Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies
Need a fun cookie for Halloween? Short on time and want a simple decorated cookie that tastes great AND will wow your guests? Look no further, I have you covered.
This is my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe with a Halloween twist that is easy, delicious, and takes minutes to decorate. I will give you all my tips and tricks to create these fun spooky cookies at home.
I have added Halloween sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, a Halloween candy surprise middle, candy eyes and puffed marshmallows for easy decoration options. This chocolate chip cookie uses vanilla pudding mix, does not need to be refrigerated and is as close to a soft baked bakery style cookie you can get. Did I mention how easy it is to put together? I was able to make a double batch of these cookies, bake, and decorate with a one year old and four year old in the background. Pretty dang easy!
Why I Love This Recipe
Flavor-This is a classic chocolate chip pudding cookie. A brown sugar cookie dough is flavored with vanilla and filled with chocolate chips. The addition of mini chocolate chips guarantees every single bite is filled with chocolate. I added an assortment of Halloween candy: Twix, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, and Hershey’s dark chocolate which make an incredibly easy and fool proof ingredient to stuff cookie dough. The candy surprise center also adds a layer of milk chocolate to the semisweet chocolate mini chips in the dough. The soft marshmallow topper, should you choose to use it for decoration, is melted and delicious on top of the crisp cookie. Melted marshmallow, an overindulgence of chocolate and a soft brown sugar cookie dough create a wonderful tasting cookie.
Texture- This recipe is my go to for all holiday occasions and the texture is a big reason why. A crunchy exterior on the cookie, a soft doughy center and a melted chocolate candy surprise offer great contrasting textures. The vanilla pudding used in the dough create a soft baked texture in the cookie that will stay soft for days after baking.The sprinkles that are added to the dough also provide a soft crunch and the soft gooey marshmallow topper is reminiscent of a smore cookie. Especially with the hersherys dark chocolate candy filling. Perfect for a chilly October night.
Sharing is Caring- I portioned these out with my 3-ounce cookie scoop to have a cookie big enough for most to enjoy while still having plenty to share. These cookies are dressed up and ready to go to any Halloween party or gathering you have this month. The toppings are simple and are sure to wow your guests. I mean, who can say no to spooky fun cookies? If they can, they are party poopers. Yeah, I said it.
Accommodating- These cookies can be gussied up or down depending on how much time you want to spend on them. Just adding Halloween sprinkles to the cookie dough is festive enough in my opinion. The recipe is very accommodating to any preferences in candy fillings, which is why I used an assortment of bite sized chocolates. You can also leave the chocolate candy fillings out of the dough if you are short on time. The marshmallow topping is a simple large marshmallow that is added to the tops of the cookie dough a few minutes before the cookies are done. The heat from the oven will slightly puff them up and melt them creating a perfect round white topping with minimal effort. The marshmallow can be left as is on top of the cookies or decorated with silly faces as I have done. The candy eyes are another easy decoration to adorn the cookies and they are also inexpensive. The candy knives, axes, and cleavers I had purchased on a whim, and they finally made their debut to decorate these cookies. You can use all, some, or none of the decorations because in the end this is a ridiculously delicious chocolate chip cookie as is. All the decorations placed on top are just a fun bonus.
Ingredients You Need
-Butter-
-Granulated & brown sugar
-Eggs and one egg yolk
-Vanilla pudding- I used an instant vanilla pudding mix. If you would rather leave it out or don’t have any in your pantry, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.
-Vanilla extract
-Flour
-Baking Soda & Baking Powder
-Salt-for cookie dough. I use kosher salt.
-Chocolate chips- I used min chocolate chips in this recipe. They create tiny pockets of semisweet chocolate throughout the cookie ensuring every single bite has a nice balance of dough and chocolate.
-Bite sized chocolate candies-This recipe makes 18 cookies when scooped with a 3-ounce cookie scoop so you will need 18 pieces of candy. I used an assortment of chocolates; please use whichever varieties you prefer.
-Candy Eyes- I found these at my local Target.
-Sprinkles- any color combination will do. I used a Halloween sprinkle mix that included white, black, green, and purple sprinkles.
-Large Marshmallows-18 of them if you want to decorate all of the cookies with marshmallow.
-Extra chocolate chips- I used the extra chocolate chips to secure the candy eyes on the tops of the cookies. I also melted some in a bag to decorate eyes and a mouth on top of the marshmallow.
Let’s Make Cookies
I am not creating anything new here, I’ll be honest with you. I first made pudding cookies many years ago when I first discovered Pinterest and its plethora of amazing blog recipes. I wish I could credit who I first got the recipe from but now you can type in ‘pudding cookies’ and get literally hundreds of results. Adding pudding mix to cookies is an easy way to make delicious soft cookies and has been a secret ingredient of many bakers throughout the years. What I will share with you is how I make my version of this popular cookie and why I make them a little different now than when I first started.
I start with room temperature butter and both types of sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. I cream these together on medium high until it is light and creamy. This usually takes around 3-5 minutes.
Next up, adding in the eggs and additional egg yolk. I will scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to make sure it is mixing in evenly. I beat the eggs, butter, and sugar mixture on medium high for 5 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will help the cookies stay thick after baking since the dough has air whipped into it.
I add in the vanilla extract then get my dry ingredients sifted. With the mixer on low, add the flour and mix until just combined. Over mixing will flatten out all the air we just mixed and make your cookies tough.
I opted for a full bag of mini semisweet chocolate chips by Godiva to add to the dough as well as a full cup of sprinkles. Mix these on low for a few turns then remove bowl and paddle to mix by hand. I focus on the bottom of the bowl, folding the dough up and over on itself to make sure the chocolate and sprinkles are mixed well in the dough.
You can scoop and bake these cookies as is or proceed to the next step, stuffing the cookies with bite sized candy.
How to Stuff Cookies
I take a 3-ounce cookie scoop and scoop out a full scoop of dough. I make a well in the center of the dough that is inside the cookie scoop and place an unwrapped bite size piece of chocolate in the center.
With a pinching motion I pinch the dough closed on top of the candy, sealing it inside the dough. I take the scoop and release the stuffed dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
I bake these cookies at 375*F for 8-10 minutes. I know the cookies are done when the tops and edges are golden brown. If your cookies still look wet on top continue to bake in 2-minute increments.
These cookies will dome slightly while baking and you will know they are ready when the edges start to turn a golden brown. They may look slightly pale when you take them out of the oven, but they will set up and bake from the residual heat coming off the cookie sheet. This is the reason why I leave these cookies to set up on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Let’s Decorate!
Ok, now the for the fun part, the decorations! If you are using the marshmallows on the tops, place one large marshmallow on top of each cookie and place back in the hot oven to allow the marshmallow to puff up and melt slightly.
You can also add the marshmallows to the tops a few minutes before they are done baking. They don’t take long to melt, it took about a minute or two in my oven.
If you notice the marshmallow slide to one side or melt a little crooked, gently push the marshmallow toward the center of the cookie with a spatula.
Melt a tablespoon of chocolate chips in a sandwich bag in the microwave for 30 seconds or until melted. Cut the tip off and use to draw eyes and mouth on top of the marshmallows. Add any other Halloween candy decorations you have. I used Wilton candy knives, cleavers, and axes on top of the marshmallows. The marshmallows are very sticky and hold onto the decorations very well, making it suitable for packaging and transporting.
If using the candy eyes on top, I recommend placing chocolate chips wherever you want to place the candy eyes. Place the chocolate chips on warm cookies fresh from the oven as the chocolate will melt from the residual heat of the cookie and act as a glue for the candy eyes to stick to. This will ensure your candy eyes stay put during packaging if you are traveling to a party with them.
I arranged the chocolate chips over the tops of the warm cookies then placed the candy eyes on top of the chocolate for a spooky and fun finishing touch.
You can eat these cookies warm, room temperature, or cold, they are good any way you like. The pudding keeps them soft and pudgy, and the chocolate chips stay soft as well. These are great for storing in a cookie jar since they stay soft and fresh for so long.
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter unsalted, room temperature.
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 pckg Instant vanilla pudding mix 3.40 ounce box
- 2 tspns vanilla extract
- 1 tspn baking soda
- ½ tspn salt
- 2½ cups flour
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup sprinkles
Cookie Decorations
- 18 large marshmallows
- candy eyes
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- Halloween candy decorations (knives, axes, cleavers)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375*F
- In a mixer, add room temperature butter and both sugars. Mix on medium high until creamy.
- Scrape down sides of bowl then add in eggs and egg yolk.
- Mix on medium high for 5 minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract and salt, mix to combine.
- Sift flour and baking soda in a bowl, then add to the mixer on low speed along with the package of vanilla pudding. Mix until the dough just comes together.
- Add in chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mix for a few turns until combined. Do not overmix.
- Remove bowl from mixer and remove the paddle attachment. Mix the dough with a spatula to make sure the bottom is mixed well and the chocolate chips are distributed evenly.
- If stuffing cookies with candy chocolates, remove the wrappers from the chocolates. Scoop out a portion of cookie dough using a 3-ounce cookie scoop.
- Place the chocolate into the center of the cookie dough, pinch the dough closed and release onto a baking tray. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake one batch at a time for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Marshmallow Decorations
- If using marshmallows, place a marshmallow on top of the cookie when the cookies are done baking.
- Place the marshmallow topped cookie back in the hot oven for a minute or two until the marshmallow is slightly puffed.
- Remove from the oven and melt a tablespoon of chocolate chips in a sandwich bag in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Use the bag of melted chocolate chips to decorate a face on top of the marshmallow.
- Add additional candy decorations to the marshmallows if desired.
Candy Eyes Decorations
- While the cookies are still hot from the oven, place chocolate chips wherever you would like to place candy eyes.
- After the chocolate chips have been added and have melted slightly, place the candy eyes on top of the melted chocolate chips.
- Add additional candy decorations on top of the cookies if desired.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before packaging them up.
- Enjoy and Happy Halloween!
