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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Easy Halloween Cookies

    Published: Sep 13, 2022 by Nicole · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    cookies and spiders on a cooling rack.

    This easy Halloween Cookies Recipe creates cookies that are festive, cute, fun, and most importantly: soft, chewy and delicious! Made with black cocoa, they taste a lot like OREOS and are decorated with Ghoul's Mix m&m's and candy eyeballs.

    Halloween cookies on a cooling rack.

    They are the perfect easy treat to take to a party or to just have fun with your kids! The black cocoa powder has a mellow chocolate flavor, so even though these are dark, the flavor is more like an OREO, and not like dark chocolate.

    This was inspired by our Halloween Bark which is also fun and easy. It would go great paired with our spooky Halloween Charcuterie Board or with our Oreo Cheesecake Cookies and Fall Maple Cookies. For more holiday cookies check out our New Year's Eve Cookies and our 4th of July Cookies.

    Be sure to check out our Halloween Strawberries, and Halloween Rice Krispies.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top tip
    • Recipe
    • FAQ

    Ingredients

    ingredients to make halloween cookies.
    • sugar
    • butter
    • eggs
    • vanilla
    • flour
    • black cocoa powder
    • salt
    • baking soda
    • baking powder
    • M&Ms ghoul's mix
    • candy eyeballs

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions

    creamed butter and sugar in a bowl.

    1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Using a bowl and hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on high for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

    creamed butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

    2. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on high for 1 more minute.

    black cookie dough made with black cocoa.

    3. Add black cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix on low just until combined. Mix in half of the M&Ms.

    black cookies with green and purple m and ms.

    4. Roll dough into dough balls, about 1 ½ inch in diameter. Press more m&m's and the candy eyeballs onto the tops and sides of dough balls. This enables the candies to be seen and to be more noticeable. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until tops are matte and edges are set.

    Hint: Don't get too much flour! Fluff up your flour and gently spoon it into your measuring cup, then scrape the flat side of a knife across the top of your measuring cup.

    Substitutions

    • regular cocoa powder - you can absolutely use regular cocoa powder! Substitute the regular cocoa powder 1:1. Then substitute the baking powder for baking soda. When adding the flour, start with 2 Tablespoons less, then add the rest if dough is too sticky.. We have found that regular cocoa powder is somehow drier.
    • dark chocolate- Black cocoa powder has a mellow chocolate taste.. It tastes a LOT like an OREO. For a dark chocolate flavor, we recommend adding in 2 Tablespoons of regular cocoa powder and 2 less Tablespoons flour.
    • dairy free- these can be made dairy free by substituting your favorite plant butter for the regular butter, then get another type of Halloween candy to replace the m & m's.

    Variations

    • Peanut Butter - use the Ghoul's Mix peanut butter m & m's (my personal favorite way to make them) instead of regular m & m's.
    • Thanksgiving/ Fall - use the substitution above for regular cocoa powder so they are brown, then use Reese's pieces.
    • Christmas/ other holidays - simply use the seasonal/ holiday m & m's mix for the holiday you want to make cookies for.
    • Crispy - for crispy cookies, wait for the tops to turn matte and the edges to set, then cook an additional 3 minutes.
    cookies with a skeleton hand grabbing them.

    Equipment

    • hand mixer OR
    • stand mixer
    • baking sheet
    • spatula

    Storage

    Store the Halloween cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 4-10 seconds to soften up.

    Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. We recommend freezing them within one hour of baking for best results when thawed.

    Top tip

    Don't mix all the m&m's in! Only mix in half. Make your dough balls, then press m&m's and candy eyeballs slightly into the dough on the tops and sides. Otherwise, it's harder to see the beautiful colors and especially the eyeballs.

    cookies with spiders and a snake skeleton.

    Recipe

    black cocoa cookies on a cooling rack.

    Halloween Cookies

    These easy Halloween Cookies are festive, cute, fun, and most importantly: soft, chewy and delicious!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Servings 30
    Calories/serving 184 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • ¾ cup butter, softened
    • 1 ½ cups sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
    • ⅔ cup black cocoa powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 10 oz Ghoul's Mix M&M's
    • .88 oz eyeball sprinkles

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350*F.
    • Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl on high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat one more minute.
    • Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and black cocoa powder and mix on low just until combined. Stir in half of the m&m's.
    • Form dough into balls and press the remaining m&m's and the candy eyeballs into the tops and sides of each dough ball. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. The tops should turn matte and the edges will be set. Allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
    • Enjoy!

    Notes

    Store in airtight containers at room temperature (4 days) or the freezer (2 months). We recommend freezing within one hour of baking for best results when thawing.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 184kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 112mgPotassium: 46mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 179IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was in the comments below
    Tag us on Instagram!We love seeing people make our recipes. Mention @simplyscrumptiouseats_

    FAQ

    How to Make Halloween Cookies

    Make yummy chocolate cookies using black cocoa powder, ghoul's mix m&m's and candy eyeballs! Check out our recipe!

    Spread the love

    More Cookie Recipes

    • Snickerdoodles without Cream of Tartar
    • New Years Eve Cookies
    • Crockpot Christmas Crack (Christmas Candy)
    • Fall Maple Cookies

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Nicole

      September 14, 2022 at 9:54 am

      5 stars
      Such great ideas for Halloween Cookies. These were so easy and so delicious.

      Reply
    2. Michelle

      October 08, 2022 at 3:20 pm

      5 stars
      These Halloween Cookies look so fun. I can’t wait to try them!

      Reply
    3. Nancy

      October 10, 2022 at 12:04 pm

      Question. There are 50 eyeballs in the .88 oz package. If you put 3 per cookie and the recipe makes 30 cookies, would you need to buy two packages?

      Reply
      • Nicole

        October 10, 2022 at 12:11 pm

        Yes! If you wanted 3 per cookie, you'd need 2 packages. I did a variety and put 1-4 on each cookie, and just used one package.

        Reply
    4. cc

      October 26, 2022 at 11:58 am

      My package of walton candy eyeballs .88 oz has a message on back of package:
      "shaped sprinkles not for baking"
      That message is also on my eyeball sprinkle mix from walmart.
      Are these sprinkles ok to add into the cookies before baking?
      Is there a different product that is suitable for baking? I could not find anything
      else. thanks

      Reply
      • Nicole

        October 26, 2022 at 1:20 pm

        Hi! So I used Wilton brand. I believe the risk is that they can't guarantee it will keep the same shape when it gets hot. Mine were fine, however if you wanted to, you just put them on top right when they come out of the oven.

        Reply
        • cc

          November 01, 2022 at 10:08 am

          thanks

          Reply
    5. Katie Hoyt

      November 13, 2022 at 3:06 pm

      5 stars
      These cookies are so good! Plus, you can change the M&M colors for different themes and eat these all year round, because they are too good to only have during October.

      Reply
      • Nicole

        November 14, 2022 at 9:48 am

        Thank you! We're so glad you enjoyed them!

        Reply

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    nicole and andrea

    Hi, we are Nicole and Andrea! As busy moms our favorite meals are easy, healthy and delicious. While we love eating nutritious meals, we also strongly believe in moderating them with yummy desserts! We love hiking, going to the beach and doing Spartans.

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