• Prepare the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
• Make the dough. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until a dough forms. Do not overmix.
• Roll and cut. Divide the dough into 2-3 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into desired Halloween shapes.
• Bake. Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden.
• Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Decorate the Cookies

• Prepare the icing. Make the Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe and divide it into bowls. Tint each portion with food coloring as desired. Transfer the icing to piping bags fitted with small round tips.
• Outline. Pipe an outline around each completely cooled cookie using the appropriate color for your design. Let the outline set for about 30 seconds.
• Fill. Pipe the outlined area filling with icing. Use a toothpick or butter knife to gently spread the icing into any small gaps.
• Add details. Once the base icing begins to set, pipe faces, lines, wings, pumpkin details, and other decorations as desired.
• Set. Allow the icing to dry completely before serving or storing the cookies.