How to Make a Jack-O'-Lantern Cookie Platter

Written by Mike Tamplin • Oct 26, 2021

Take your cookie decorating to the next level!

Trace cookie designs with ease with the Akaso mini projector.

In the previous tutorial, we used the pumpkin platter cookie cutter to create a festive platter for Thanksgiving. This time around, let's make a platter for Halloween.

This jack-o'-lantern cookie platter design utilizes stencils to make the decorating process easier. The final look will impress your guests but with only half the effort.

Pumpkin Platter Cookie Cutter

This pumpkin platter cookie cutter set includes a pumpkin cutter and a center circle cutter. You can purchase cookie cutters together as a set, or as a single cutter without the center circle.

(This is the same circle cutter used in all my platter sets, like this Snowflake set, Spiral Platter, and Floral Wreath, etc.)

There are two sizes available. When arranged as a platter, as shown in the example picture, the platter measures:

LARGE- 12 inches in diameter.

SMALL- 9 inches in diameter.

For this tutorial, I'll be decorating the large size.

pumpkin platter cookie cutter set | Semi Sweet Designs

Template for the Jack-O'-Lantern Platter Cookie Set

If you don't have the jack-o'-lantern face stencil, don't fret. I made a PDF template of all of the pumpkin faces to help with the decorating process.

You can download PDF cookie templates HERE.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

For the colors used for these jack-o'-lantern cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

Dark Pumpkin royal icing (I mixed Americolor Orange with a touch of Warm Brown.)
Light Pumpkin icing (I mixed the pumpkin color above with more white icing.)
Dark Pink icing (I mixed Wilton Rose with a little Rainbow Dust Purple.)
Light Pink icing (I mixed the dark pink color above with more white icing.)
White piping and flood icing. (I used Americolor Bright White.)
Black medium (I used Americolor Super Black.)
Dark Brown icing (I used Americolor Chocolate Brown.)

Step 1

Begin by swiping thick-consistency black icing over the jack-o'-lantern face stencil onto the cookie. The stencil has an etched guideline to help align and center the face onto the cookie.

Let this icing set up for 15 minutes.

Step 2

Next, outline and fill around the black face sections with your pumpkin color.

Once that icing sets, fill in the top stem section with brown icing.

Step 3

Lastly, outline the edges of the pumpkin shape for added dimension.

Step 4

For the center circle cookie, I flooded the cookie with black icing and let it dry completely.

Then I airbrushed jack-o-lantern faces on top with pearl sheen airbrush color.

Step 5

Once the pearl sheen airbrush had time to dry, I stenciled "Trick or Treat" on top with white icing.

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together below.

Here's the final jack-o'-lantern cookie platter all assembled. To create this entire platter required 11 cookies-- 10 pumpkin cookies and 1 center circle cookie.

This is the large, 12" version. For the tray it's on, I like to use the 12" pizza pans from Dollar Tree. They are cheap and sturdy for transporting around.