Chocolate Chip M&M’s Halloween Cookies — Super soft, perfectly chewy, BROWNED BUTTER cookies that are LOADED with M&M’s and chocolate chips!! An EASY one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that’ll put everyone in the Halloween spirit!!
Easy Halloween Cookie Recipe
Last fall I made a batch of browned butter cookies that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind. For over a year. They were that good. So I remade them as M&M’s chocolate chip cookies with a Halloween twist. They’re perfect for Halloween parties and will put everyone in festive spirits.
The nutty, rich flavor of the browned butter is divine. I love making browned butter cookies not only for the incredible taste, but also because I don’t have to drag out my mixer and can stir everything together by hand in one bowl. Because you’re starting with melted rather than creamed butter, these Halloween cookies are wonderfully chewy while cornstarch keeps them soft for days.
They’re loaded with orange and black M&M’s and chocolate chips. The crispy shells of the M&Ms are a wonderful contrast to the soft, chewy dough and melted chocolate chips.
I made the cookies far in advance of Halloween and had to go to a specialty candy store in my area to source the orange and black M&M’s, but as Halloween approaches M&M’s in seasonal colors are easy to find in most stores.
What’s in These Halloween Cookies?
For this browned butter cookie recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- M&M’s
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Halloween Cookies
To make this Halloween cookie recipe, you’ll first need to brown the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Then, combine the melted butter with the egg, sugars, and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients then gently fold in the M&M’s and chocolate chips.
Scoop the Halloween cookie dough into balls and refrigerate for at least four hours. Once the dough has chilled, bake the cookies until the edges have set. They may not look fully done on top, but that’s okay! The residual heat inside the cookies will finish cooking them.
Can I Freeze Halloween Cookies?
These Halloween cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired. If baking straight from freezer with frozen dough, you don’t have to thaw it. Bake straight from freezer, possibly adding 1 to 2 minutes to baking time if necessary.
Do I Have to Brown the Butter?
Technically no, but I highly recommend doing so! Browning butter takes maybe 5 minutes to complete and it adds the most incredible, rich flavor to these Halloween cookies.
Tips for Making Halloween Cookies
Because the butter is melted rather than creamed, the dough may seem oily yet crumbly which sounds paradoxical but it’s possible. The M&M’s and chocolate chips tend to slide out of the raw dough mounds but just keep pushing them in.
It’s mandatory that the dough be chilled for at least 4 hours, or overnight, before baking. There are no exceptions or the cookies will bake flat, thin, and spread like crazy. Don’t overbake them because they taste better a bit underbaked.
Definitely bookmark this Halloween cookie recipe for later since it’s easy to change it up for any holiday! For Thanksgiving, you can also use orange and brown M&M’s, red and green M&M’s will work for Christmas, and so on.
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Chocolate Chip M&M's Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, browned
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ cup orange M&Ms, plus more for topping each cookie
- ½ cup black or dark brown M&Ms, plus more for topping each cookie*
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping each cookie
Instructions
- Brown the butter by cooking butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan until it’s amber to brown in color, about 5 minutes depending on pan size. I swirl the pan in the last minute or so to make sure I can really see the color changes. Butter will go through stages of hissing, sputtering, and making noise until the water cooks off at which point the browning occurs. Butter will smell nutty and aromatic.
- Pour butter into a large mixing bowl, making sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan with a spatula and transfer any browned bits (they have wonderful flavor) from the bottom of pan into the mixing bowl. Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it.
- Add the egg, sugars, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add flour, cornstarch (keeps cookies soft) baking soda, salt, and stir to combine. Dough may seem crumbly yet oily, this is okay.
- Add the orange and black M&Ms, chocolate chips, and stir to combine.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, or your hands, form approximately 16 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten about halfway.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray.
- Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I use a half-sheet pan and bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 10 1/2 to 12 1/2 minutes (if your cookies are smaller than mine, reduce baking time) or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Halloween Desserts:
Candy Corn and White Chocolate Chip Softbatch Cookies – A must make, at least once a year!
Candy Corn and White Chocolate Blondies — Wondering what to do with your candy corn? Bake it into soft, easy blondies! Best.Use.Ever.
Loaded Halloween Cream Cheese Brownies – Ultra fudgy, rich brownies topped with a layer of orange cream cheese, sandwich cookies, and chocolate chips!! The perfect EASY Halloween treat that everyone will love!!
Candy Corn White Chocolate M&M’s Blondies — Fast, easy, one-bowl no mixer recipe! So butter and delish!
Lofthouse Soft Sugar Sprinkles Cookies — The texture of these cookies is similar to Lofthouse-Style sugar cookies. They’re buttery soft and light, without being airy or cakey.
Loaded Peanut Butter Cookie Pie — The cookie pie is slightly crisp around the edges and buttery soft and chewy in the center. There’s lots of texture from the sprinkles, the crunchy Reese’s Pieces shells, and it’s exploding with bigtime peanut butter flavor.
Malted Milk and Whoppers Chocolate Chip Cookies — The buttery soft, tender, creamy cookie dough that’s studded with big chunks of crispy Whoppers is so addictively good.
Originally published October 2017 with updated text October 2019.