Halloween is just around the corner, so here are some of my favorite festive Halloween desserts! These recipes use mostly boxed mixes or store-bought staples, so you can make something festive even if you’re short on time!
We love having people over, and Halloween is a big deal in our neighborhood. The problem is that Halloween always sneaks up on me! One minute it’s September, the next minute friends are coming over, and I haven’t thought about dessert.
Here’s my rule for holidays: I try not to go crazy with sugar most of the year, but on Halloween I’m not the one standing between a six-year-old and a cauldron brownie. So I don’t aim for impressive. I also aim for festive, fast, and good enough that the grown-ups eat it too. This year, we’re having some neighbors over and my six year old is dressing up as Falcon!
Every recipe below is one I’d actually make on Halloween. I’ve sorted them by how much time you have, so start at the top if you’re really in a pinch.
If You Have 15 Minutes and No Oven
These are the real emergency desserts. No baking, barely any cleanup, and kids can help with every single one.
Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies
Nutter Butters, white candy melts, candy eyes. Dip, add eyes, let them set. That’s the whole recipe. This is the one I hand to the kids because there’s no oven and the “mistakes” still look like ghosts. If you make one thing on this list, make this. Get the recipe.
Candy-Coated Pretzel Pumpkins
Three ingredients, about 15 minutes, and you’ve got a bowl of salty-sweet little pumpkins. These disappear faster than anything else on the table, and they keep for days, so if you have five spare minutes tonight, do these now and cross dessert off the list. Make a double batch. I’m serious. Get the recipe.
Healthy Pudding Dirt Cups
Here’s my one slightly-less-sugar move for the night. The pudding is avocado, cocoa powder, maple syrup and a pinch of salt blended until smooth, and it tastes like chocolate pudding. Nobody has ever noticed. Top with cookie crumbs and gummy worms and it’s a dirt cup. Blender, spoon, done. Get the recipe.
S’mores Dip
Okay, this one technically uses heat, but it’s three ingredients and a few minutes in the oven, microwave, or air fryer. Chocolate chips, marshmallows, graham crackers for dipping. To make it Halloween, press candy eyes onto a few of the marshmallows before they go in, or toss orange and black sprinkles on top the second it comes out. Everyone crowds around one skillet, which is exactly the vibe. Get the recipe.
If You Have 30 Minutes and a Boxed Mix
The oven does the work here. You stir, you scoop, you add eyes or sprinkles. Boxed brownie mix is doing most of the heavy lifting in this section and I’m not sorry about it.
Brownie Mix Cookies
A box of brownie mix, 1/2 cup of oil, one egg, and a handful of chocolate chips. Seven minutes in the oven. Fifteen minutes start to finish. Swap the chocolate chips for Halloween M&M’s, or press candy eyes into the tops right when they come out, and they’re monster cookies. These are the ones I make when I realize people are coming in 45 minutes. Get the recipe.
3 Ingredient Nutella Brownies
Eggs, Nutella, cocoa powder. No flour, no butter, nothing to melt on the stove. They’re dense and fudgy and the batter takes about five minutes. Not spooky on their own, so stick a few candy eyes on top while they’re still warm, or sprinkle on crushed Oreos for a “dirt” look. Get the recipe.
Easy Halloween Cookies with Sprinkles
Soft, chewy sugar cookies absolutely loaded with Halloween sprinkles. No cutting, no icing, no candy eyes to place. Scoop, bake, done. These are what I send to the class party because they survive a backpack. Get the recipe.
Witch’s Brew Cauldron Brownies
Brownie bites turned into tiny bubbling cauldrons. Boxed mix again, and the green “brew” on top is the part kids lose their minds over. These take a little more decorating than the cookies above, but it’s the fun kind, and it’s the one our six-year-old asks for by name. Get the recipe.
If You Have an Hour and Want to Show Off a Little
Still easy. These just have a second step, or a few minutes of decorating, and they’re worth it when you want one thing on the table that gets a reaction.
Candy Corn Cookie Brownie Bars
A chocolate chip cookie layer, a brownie layer, and candy corn on top. It’s a brookie in a Halloween costume. Two batters, but both are the easy kind, and one pan feeds a crowd. If your house is split between brownie people and cookie people (ours is), this settles it. Cut them small. Get the recipe.
Haunted Tree Halloween Pizookie
One giant cookie baked in a skillet, decorated like a spooky tree, served warm with spoons straight from the pan. No portioning, no plates. It comes out of the oven while everyone’s already in the kitchen, which is the best kind of dessert. Add ice cream. Obviously. Get the recipe.
Mummy Shortbread Cookies
Buttery shortbread with a little cinnamon and nutmeg, zigzagged with white chocolate so they look like bandages, candy eyes peeking out. This is the “fancy” one on the list and it’s still just cookies plus a drizzle. The shortbread is good enough that the grown-ups will eat these too, which isn’t always true of Halloween cookies. Get the recipe.
How to Make Anything Look Like Halloween in 2 Minutes
If you’re reading this at 4pm on the 31st with a box of brownie mix and nothing else, here’s the cheat sheet:
- Candy eyes. Buy the big jar. Brownies, cookies, a bowl of popcorn, a scoop of ice cream. Eyes on it, done. They’re the fastest costume in the kitchen.
- Orange and black sprinkles. Any cookie or brownie becomes a Halloween cookie or brownie. Add them before baking so they stick.
- Crushed Oreos. Instant “dirt.” Pile it on pudding, brownies, or ice cream and add a gummy worm.
- Candy melts over real chocolate for dipping. They set fast and hard, they don’t streak, and kids can handle them.
- Let the kids decorate. It won’t look like the photo. That’s the point!
More Easy Recipes for Fall
If you’re already thinking past Halloween, these Friendsgiving potluck recipes all travel well, and these 5-ingredient desserts are my shortcuts any time of year. For the morning after (sugar crash, anyone?), start with these muffins and quick breads.
Happy Halloween! If you make any of these, tag me on Instagram at @passmeaspoon. I want to see the candy eyes.
