What’s great about these Halloween cookies (also known as monster cookies) is the recipe makes a lot, perfect for a party or to share with friends. You can easily freeze half the cookie dough too and save the batter to bake another day. Simply scoop 1-2 tablespoons of the batter into balls and freeze in an airtight freezer bag. You’re in for a treat with these chewy oatmeal cookies!
I love making simple, quick Halloween treats that adults and kids can both enjoy! These cookies are for peanut butter lovers who love and enjoy a salty bite! A few years ago I made a similar recipe – Spooky Halloween Bark, but thought it would be fun to make the cookie version too! Another simple Halloween recipe is making Chocolate Pudding Graves. You could make a spooky buffet with all of these treats to share at your next Halloween party!
Ingredients
It can be tempting to load up these easy Halloween cookies with lots of different types of candy but I find once you add more than 2-3 types of candy the flavours get lost and the cookies become a sugary overload. The Reese’s pieces and the oats are truly the heroes in the cookies; crunchy peanut butter and hearty chewy oats are in every bite! Then the pretzels add that salty note to top them off. You’re going to love baking these chewy oatmeal cookies with a Halloween flair!
- Reese’s Pieces (or mini Reese’s pieces)
- Salted pretzels
- Old fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda
- Eggs
- Salt
- Pure vanilla extract
Halloween Tips for the Perfect Cookies
- Fold the broken pretzels into the batter using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If you try and use the electric mixer it will break the pretzels into tiny pieces and crumbs, resulting in a drier cookie. It’s best to do this step by hand.
- Make sure to lightly flatten the balls of dough before baking. This will help to ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Always add a few Reese’s Pieces and pretzels to the top of the cookies before baking. This will give you a professional bakery-style cookie.
- Avoid using quick oats (or quick cooking oats). You want to use old-fashioned oats for the best texture for your oatmeal Reese’s cookies.
- Don’t overcrowd your baking sheet with cookies. You want to leave lots of extra space for even baking.
- Don’t overbake these cookies! They will firm up once they are cooled. The trick is to take the cookies out of the oven just before the middle is set. Take them out of the oven and let them continue to bake on the cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes before removing.
- The bottom of the cookies should be lightly golden brown. Remember they will be soft right out of the oven but will firm up once cooled.
- Bang the pan on the counter a few times once you take the cookies out of the oven for flat even cookies.
How to Make Halloween Reese’s Pieces Oatmeal Cookies
Step One: Prep your ingredients. Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix together. Break pretzels into large pieces, add to a separate bowl and set aside.
Step Two: Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs and vanilla. Add your dry ingredients, mix well and then add the Reese’s Pieces. Fold the pretzels into the batter. Using a cookie scoop, scoop or roll approx. 2 tablespoons of the batter onto a cookie sheet (leave lots of room for the cookies to spread out and bake evenly).
Step Three: Bake cookies in a preheated oven at 350ËšF for 8-10 minutes.
Halloween Reese’s Pieces Oatmeal Cookies
These Halloween Reese’s Pieces oatmeal cookies are super fun, easy and dare I say delicious! 😉 Every bite has a crunchy peanut flavour from the Reese’s pieces and is chewy, oaty and salty (from the pretzels). You’re going to love making these cookies for a spooky day ahead (and the recipe makes a lot)!
- Prep Time: 12 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 38 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups Reese’s Pieces, plus extra for topping cookies
- 1 1/2 cups salted pretzels, plus extra for topping cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ËšF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Break pretzels into large pieces and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well incorporated. Mix in vanilla.
- In a medium sized bowl add flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two additions and beat until the dough comes together.
- Add Reese’s Pieces and mix to combine. Add broken pretzels in two-three additions and using a spatula fold the pretzels into the batter.
- Scoop or roll the dough into balls approx. 1-2 tablespoons in size and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Space each ball 2 inches apart (be careful not to overcrowd the cookies). Lightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand. Add 2-3 Reese’s Pieces on the top of each cookie and a few broken pieces of pretzels.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to lightly brown. You want the middle to be a little underdone. Bang the cookie sheet on the counter a few times to flatten the cookies. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes to continue to bake. They will firm up as the cookies cool.
Notes
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Or freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 162
- Sugar: 10.9g
- Sodium: 86mg
- Fat: 7.2g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 21.9g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3.3g
- Cholesterol: 22mg
FAQ’s
You can easily freeze cookie dough to bake another day. Simply scoop 1-2 tablespoons of the batter into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place the sheet into the freezer and freeze for approx. 1 hour. Then transfer the cookie dough balls into an airtight container or a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. For best results defrost cookies at room temperature before baking.
Oatmeal cookies are done baking once the bottoms are lightly browned and the middle of the cookie is just slightly underdone. Let the cookies sit on the hot baking pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. The cookies will firm up once cooled.
Whatever type of cookie you are making always add a few extra bits to the tops of the cookies before baking. ie. for chocolate chip cookies, make sure to add extra chocolate chips to the top of the cookie dough balls before baking. This will give you a professional bakery-style cookie.
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