Witch Hat Halloween Cookies are a festive and tasty addition to your Halloween festivities! A fun Halloween twist on my Peanut Butter Blossoms, these peanut butter cookies are rolled in sugar or sprinkles, baked and topped with a hug or a kiss!
Looking for more Halloween treats? Make sure to try my Pumpkin Popcorn Balls and Black Widow Brownie Bites!
What happens when you turn my Peanut Butter Blossoms purple and add some fun Halloween sprinkles? Only the cutest Halloween Cookies ever! These Witch Hat Halloween Cookies are so fun for parties and are sure to add a festive flair to any event this Halloween season. I love purple for Halloween but you could also make these cookies green or orange, it’s really your choice.
Halloween Fun for the Family
I love involving my kids when we’re making treats for the holidays and Halloween is no exception. These cookies are so simple to make and take hardly any time at all. They are the perfect way to get your kids in the kitchen with you for some baking fun.
What You’ll Need
These cookies use mostly pantry ingredients but you’ll likely need to purchase the gel food coloring, sanding sugar or sprinkles and the Hershey’s Hugs or Kisses. You can find the full, printable recipe below, with the amounts needed of each ingredients. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need:
- all-purpose flour – make sure to spoon and level for an accurate measurement.
- cornstarch – keeps the cookies soft and chewy, one of my favorite secret ingredients that I use in my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- baking soda and baking powder – the leavening agents in this recipe.
- salt – for flavor.
- unsalted butter – make sure the butter is at room temperature but not so soft that it’s mushy.
- peanut butter – the star of this cookie recipe! Use creamy peanut butter for best results.
- granulated sugar – for flavor and sweetness.
- egg – best results with a room temperature egg.
- vanilla extract – a must for amazing cookie flavor!
- purple or violet gel food coloring – or any other color you like. Keep in mind that the peanut butter is brown so you want to go with a very saturated color for this recipe.
- purple sanding sugar or Halloween sprinkles – before baking, the cookies will be rolled in the sugar or sprinkles.
- Hershey’s Kisses or Hugs – I like to have these unwrapped and ready to go before the cookies come out of the oven so I can get them pressed into the cookies quickly.
How To Make Witch Hat Cookies
I’ve streamlined the instructions here to give you a rough idea of the steps involved in making these cookies. You can find the full, printable instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. Let’s take a look:
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Cream butter and sugar.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and then the peanut butter.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Stir in violet or purple gel food coloring to the dough.
- Cover and chill the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line baking sheets.
- Roll cookie balls in sanding sugar or sprinkles.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Gently press a hug or a kiss into the center of each cookie.
- Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack.
Trish’s Tips and Tricks
If using sprinkles, go for small sprinkles because they can be tricky to get them to stick to the dough. The sanding sugar is much easier to work with. Here is the purple sanding sugar I used but you can easily find some at the store.
FAQs
Storage Information
How should I store the cookies after baking? These Halloween cookies can be made several days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. I notice a distinct decline in texture after that period of time. You can also prepare the cookie dough and chill it for up to 48 hours before using. Let it sit out for a good 30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
Can you freeze these cookies?
To freeze baked cookies: Make sure the cookies have cooled completely (the kisses or hugs need to be hard and solid). Place cookies in a freezer safe, airtight container in layers separated by parchment or wax paper. Cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months.
To freeze cookie dough: Scoop the cookie dough and roll into balls – but not the sugar! Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and flash freeze for about 30 to 60 minutes. Transfer frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer safe bag. When you’re ready to bake, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then proceed with the recipe or bake from frozen, simply add a minute or two to the cooking time. Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can this recipe be doubled? Not only can it be doubled, it can be halved as well.
Can I use natural peanut butter in this recipe? To be safe, I would recommend using regular peanut butter. But, in all fairness, I make these cookies almost exclusively with Skippy Naturals, creamy of course, and I think the peanut butter flavor is better than with the regular creamy peanut butter. Use your favorite brand of peanut butter but don’t use any natural peanut butter unless it is Skippy Naturals.
More Halloween Treats
Looking for more fun and festive treats for Halloween? Here are a few of our favorites:
- Spiral Slice and Bake Halloween Cookies
- Black Widow Brownie Bites
- Halloween Popcorn Balls
- Candy Corn Popcorn Munch
- Candy Corn Fudge
- Easy Pumpkin Patties
- Pumpkin Brownies
How To Make Halloween Cookies
Witch Hat Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- purple gel food coloring
- 30 Hugs or chocolate kisses carefully unwrapped
Sugar Coating
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch and salt together. Set aside.1 ½ cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the peanut butter to the mixture and mix until combined, again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined.
- Add violet or purple gel food coloring to the dough until you reach the color you're looking for. Make sure you are thoroughly incorporating the food color with the dough before adding more.purple gel food coloring
- Cover and chill the dough for 2 hour or overnight. (If chilling overnight, you may need to let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or so until the dough softens enough that it can be scooped.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets (half sheets) with silicone baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.
- Place colored sugar or sprinkles (whichever you are using) in a small bowl.Halloween sprinkles or purple sanding sugar
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and roll into a ball with the palms of your hands. Roll the ball in the sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to puff up and show small cracks. The cookies should not brown at all. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
- Gently press a hug or a kiss into the center of each cookie.30 Hugs or chocolate kisses
- Place the cookie sheet directly into the freezer for 10 minutes to prevent the chocolate from melting. Remove from freezer and transfer to a wire cooling rack while you bake the rest of the cookies.
Notes
Tools Needed
- Sheet Pans: I use a half sheet pan for baking.
- Silicone Baking Mat
- Small Cookie Scoop
Alice says
HI,
Can I just freeze the 30 Hugs or chocolate kisses prior to placing them on the cookies?
I don’t have that kind of room the freezer.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Absolutely! That’s a great idea Alice!