Tricks for making and decorating Halloween treats

To make an icing to paint cookies: sift 2 cups confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Using a teaspoon, begin adding water 1 teaspoon at a time. You should need less than 2 tablespoons total. The icing should have a slightly runny consistency.

To make orange icing: In a small bowl, combine 1 drop yellow food coloring with 1 drop red food coloring. Using the end of a skewer, mix the two colors. Still using the skewer, drop orange into the icing and stir it with a spoon. Continue adding orange color from the skewer until the icing is the color you want.

To make an instant decorating tip: Pack the icing into a small zipper bag. Gather the zipper end of the bag in your hand. One of the corners will become your decorating tip. Working over a plate, snip off a tiny piece of one corner to decorate cookies.

Cookie cutters in bat, cat, and ghost shapes cost 49 cents at Sur La Table, The Mall at Chestnut Hill, 199 Boylston St., 617-244-0213 or surlatable.com. The store also sells sprinkles and all the other baking items you'll need, including baking sheets and parchment paper.

Halloween-shaped cutters are 59 cents at China Fair, 2100 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 617-864-3050 or 70 Needham St., Newton Highlands, 617-332-1250 or chinafairinc.com. China Fair also has baking equipment, decorating tips, and colored sugars for sprinkling. For packing cookies as gifts, the shops carry tins for $2.25 to $2.49 in gold or silver colors, and Chinese carryout containers in bright colors. -- S. J.