Skeleton Scarecrow Cookies

Ingredients

3 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon(s) pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup(s) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
Wooden skewers
Black and purple food coloring ($1.99 each, wilton.com)
2 cup(s) Royal Frosting
Black and purple decorating sugars (optional)

Directions

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and blend. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just smooth. Divide dough into 2 discs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Brush wooden skewers with black food coloring, if desired.
Heat oven to 350°F. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Working on 1 dough disc at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shape with a scarecrow cookie cutter ($1.29 each, downtowndough.com). Transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheets. Insert tinted wooden skewers about 2 inches into the dough between the legs. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely.
Prepare Royal Frosting.
Divide Royal Frosting into 3 bowls. Tint one bowl black and one deep purple; leave one white. Transfer half of each color batch to separate pastry bags fitted with a plain number 1 tip. Thin the remaining frosting with a few teaspoons of water to the consistency of slightly whipped cream. Transfer each thinned color to separate resealable bags.
Outline each scarecrow in the desired colors with the thicker frostings. Snip a small corner from bags with the thinner frostings and fill in outlines. Allow cookies to dry at least 1 hour. Pipe other decorations on top of dried frosting with the thicker frosting. Add sugars, if desired. Let cookies dry completely, about 3 hours.