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View CartSkull Sugar Cookie Recipe for Day of the Dead
On Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), “the living honor the dead by visiting their grave sites, building altars in their honor and preparing their favorite foods in order to encourage them to visit the terrestrial world,” says Lola Dweck. Lola learned to cook Mexican dishes from the matriarchs of her family growing up, long before she earned a master’s degree in Latin American Studies. “While the idea of celebrating death might strike a morbid chord for some people, for us it's a way to celebrate the lives of our deceased loved ones and honor their memories through food, music, photos and festive altars,” she says.
Lola shares her appreciation for Mexican culture on Lola’s Mercadito, where she sells Mexican foods and crafts, and on Lola’s Cocina, her blog packed with recipes like this one for Day of the Dead cookies with orange blossom and marigold.
PREP:
20 minutes
BAKE:
8-15 minutes
YIELD:
20-24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange blossom water
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted + more for dusting
- Pressed Marigold petals, for garnishing
- Powdered sugar, for garnishing (optional)
Directions
- In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the sugar, butter and salt on medium speed until they are light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla extract, orange blossom water and orange zest and mix until they are just incorporated. Add the flour a little bit at a time, mixing just to incorporate it (no need to over-mix it).
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough by hand to ensure that flour is fully incorporated. Roll the dough two equal balls, then flatten them slightly into round discs. Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it is completely firm, for at least 45 minutes or overnight if time permits.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough until it is about ¼” thick. Using a skull-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Re-roll any excess dough and continue cutting out cookies, repeating the process until there is no dough left. Repeat this step with the other piece of dough. Scatter the marigold petals evenly over the cookies and very lightly roll the rolling pin over them to press them into the dough.
- Place the cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer for at least 45 minutes. If you are making the cookies in advance, move them to an air-tight container and freeze them until you're ready to bake them.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. On the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, bake the cookies for 8–15 minutes, until the edges are very lightly browned. Dust powdered sugar over the cookies, if desired. Enjoy them warm or gift them to your loved ones!