Description
Delightfully festive and fun, these Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies feature soft pumpkin-colored dough encasing creamy milk chocolate centers. Perfect for Halloween celebrations, they combine warm pumpkin pie spices with sweet chocolate and are decorated with charming spooky faces, making them irresistible treats for kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Orange gel food coloring, as needed
Filling
- 20–24 milk chocolate squares or discs (such as chocolate melts or chocolate chunks)
For Decoration
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or melted dark chocolate (for eyes and mouths)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream the softened unsalted butter with granulated sugar and light brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract thoroughly until fully incorporated.
- Combine Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until a cohesive dough forms. Add orange gel food coloring a little at a time until the dough achieves a deep, vibrant pumpkin color.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two equal portions, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Dough: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of dough to about 1/4-inch thickness.
- Cut Shapes and Faces: Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies. For half of these cookies, cut out jack-o’-lantern faces using a small sharp knife or mini cutters to create eyes and mouths.
- Assemble Stuffed Cookies: Place the uncut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. On each one, place a milk chocolate square or disc. Gently top with a face-cut cookie and press the edges lightly together to seal the chocolate inside.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the assembled cookies for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn golden brown.
- Cool and Decorate: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, use mini chocolate chips or melted dark chocolate to enhance facial features by piping eyes and mouths if desired.
Notes
- For crispier cookies, bake 1-2 minutes longer, watching carefully to avoid burning.
- Try substituting dark or white chocolate for the milk chocolate filling to experiment with flavors.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days to keep them fresh.
- These cookies freeze well; reheat in the microwave for a few seconds to soften the chocolate filling before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed cookie
- Calories: 260
- Sugar: 19g
- Sodium: 70mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
