Vegan Halloween cookies

Soft, chewy, vegan Halloween cookies are the perfect treat. You make these cookies with cocoa powder, and they are ready in less than 20 minutes!

Halloween is THE time of year to go out and decorate cookies and cakes.

These vegan Halloween cookies are decorated with a spider web of melted white chocolate and are so easy you can make them even if you are not so great at it!

You could use a thick icing instead of melted chocolate or add some food coloring!

This recipe is ideal for making with kids!

Baking cookies is a great opportunity to teach kids fundamental skills like measuring, mixing, and following instructions. Plus, it's an enjoyable and delicious activity to do together..

Why you will love these vegan Halloween cookies

• Soft and chewy. These cookies are perfectly chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside!
• They are vegan. That means that everyone can enjoy them! Whether you choose not to eat animal products or when you have a dairy or egg allergy, you can still have these delicious chocolate cookies!
• The recipe is super easy to make. There is no need to chill or knead the dough!
• Easily adjustable. You can easily double or triple the recipe or add flavors like pumpkin spice or chopped nuts!
• The cookies are freezable. You can store the cookies in the freezer for up to six months!
• They are also gluten-free! Because we use oat flour, these cookies are gluten-free.

Ingredients

Oat flour - oat flour gives your cookies a subtle nutty flavor. Because oats don't contain gluten, these vegan Halloween cookies are also gluten-free!

You do need to check the label to see if the oat flour you're using is actually gluten-free. While the oats are, they might be contaminated during the process.

This recipe will also work with all-purpose flour or self-rising flour.

Cocoa powder - for the darkest cookies, I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa flour, but you can use any type you like as long as it's unsweetened.

Oat milk - for vegan cookie recipes, I like to use coconut or oat milk.

Make sure that the milk you use is unsweetened/unflavored or adjustable to the amount of sugar you add.

Chocolate - I added three types of chocolate to the recipe. Cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and white chocolate for decoration.

If you're a double chocolate cookie lover like me, you'll love the pockets of soft, dark chocolate in the cookies.

Make sure your chocolate is vegan, or use cocoa powder and leave out the chocolate chips.

Sugar - brown sugar adds color and a deep caramel flavor to the cookies that goes perfectly with the chocolate.

You can use granulated sugar or coconut flour sugar instead.

Salt - never skip the salt in a cookie recipe. It helps bring out all the flavors.

There is one exception to my rule, though. If you use salted butter, you should omit the salt because otherwise, the dough becomes too salty.

How to make this recipe

Start by creaming the butter with the sugar until it is light and fluffy. This can take about 3 minutes.

Next, add the milk and vanilla and mix until completely incorporated before you stir in the dry ingredients.

Add cocoa powder, oat flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir with a spatula until just combined.

The dough will be a little wet, but that's what will give you a soft and chewy cookie!

Mix in the chocolate chips and prepare a baking tray by covering it with parchment paper.

Form the dough into balls of 1 ½ tablespoons each, then gently flatten them before baking them for 10 minutes.

Make sure to allow the cookies to cool completely before adding melted white chocolate for decoration.

My tips for the perfect vegan cookies

Don't chill the dough. Most cookie recipes tell you to let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour or two, but you don't have to chill this recipe!

Because this cookie dough doesn't spread much, it is actually important to use the dough right after it's ready.

Measure your ingredients correctly. Whether you measure your ingredients on a kitchen scale or in cups, it is important you take your time to do it correctly.

Don't over-mix. You don't want any gluten in the dough, so stop mixing when all the ingredients are just combined.

Variations

Chocolate and orange. This is a classic combination. You can replace the coconut milk with orange juice or add finely chopped candied orange peel to the dough for chocolate orange cookies.

For the decoration, add a drop of orange food coloring to the melted chocolate or royal icing.

Fall spices. I love adding spices to my fall bakes, and these vegan Halloween cookies are no exception. Add one tablespoon of speculaas spices or pumpkin spice to the dough for the ultimate fall treat.

Add coffee. If you want to enhance the chocolate flavor, substitute the milk for coffee.

Nuts. Add a handful of chopped nuts to add a crunchy texture to the cookies. I recommend d using hazelnuts, walnuts, or pecan for these cookies.

Nutella - make flat disks and place a small scoop of Nutella in the center. Fold the dough over the Nutella and continue with the recipe!

Marshmellow - you can make the spiderweb with melted marshmallows Instead of white chocolate or substitute the dark chocolate chips for little pieces of marshmallow.

Add baking soda. I like my cookies to be crumbly, so I only add baking powder. If you want yours to fudge and spread out more, you can add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to the dry ingredients.

Equipment

To make these cookies, you will need a mixing bowl, measuring cups or a kitchen scale, parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and a spatula.

For the decorations, you will need sugar eyes, a piping bag with a small nozzle, and a heatproof bowl.

Storage

Freshly baked cookies stay good for up to five days as long as you store them at room temperature in an airtight container like a cookie jar.

These vegan Halloween cookies are also suitable for freezing.

Individually wrap them in plastic wrap before freezing, and take them out when you are ready to enjoy your cookies. They will last for about six months.

It is also possible to freeze the raw dough.

Take it out of the freezer the night before you are ready to bake the cookies, and let it thaw slowly in the fridge.

After quickly kneading the dough, proceed with the recipe as you normally would.

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