Dark Chocolate Halloween M&M Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Dark Chocolate Halloween M&M Cookies

Dark Chocolate Halloween M&M Cookies are festive and so quick and easy to whip up! Add them to the list of things you make in October to celebrate all month long.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: -30 cookies

Author: Melissa Griffiths

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Halloween M&M candies (1, 12 ounce bag)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
In a medium mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
Beat to combine and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until very light and fluffy, another 1 minute.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and mix until well combined.
Stir in 1 cup of the M&M candies and reserve the other half.
Refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes. This will help the cookies not spread as much while baking and will make the soft dough easier to work with.
Put a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough on the lined baking sheet (feel free to roll the dough in your hands to create a round ball if not using a cookie scoop).
Place the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Lightly press a few M&M candies on top of each piece of cookie dough. (The candies are hard to see in the dark dough so placing them on top makes the cookies cuter.)
Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes (9 minutes was perfect for me). The edges will look set and the centers will still be slightly glossy.
Let the cookies rest of on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Store cookies covered in an air-tight container for up to 3 days or freeze up to 6 months for longer storage.

Notes

Be sure to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It is less bitter and a bit darker in color than traditional cocoa powder. You can use traditional cocoa powder; however, your cookies will be a bit more brown.
If you want your cookies even darker in color, look for dark cocoa powder like Hershey’s Special Dark blend.
If you skip the chilling time your cookies will just spread more and get flat, they still taste great. Add 3 tablespoons of flour if you don’t have time to chill the dough.
This recipe is really flexible. You can stir in any of the following: Semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter chips, candy corn, chopped leftover Halloween candy bars.

Nutrition

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