat!

Ingredients

Cookies:
115g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
⅔ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
¼ cup cornflour
½ cup cocoa powder
1¼ to 2 cups plain flour
Icing & Decorating
1 egg white
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1½ cups icing sugar
Pearl balls (for the eyes)

Method

Using a hand mixer or bench mixer, beat together the cold butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and creamy.
Add in the egg and mix until just combined.
Mix in the cornflour, cocoa powder, and 1¼ cups of plain flour.
Continue adding extra flour a little at a time until the ingredients form a cohesive dough ball that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.
Prep for baking: Preheat your oven to 160°C and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper until it’s about 1cm thick.
Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out your shapes, transferring them to the prepared baking trays with a little space between each.
Bake for 9–12 minutes, or until the cookies look dry on the surface, feel firm around the edges, and are set in the centre.
Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking trays before attempting to decorate.
Using an electric hand mixer, whisk the egg white and lemon juice together in a small bowl until frothy. Gradually add the icing sugar, beating continuously until smooth, glossy, and pipeable.
Transfer icing to a piping bag (or a small ziplock bag with the tip snipped). Pipe zig-zag “bandages” back and forth across each cookie, leaving a small gap for the face, and press two pearl balls into the icing for eyes!

Notes

Em’s Pro Tip: Don’t worry about being too neat! Imperfect, criss-crossing lines actually make the mummies look much more charming and authentically wrapped.
How to Store: At room temperature: Store your decorated cookies in an airtight container with layers of baking paper in between them for up to 4–5 days.
Freezing: You can freeze the baked, undecorated chocolate cookies for up to a month. Thaw completely at room temperature before whipping up a fresh batch of royal icing to decorate!
Change it up: If you want bite-sized treats for a party platter, use a smaller gingerbread cutter and reduce the bake time to around 6–8 minutes.

About Em

Hi, I’m Em. A self-taught baker, sweet tooth, and the creator behind Em’s Sweet Life. I believe baking doesn’t need to be complicated to be delicious.

Here you’ll find easy, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, a few shortcuts, and a whole lot of heart.

What started as a weekend hobby has turned into my happy place. A space to share the treats I love baking for family and friends.

Whether it’s a last-minute dessert, a nostalgic classic, or something new to impress at your next gathering, my goal is to help you feel confident (and calm!) in the kitchen.

Grab a cup of tea, preheat your oven, and let’s bake something sweet together.

YouTube Videos

Want to hang out in the kitchen with me? If you’re a visual learner (or just like watching butter and sugar come together), I’ve filmed step-by-step videos for all my favourite recipes! You can find the full tutorials over on my YouTube channel now. Let’s bake something delicious together!