Ready to bake up a batch of the most monstrously fun, colorful, and completely irresistible cookies for your next Halloween celebration? These incredible, “kitchen sink” style Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies are the ultimate festive treat! We’re talking a soft, chewy, and buttery oatmeal cookie, absolutely loaded with Halloween M&Ms, chocolate chips, and spooky sprinkles, and staring back at you with a whole party of googly candy eyeballs.
This isn’t just another cookie recipe; it’s a guide to your new favorite Halloween tradition. We’ll show you the simple but crucial secrets to the perfect, soft and chewy oatmeal cookie, and how to get your kids involved in the fun and festive decorating. These are a guaranteed, crowd-pleasing hit that is as fun to make as they are to eat, and they’re perfect for a Halloween party, a bake sale, or a special after-school treat.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Fun & Festive Halloween Cookie
What makes these Halloween Cookies so spectacularly fun is their incredible, colorful appearance and their classic, crowd-pleasing flavor. This recipe is a masterpiece of festive creativity. The cookie itself is a super-soft and chewy, from-scratch oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, made extra moist and flavorful with a high ratio of brown sugar. The dough is then loaded with a festive, “monster mash” of Halloween-themed goodies: candy-coated chocolates, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a colorful array of sprinkles. The final, adorable touch is a couple of spooky candy eyeballs pressed right on top, which brings these cute little monsters to life as they bake.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 1 hour |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | About 1.5 dozen large cookies |
The Spooky Bakeshop: The Essential Ingredients
This iconic party treat uses a handful of high-quality pantry staples and fun, festive add-ins to create its signature spooky look and delicious flavor.
- The Perfect Oatmeal Cookie Base:
- Room Temperature Ingredients: It is crucial that both your butter and your eggs are at room temperature. This is the secret that allows them to emulsify properly with the sugar to create a smooth, uniform dough that will bake up with the perfect, chewy texture.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: For the best, most satisfyingly chewy texture, it is essential to use old-fashioned rolled oats, not the quick-cooking or instant kind.
- Brown Sugar: Using more brown sugar than white sugar is a key secret to a wonderfully moist, soft, and chewy cookie.
- The Halloween “Monster Mash” Mix-ins:
- The Candies & Sprinkles: A fun and festive combination of candy-coated chocolates (like M&Ms®) in Halloween colors, classic semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a vibrant mix of Halloween-colored sprinkles and nonpareils is the key to the “kitchen sink” style and the beautiful, colorful appearance.
- Candy Eyeballs: These are the secret to the fun, spooky “monster” look! You can find them in the baking aisle of most grocery stores, especially around Halloween.
The Baking Masterclass: The Secret to a Perfect Cookie
This recipe uses a few simple but crucial techniques that guarantee a flawless, delicious result.
- Creaming the Butter and Sugar: Beating the softened butter and sugars together until they are “light and fluffy” is not just about mixing; it’s about aeration. The sharp sugar crystals cut into the butter, creating thousands of tiny air pockets. This is the primary way a cookie gets its lift and its perfect, chewy-yet-tender texture.
- Don’t Overmix the Flour: The number one secret to a tender, not tough, cookie is to mix in your dry ingredients on a low speed, and only until the last streaks of flour have disappeared.
- Chill the Dough (if needed): The recipe cleverly has you refrigerate the remaining dough while the first batch bakes. Chilling cookie dough solidifies the fat, which is the key that prevents your cookies from spreading out too much and becoming thin and crispy.
Step-by-Step to the Best Halloween Monster Cookies
This fun and festive project is a joy to prepare.
Part 1: Make the Oatmeal Cookie Dough
Step 1: First, position your oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, stir together the 2 cups of all-purpose flour, the 1 teaspoon of baking powder, the 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the 2 sticks of room temperature butter, the 1 cup of packed light brown sugar, and the 3/4 cup of granulated sugar on a medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Step 4: Add the 2 large, room temperature eggs and the 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and beat well to combine.
Step 5: Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, beating until it is just combined.
Step 6: On a low speed, mix in the 1 1/2 cups of old-fashioned oats, the 1 cup of candy-coated chocolates, the 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, half of your sprinkles (about 1/2 cup), and the 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, if you are using them. Mix just until they are combined.
Part 2: Decorate and Bake to Chewy Perfection
Step 1: Spread your remaining 1/2 cup of sprinkles in a small, shallow bowl. Step 2: Use a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop to portion the dough. Roll each portion into a ball and then flatten it slightly with the palm of your hand. Step 3 (The Fun Part!): Press the top of each dough ball into the bowl of sprinkles to coat it generously. Step 4: Place 6 of the dough balls on each of your prepared baking sheets. Gently press 2 or 3 candy eyeballs onto each dough ball. Pro Tip: Be sure to refrigerate your remaining dough while the first batch of cookies bakes! Step 5: Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the edges of the cookies are crisp and golden brown.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before you transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Halloween Monster Cookies (A Spooky Treat!)
A festive and fun recipe for large, bakery-style Halloween chocolate chip cookies. This dish features a classic brown sugar and butter cookie dough that is loaded with old-fashioned oats, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a mix of green, purple, and orange candy-coated chocolates. For a spooky, decorative touch, the balls of dough are pressed into a bowl of Halloween-colored sprinkles and adorned with two candy eyeballs before being baked until the edges are crisp and golden.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup mixed green, purple and orange candy-coated chocolates (e.g., M&Ms)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup mixed Halloween sprinkles and nonpareils
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 48 candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well to combine.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
- Stir in the oats, candy-coated chocolates, chocolate chips, half of the sprinkles, and the optional pecans on low speed for about 30 seconds.
- Shape and Decorate: Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of sprinkles in a small, shallow bowl.
- Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, scoop the dough, roll it into a ball, and flatten it slightly. Press the top of the dough ball into the sprinkles to coat.
- Place 6 balls of dough on each prepared baking sheet. Gently press 2 candy eyeballs onto each dough ball. Refrigerate the remaining dough while the first batch bakes.
- Bake: Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are crisp and golden.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Notes
- This recipe makes large, bakery-style cookies by using a 1/4-cup scoop for each one.
- Chilling the remaining dough while the first batches bake is an important step that helps the cookies from spreading too much.
- Rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time ensures that the cookies bake evenly.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
These Halloween Monster Cookies are a perfect make-ahead party treat!
- Make-Ahead: The unbaked cookie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator. The unbaked, rolled dough balls can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Storage: Store the finished, baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the absolute, number one secret to a truly soft and chewy oatmeal cookie?
The secret is to use a high ratio of brown sugar to white sugar and to use old-fashioned rolled oats. The molasses in the brown sugar adds a huge amount of moisture, which is the key to a chewy texture. The large, whole rolled oats provide that classic, hearty chew that you can’t get from quick oats.
Q2: How do I keep my cookies from spreading too much and becoming flat?
The most important secret is to chill your dough. As this recipe cleverly directs, keeping your dough cold (especially the second batch) before it goes into a hot oven is the key that will solidify the butter. This prevents the butter from melting too quickly, which is what causes cookies to spread out and become thin and crispy instead of thick and chewy.
Q3: Can I make these Halloween cookies ahead of time for a party?
Yes, these are a perfect make-ahead cookie! The best method is to freeze the unbaked balls of cookie dough. You can portion and decorate them completely (with the sprinkles and the eyeballs), and then freeze them solid on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe, resealable bag. You can then bake them directly from frozen, just be sure to add a few extra minutes to the total baking time.
Q4: Can I make this recipe without a stand mixer?
Of course! You can easily make the cookie dough in a large bowl with a good electric hand mixer, or even by hand with a wooden spoon and a little bit of elbow grease.
Q5: Can I make these with a different kind of cookie base?
Yes, absolutely! This fun, “kitchen sink” style of mix-ins and decorations would also be fantastic in your favorite classic chocolate chip cookie dough or even a simple sugar cookie dough.