My chocolate Reese's Pieces Halloween cookies are so delicious and perfectly festive with their orange and black color theme! The candy eyeballs add a fun and spooky twist to these totally tasty dark chocolate cookies! They are soft and chewy with tons of rich, chocolatey flavor to enjoy!
Easy Reese's Halloween Cookies
Fall is just around the corner, and that means it's totally acceptable to start all my fun Halloween baking (at least, I'm saying it is). These dark chocolate cookies are a real treat with their rich, chocolatey flavor, soft and chewy texture, and lots of Reese's Pieces candies! Oh, and don't forget the spooky candy eyeballs!
Jump to:
If you enjoy baking fun and spooky Halloween treats as much as I do, be sure to check out my full collection of Halloween cookie recipes!
🥘 Chocolate Reese's Pieces Halloween Cookies Ingredients
If you do any baking whatsoever, you likely keep most of these ingredients on hand. I usually have to make a special trip for the mini Reese's Pieces and candy eyeballs (which are always easy to find on the baking aisle)!
- Butter - ½ cup of unsalted butter softened at room temperature or a butter substitute.
- Sugar - ¾ cup of granulated sugar (plus more for rolling the cookie dough balls in before baking, if desired).
- Light Brown Sugar - ¼ cup of packed light brown sugar or dark brown sugar. You can also try a light brown sugar substitute.
- Egg - 1 large room-temperature egg or an egg substitute.
- Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or a vanilla extract substitute.
- Dark Cocoa Powder - ½ cup of unsweetened dark cocoa powder (or use Dutch-processed cocoa powder).
- Espresso Powder (optional) - ½ tablespoon of espresso powder to enhance the rich chocolate flavor.
- Cornstarch - 1 teaspoon of cornstarch or a suitable cornstarch substitute.
- Baking Soda - ½ teaspoon of baking soda or a baking soda substitute.
- Salt - ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- All-Purpose Flour - 1 ¼ cup of all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled). You can try an all-purpose flour substitute, though it may affect your cookies' texture.
- Mini Reese's Pieces - 1 cup Mini Reese’s Pieces (divided - reserve an additional 1-2 tablespoons for placing on top of the baked cookies).
- Candy Eyeballs - 48 candy eyeballs (can use various sizes).
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Chocolate Reese's Pieces Halloween Cookies
If you're a regular at making cookies, these will be a breeze (if not, they'll still be a breeze if you just follow along step by step)! You are going to need a baking sheet, a stand mixer, your measuring utensils, and a silicone spatula.
This makes 18 standard-sized cookies. I like to keep half a dozen and gift the other dozen (or else I'd eat them all)!
Make The Cookie Dough
- Preheat. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or use silicone baking mats.
- Mix wet ingredients. Using your stand mixer, cream together ½ cup (113.5 grams) of butter, ¾ cup (150 grams) of sugar, and ¼ cup (55 grams) of light brown sugar at medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Then, add 1 large egg (50 grams) and 1 teaspoon (4.93 milliliters) of vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute.
- Mix in dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients (½ cup (43 grams) of unsweetened dark cocoa powder, ½ tablespoon (2.5 grams) of espresso powder (if using), 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, ½ teaspoon (2 grams) of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) of salt) and mix on low speed until smooth again. Add 1 ¼ cups (156.25 grams) of all-purpose flour and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the candy. Fold in the 1 cup (188 grams) of Mini Reese’s Pieces (reserving 2-3 tablespoons to place on top of your cookies) until they are evenly distributed in the cookie dough.
Bake The Cookies
- Portion the dough. Scoop the dough into portions that are 2 tablespoons each and roll them into a ball with your hands. Place them onto the baking sheet, leaving 3-4 inches of space in between each one.
- Bake. Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges have set and the cookies have puffed up.
- Top with more candy. Remove the cookies from the oven. Add the additional mini Reese’s pieces candies and 48 candy eyeballs (48 grams) on top of the just-baked cookies.
- Cool and serve. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
🎃 What To Serve With Halloween Cookies
Nothing beats warm dark chocolate cookies with a tall glass of milk! If you're looking to make a fun and festive dessert spread, serve these cookies alongside some Nutter Butter mummies or meringue ghosts. Enjoy!
💠Tips & Notes
- I found that the additional Reese's Pieces added to the tops of the cookies stick better if you place them on the cookie before baking. The Reese's won't melt in the oven (the candy eyeballs will), but the candy shell will split open. So, for picture-perfect cookies, you may want to wait until after they are baked- it's completely up to you!
- A small amount of espresso powder enhances the rich chocolate flavor of the cookies!
- Obviously, these cookies will be perfectly tasty and still Halloween-themed without the candy eyeballs. They make a cute and spooky addition that kids adore!
- An old kitchen hack that works is adding a slice of white bread to your container of cookies! The moisture from the bread (white bread has the most moisture) will keep your cookies from drying out.
>>>>See all of my recipes here<<<<
🥡 Storing
Your Halloween cookies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 1 week.
Freezing Reese's Pieces Cookies
Once your cookies have cooled off, you can place them in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze them for up to 6 weeks. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
See my post on freezing cookie dough if you'd like to freeze the unbaked dough!
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe Card
Chocolate Reese's Pieces Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (unsalted, softened, at room temperature)
- ¾ cup sugar (plus more for rolling if desired)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed, or use dark brown sugar)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (or use Dutch-processed cocoa powder)
- ½ tablespoon espresso powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 cup Mini Reese’s Pieces (divided - reserve an additional 1-2 tablespoons for placing on top of the baked cookies)
- 48 candy eyeballs (can use various sizes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or use silicone baking mats.
- Using your stand mixer, cream together ½ cup butter, ¾ cup sugar, and ¼ cup light brown sugar at medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Then, add 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients (½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder, ½ tablespoon espresso powder (if using), 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt) and mix on low speed until smooth again. Add 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the 1 cup Mini Reese’s Pieces (reserving 2-3 tablespoons to place on top of your cookies) until they are evenly distributed in the cookie dough.
- Scoop the dough into portions that are 2 tablespoons each and roll them into a ball with your hands. Place them onto the baking sheet, leaving 3-4 inches of space in between each one.
- Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges have set and the cookies have puffed up.
- Remove the cookies from the oven. Add the additional mini Reese’s pieces candies and 48 candy eyeballs on top of the just-baked cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- I found that the additional Reese's Pieces added to the tops of the cookies stick better if you place them on the cookie before baking. The Reese's won't melt in the oven (the candy eyeballs will), but the candy shell will split open. So, for picture-perfect cookies, you may want to wait until after they are baked- it's completely up to you!
- A small amount of espresso powder enhances the rich chocolatey flavor of the cookies!
- Obviously, these cookies will be perfectly tasty and still Halloween-themed without the candy eyeballs. They just make a cute and spooky addition that kids adore!
- An old kitchen hack that totally works is to add a slice of white bread to your container of cookies! The moisture from the bread (white bread has the most moisture) will keep your cookies from drying out.
- To store: Your Halloween cookies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 1 week.
- To freeze: Once your cookies have cooled off, you can place them in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze them for up to 6 weeks. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving. See my post on freezing cookie dough if you'd like to freeze the unbaked dough!
Comments
No Comments