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Made with black cocoa powder and orange M&Ms, these Halloween Cookies are a quick and easy dessert. Ready in under 30 minutes with less than 10 ingredients, these are ideal for any Halloween celebration.
I can’t get enough of these Halloween cookies. They begin with a simple chocolate cookie dough base, which is enhanced by black cocoa powdered, and then topped with LOTS of orange M&Ms. The end result is a festive black and orange cookie that’s perfect for Halloween, without being over-the-top.
These Halloween M&M cookies are soft and chewy, which I love in pretty much any cookie, and the fact that there’s no need to chill the dough or any complicated steps makes them a win in my book. They will definitely be on the table at upcoming Halloween festivities along with these easy witch hat cookies.
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Halloween Cookies
If you’re looking for easy Halloween party food, I can’t recommend these cookies enough. Here’s why.
- Quick and easy. From start to finish, you’re looking at less than 30 minutes to make these Halloween cookies.
- Less than 10 ingredients. You’ll need just a few ingredients to make these cookies and most of them are pantry staples like flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Rich, chocolate flavor. The best part of these cookies is, hands-down, the chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder and M&Ms.
What You Need
These Halloween M&M cookies are made with just 9 ingredients, most of which are likely already in your pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for measurements.
- All-purpose flour
- Black cocoa powder – See notes below.
- Baking soda – Help the cookies rise.
- Salt – Enhances the sweetness.
- Unsalted butter – Softened but not melted or the cookies will spread too much.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar adds a richer sweetness that pairs well with the cocoa powder.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Orange M&Ms – Adds the Halloween twist.
Black Cocoa Powder vs Regular Cocoa Powder
This recipe calls for black cocoa powder. The cocoa powder is what gives these cookies an intense, dark, almost black-like color. If you don’t have black cocoa powder, you can use natural unsweetened cocoa powder but the cookies won’t be black in appearance. You could add black gel food coloring to help produce a darker, black color.
How to Make Halloween Cookies
These easy chocolate Halloween cookies require less than 30 minutes, from start to finish.
Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars on low.
Add the remaining ingredients. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients, mixing by hand or on low until combined.
Form the dough balls. Drop dough balls on the baking sheet with a cookie scoop. Press the M&Ms onto the outside of the balls.
Bake. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Add more M&Ms if desired to fill in gaps.
Cool. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Tips & Variations
Ready to make these easy Halloween cookies? Here are a few helpful tips, plus some fun variations.
Don’t overmix the dough. After you add the dry ingredients, mix just until everything is combined.
Press the M&Ms into the dough. Make sure to gently press the M&Ms into the dough so that they stick and don’t fall off.
Bake one sheet at a time. For perfectly baked cookies, it’s important to bake just one cookie sheet at a time. I like to have a few that I can rotate through, so there’s always one baking while the other is cooling.
Use different M&M colors. While I used orange M&Ms for Halloween, green and purple would also be fun.
Mix in some chocolate chips. For an extra chocolatey twist, stir in some chocolate or dark chocolate chips into the cookie dough.
Enjoy warm. While these cookies are obviously fantastic at room temperature, they are the absolute best when enjoyed warm with a glass of milk.
How to Store
Leftover Halloween M&M cookies can be stored at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. Just keep them in a tightly sealed container.
Can I Freeze Halloween M&M Cookies?
Yes, these Halloween cookies can be frozen. Allow them to cool completely then transfer them to a ziploc bag or other freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw on the counter and enjoy.
More Halloween Treats
- Spider Cupcakes
- Oreo Spiders
- Witch Hat Cookies
- Melted Witch Pudding Parfaits
- Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
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Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup black cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened, 1/2 cup
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Orange M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together with a mixer on low.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract, mix again on low. Gently add in the dry ingredients, mixing on low or by hand just until combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop dough balls on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. Press orange M&Ms on the outside of the balls – more is better!
- Place the cookies 3 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes. If you have bare spots on your cookies with no M&Ms you can add more now by gently pressing them into the cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Bake one cookie sheet at a time.
I love these cookies! I made this for my students for a Halloween treat and they loved them! The recipe doesn’t lie these are so easy and festive!Â