Easy Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 145 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted ); 1/3 cup granulated sugar ((67 g)); 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar ((100 g)); 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled (186g)); 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips; 1/2-3/4 cup halloween sprinkles; candy eyes (optional)

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These easy Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookies have 10 minute prep time and use sprinkles and candy eyes for a deliciously fun and simple halloween treat.

holding a halloween chocolate chip cookies.

Aren’t these Halloween Chocolate Cookies cute? They’re such a fun and simple way to jazz up your normal chocolate chip cookies for Halloween.

But unlike these two-day brown butter chocolate chip cookies or Jacque Torres chocolate chip cookies, these spooky cookies are super easy to make. Seriously, the prep time is less than 10 minutes, making them a fun and easy way to celebrate the spooky season.

They’re perfect for Hallowen parties, Halloween bake sales, gifting, or a quick and easy Halloween snack to have around the house.

Why you’ll love them:

Easy: this recipe has a 10 minute prep time, uses only one bowl, and because the recipe uses melted butter, you can mix by hand- no hand held or standing mixer required!
Delicious: These cookies are everything a chocolate chip cookies should be. They’re sweet, crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside.
Fun: Why have regular cookies when you can have Halloween cookies with candy eyes and sprinkles! Theses are such a fun and festive way to celebrate the spooky season.

Ingredients

Brown Sugar: The recipe uses light brown sugar, but you can substitute dark brown sugar in a pinch.
Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter, but you can substitute salted butter by cutting the added salt to ¼ tsp.
Chocolate Chips: You can use your favorite chocolate chips here. Semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate, white chocolate. Even chopped up chocolate bars or chocolate chunks will work great, as will Halloween M&Ms for a Halloween M&M cookie.
Candy Eyes: these are the star of the show. You can use small candy eyes, large one, or these fun blood shot candy eyes.
Halloween Sprinkles: I love these orange and black jimmies but you can use your favorite Halloween sprinkles.

How To Make

Mix Butter and Sugar: Add the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to bowl and mix until combined. You can use a standing mixer, a hand held mixer, or mix by hand. Mix until it is smooth and combined.

Add Wet Ingredients: Then add in the vanilla, and egg and continue mixing until combined.

Add Dry Ingredients: Turn off the mixer and add in the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. If using an electric mixer, mix on low until it starts to combine. Then turn up the speed and mix another 15-30 seconds until it is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to make sure everything is incorporated. Do not over-mix the batter.

Add Chocolate Chips and Sprinkles: Then, using a spatula or large spoon gently fold in the Halloween sprinkles and chocolate chips.

Step 2: Chill Dough

Pre-scoop Dough: Once the dough is mixed, place 2 tablespoon balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment. An ice cream scoop works great for this.You don’t have to worry how far apart they are as we are chilling the cookie dough, not baking it.

Cover and Chill: Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1.5 to 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. Alternatively you can simply chill the entire bowl of cookie dough, but it makes it a little harder to scoop out into balls to bake once it has been chilled so I prefer to scoop it in advance.

placing cookie dough on tray for chilling.

Step 3: Bake Cookies

Bake: After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350℉. Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, making sure they are about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are golden.

Add Candy Eyes: Once the cookies are done immediately remove from the oven and if using candy eyes, immediately place them onto the cookies while they are still hot from the oven. Let cool and enjoy!

baking halloween chocolate chip cookies.

Tips and Tricks

Measure out the flour using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour it can pack down and you will add too much flour to the recipe.
Try using an ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies!
You can use your favorite chocolate chips, chopped chocolate bars, Halloween M&Ms, etc.
Add the candy eyes immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, while they are still hot. If you wait to long, they won’t stay in the cookies.
Be sure to chill the dough for at least 1.5-2 hours. You can also make and chill the dough up to 24 hours in advance.

Fun Halloween Cookie Variations

Spider Halloween Cookies: When the cookies are hot from the oven, use a toothpick to gently drag out the chocolate from the melted chocolate chips to look like spider legs! You can also use a pastry bag filled with melted chocolate to achieve the same look.
Oreo Halloween Cookies: Replace the chocolate chips with chopped up Oreo Cookies.
Chocolate Chip Halloween Cookies with Nuts: Fold in ¾ cup of your favorite chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, peanuts, or almonds, into the cookie dough along with the chocolate chips.

FAQ

Why did my cookies spread/why are they greasy?

Because this is a super simple Halloween cookie recipe that uses melted butter, it’s important to chill the dough. If it’s not cold enough, the cookies can spread too much and/or get a bit greasy (but they’ll still taste delicious).

Can I use a different cookie recipe?

Sure! I love this particular cookie recipe because it’s so simple, but you can turn any cookie, such as an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, double chocolate chip cookies, or pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, into a Halloween themed chocolate chip cookie by adding Halloween sprinkles and candy eyes.

Can I freeze these cookies?

Yes, these Halloween cookies are super freezer friendly! You can either the freeze the dough baked or unbaked and they’ll last 2-3 month in the freezer tightly wrapped in an airtight container. Let the baked cookies defrost and room temperature before eating. And, you can bake the dough frozen by added about 5 extra minutes in the oven.

STORING AND MAKING AHEAD

These chocolate chip Halloween cookies will last about 3-5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookies (either baked or unbaked) for 2-3 months.

The unbaked dough can be made up to a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator (making them perfect for a make-ahead dessert).

And, the individual balls of unbaked dough can also be frozen up to a month or two. You can bake the dough frozen, just add a few extra minutes of baking time.