Halloween Cookie Cake
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Turn any cookie cake into a Halloween spectacle with simple frosting ghosts. This recipe features chocolate chips and festive sprinkles.
YOU WILL LOVE THIS FESTIVE COOKIE CAKE
If you need a Halloween treat this year, you are going to love this festive cookie cake! A variation of my beloved reader favorite giant chocolate chip cookie cake recipe, this delicious Halloween cookie cake is not only easy to make but it’s also so fun to decorate.
I piped little ghosts with a simple buttercream and topped it all off with Halloween themed sprinkles, but you can get creative with your Halloween touch. A simple combination of orange and black sprinkles would also be a great option.
This Halloween cookie cake is “Halloween” themed thanks to the sprinkles and the ghosts. But, you don’t need to pipe ghosts if you don’t want to. Pipe whatever you would like! Make it more complicated with little mummies or a spider web, or simply apply a layer of buttercream frosting and sprinkle the Halloween sprinkles for a more basic approach.
Even more simply, add some orange food coloring to the white buttercream for a festive border. You could also use black frosting for an intricate spider web or cute little spiders. There are no rules when it comes to this festive treat. Your Halloween party dessert table will be poppin’ no matter what!
USE ANY COOKIE CAKE RECIPE FOR THE BASE
While the recipe card below features my favorite chocolate chip cookie cake as the base, you can really use any giant cookie recipe that fits in a 9″ pan for this Halloween treat. If you’re interested in a different base, consider my snickerdoodle cookie cake, pumpkin cookie cake, peanut butter cookie cake, funfetti sugar cookie cake, or even my Nutella cookie cake!
MY BEST COOKIE CAKE TIP
I always bake my cookie cakes in a springform pan so that it is easy to remove, but you can use an 8″ pie pan or a 9″ cake pan, and line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
HALLOWEEN COOKIE CAKE INGREDIENTS
If you are even an occasional baker, you likely have all of the ingredients necessary to make this cookie cake. Feel free to change up the add-ins based on what your personal preferences are or what you have on hand (looking at you, Halloween m&m and extra candy from that Target impulse buy).
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CAKE BASE
The base for this Halloween cookie cake is adapted from my basic chocolate chip cookies recipe.
For the chocolate chip cookie base, you will need:
• all-purpose flour
• cornstarch
• baking soda
• salt
• unsalted butter
• brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• egg & egg yolk
• vanilla extract
• chocolate chips
• orange sprinkles
BUTTERCREAM GHOSTS
I use my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting for these adorable ghosts, but feel free to use cream cheese frosting or even store-bought if you don’t want to make it from scratch (though I encourage you to!).
For the vanilla buttercream, you will need:
• unsalted butter
• powdered sugar
• vanilla extract
• milk or cream
• salt
• candy eyes
• Halloween sprinkles
HOW TO MAKE HALLOWEEN COOKIE CAKE
My favorite part about this recipe is that it calls for melted butter, so you don’t have to wait for any ingredients come to room temperature (at least for the cookie cake base). You will need room temperature butter for the buttercream, but you can set that out while the cookie cake bakes.
MAKE THE COOKIE CAKE
STEP #1
Start by combining the dry ingredients by whisking together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt and set this mixture aside.
STEP #2
Next, whisk together the melted butter and both sugars until smooth. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until completely combined.
STEP #3
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until no flour lumps remain, then fold in the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared pan, bake, and allow to cool completely before adding buttercream ghosts.
MAKE THE HOMEMADE FROSTING
STEP #4
First, beat the butter on medium-high until it is smooth, which will take about about 2 minutes.
STEP #5
Reduce the mixer to low, then slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until everything is combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
STEP #6
Slowly add the milk or cream, watching for and stopping at desired consistency. Add the salt, then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until completely smooth.
MY BEST BUTTERCREAM TIP FOR SMOOTH FROSTING
In order to remove the air bubbles from your frosting to insure it produces smooth piped designs, turn off the mixer and use a spatula to slowly stir the buttercream by hand. By stirring it and pressing it up against the sides of the bowl, you can keep it smooth and creamy. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes, but can take longer, especially if your mixer is very strong.
PIPE FROSTING GHOSTS AND ADD HALLOWEEN SPRINKLES
Remove the cooled cookie cake from the springform pan and place it on serving platter before decorating. Fill a pastry bag with the frosting and pipe ghosts onto the inside border on top of the cookie cake and add two candy eyeballs per ghost. If using, add sprinkles before the frosting sets.
And here’s the thing: you don’t have to make ghosts. Pre-made black icing is a fun way to add a spider web or little spiders, and orange icing can make a bold “Halloween” statement without much piping detail. Feel free to use different colors, too. Purple and lime green are traditional Halloween colors, too!
MORE HALLOWEEN FAVORITES
For my entire Halloween food collection, visit all of my Halloween recipes.
Halloween Cookie Cake Recipe
Ingredients
COOKIE CAKE
- 2 and ¼ cup (270g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 2 teaspoons (5g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (171g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup (200g) firmly packed brown sugar light or dark
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170g) chocolate chips1
- ⅓ cup (33g) orange sprinkles
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM GHOSTS
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons (30-45mL) milk or cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- candy eyes
- Halloween sprinkles optional
Instructions
COOKIE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (170ºC). Spray a 9" springform pan2 with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until completely combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until no flour lumps remain. Fold in the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 23-25 minutes until edges begin to brown. You may cover the cake with foil to prevent browning, if preferred. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack completely before decorating with frosting.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM GHOSTS
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the the butter on medium-high until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the mixer to low, then slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until everything is combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Slowly add the milk or cream, watching for and stopping at desired consistency. Add the salt, then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until completely smooth.
- If after beating, the frosting is too stiff, add more cream. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar, about 2 Tablespoons at a time.
- Turn off the mixer and use a spatula to stir the buttercream by hand to remove air bubbles and make it smooth and creamy. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes, but can take longer, especially if your mixer is very strong.
- Remove cooled cookie cake from springform pan and place on serving platter. Fill a piping bag with the frosting and pipe ghosts onto cookie cake. Add two candy eyeballs per ghost. You can also decorate this Halloween cookie cake however you desire! If using, add sprinkles before frosting sets. Store leftovers covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days. Undecorated cookie cake may be frozen, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before decorating.
Notes
- Chocolate chips: I prefer ½ milk and ½ semi-sweet chips, but realistically, you can put any kind of chips you like in this cookie cake.
- Springform pan: alternatively, you may use a 9″ pie plate or a 8″ or 9″ round or square baking pan.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Very easy and tastes great!!! Kids will have fun making these !
Thanks so much, Tema!
So easy and looks amazing. Tastes so much better than the store bought cake, too! I made it for our Haunted Mansion movie night.
Thanks, Nicole! My husband and I “pre-watched” that last weekend to see if it would be ok for our kids– we loved it but I think our kids would never sleep again if they saw it. A few more years for that one, haha!
This Halloween cookie cake is the cutest! The little ghosts on top are my daughters favorite and I can’t wait to make this again on Halloween night 🙂
Yes, so fun! Thank you!
I did a trial run of this recipe because my husband has a Halloween birthday and I thought it would be perfect instead of cake. We all loved it! I will add the buttercream ghosts for his birthday. I wanted something to be a surprise.
I love that!! Thanks for trusting my recipe!
Thank you so much!
This is the cutest Halloween treat. I had a ball making it with my Granddaughter. I wasn’t as pretty as this one but we had a great time.
Pretty or not, it all tastes the same 🙂 thanks, Jules!
LOVE this cookie cake! Made to test it for a party we’re going to next week, so cute, can’t wait to make it again! Oh and not only cute, but so good too!
Thank you, Kathleen!
This is the MOST yummy cookie cake, and we love those cute vanilla buttercream ghosts on top! A really creative Halloween dessert!
You’re so welcome! Thanks for giving it a try!