Goblins, ghosts and ghouls are frightening enough on their own, but what’strulyspooky is heading intoHalloweenwithout a game plan for your sweet tooth. After all, it’s the one time of year when it’s totally acceptable to sneak treats from your kid’s candy stash and bake them into a cupcake recipe…right? To get in aspooky mood, we’ve rounded up 65 of the best Halloween dessert ideas, from the cutest jack-o’-lanterncookiesto the scariest spider cupcakes. Time to getbaking.
65 Halloween Dessert Ideas, from Totally Spooky to Extra Sweet
1.Pumpkin Black and White Cookies
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
The iconic NYC dessert is dressed up and ready for sweater season. Lucky for you, these soft, fluffy cookies don’t require a stand mixer to make (and you can shortcut with a store-bought spice blend if you’d like).
2.Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:再保险ady in <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Wanna know a secret? This cookie starts with the same base as those black and white stunners, so you could totally make both simultaneously. We love a baking project on a crisp fall day, don’t you?
3.Apple Cider Caramel Poke Cake with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
- Time Commitment:2 hours
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
True to its name, this is a cake you literallypoke那么前黏汁渗出to the holes, infusing it with flavor and moisture. Extremely satisfying to make, this version features a lightly spiced cake, a tangy cream cheese frosting and anapple ciderinfused caramel that’s surprisingly easy to make.
4.S’mores Cookies
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
This calls for a campfire and a scary story—or skip the campfire and fire up yourNetflix scary movie queueinstead. The cookie itself is made from crushed up graham crackers instead of flour, and it’ll keep soft for days.
5.Candy Land ‘Jarcuterie’
- Time Commitment:10 minutes
- Why We Love It:no cook, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients, ready in <15 minutes
If you already stocked up for the impending trick-or-treaters, it shouldn’t be difficult to source ingredients for these single-serve sugar bombs. When assembling the jars, place studier ingredients on the bottom to hold any skewered items securely. Soft ingredients can go on top, and thin, soft items (like sour candy belts) can be affixed to bamboo skewers for height.
6.Peanut Butter Nutella Candy Bar Brownie
- Time Commitment:1 hour
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
As it turns out, a variety pack of bite-size chocolate candy is a very beautiful thing. (But if you’re going for classy over kitschy, you can leave the toppings off and serve a glossy chocolate-covered brownie instead.)
7.Glazed Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
If you’re more about treats than tricks, these sophisticated and seasonal cookies have your name on them. They’re finished with abrown butterglaze, which sounds way fancier than it is.
8.Candy Corn Pretzel Hugs
- Time Commitment:20 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
They take, like, two seconds to make. (Good thing, since they’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.) Don’t like candy corn? Fine, just swap it for another small, sweet treat.
9.Butterfinger Brown Butter Cookies
- Time Commitment:55 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
我们爱的时候candy haulcomes in handy. To keep these cookies fresh for days, store them in an airtight container with a slice of white bread—it’ll keep them soft for longer.
10.Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:再保险ady in <30 minutes, no cook
No one should have to fuss with a water bath while wearing a Freddy Krueger costume. These parfaits are completely no-bake, so you can get to eating them faster.
11.Halloween Mummy Nutter Butter Cookies
- Time Commitment:20 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
Who’s winning this year’sHalloween party? You are. (Starting with store-bought cookies is the trick.)
12.Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Time Commitment:40 minutes
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
If a blondie and apumpkin piehad a very delicious baby, it would be this dessert. The addition of pumpkin puree keeps them pleasantly chewy.
13.Bloody Spooky Macarons
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 36 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
他们* *可怕的足够的。做马卡龙home is certainly an undertaking, but you’ll have an advantage with the fall weather—lower humidity will make the process easier. Save this one for a lazy weekend.
14.Candy Corn Surprise Cake
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 35 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
This cake is business on the outside, and party on the inside, and lucky for you, it starts with boxed mix. We can never get enough candy corn.
15.Halloween Spider Cupcakes
- Time Commitment:1 hour
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
They’re so cute, they almost made us forget our fear of creepy-crawlies. Almost. (Psst: The spiders’ legs are made out of black string licorice, in case you're curious.)
16.Halloween Banana Popsicles
- Time Commitment:2 hours
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Adults will love that they’re healthy, and kids won’t know the difference. Don’t be put off by the two-hour time commitment—most of it is just waiting for the yogurt-based coating to set.
17.Monster Mash Cookies
- Time Commitment:20 minutes
- Why We Love It:再保险ady in <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
We know you’re wondering, and it’s true: They’re a graveyard smash. (Probably has something to do with the fact that they’re ready in all of 20 minutes, but we’re just guessing.)
18.Halloween Chocolate Boo Bark
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:no cook, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Mix up the candy toppings however you see fit. But whatever you do, don’t skip the spooky-cutegoogly eyes.
19.Candy Corn Cupcakes
- Time Commitment:50 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
We told you we really love candy corn. (Even you’re not a superfan of the sugary treat, these cupcakes are just vanilla with food coloring.) Go ahead and start with aboxed cake mixif you want to save time.
20.Halloween Eyeball Sugar Cookies
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, ready in <30 minutes
We only have eyes for these treats. (Heh.) To avoid a spooky bake, press the candy google eyes into the cookiesafterthey come out of the oven.
21.Creepy Halloween Cupcakes
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
We kind of wish all spiders were made of gumdrops and licorice, don’t you? The cupcakes are flavored with molasses and anise for a licorice-y effect, but you could use any flavor you like.
22.Halloween Candy White Chocolate Bark
- Time Commitment:15 minutes
- Why We Love It:ready in <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Switch up the usual with white chocolate instead of dark, and plenty of sour candies on top.
23.Mini Peanut Butter Cups
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, gluten free
To truly impress, skip the store-bought Reese’s and make your own peanut butter cups. They start with a mini muffin pan and end with you devouring half the batch.
24.Spooky Halloween Pretzels
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:再保险ady in <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
The only ghosts we’d like to see are covered in white chocolate and sitting in our snack bowl, thank you very much. (Psst: Have both white and dark chocolate on hand so you can make a mix of owls, mummies and ghosts.)
25.Chocolate Bark Halloween Brownies
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 30 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
The more sprinkles and candy, the better. ThisisHalloween, after all. Hot tip: If there was ever a time to rely onboxed brownies, it’s now. With all the toppings, no one will know they’re not homemade.
26.Chocolate-Stuffed Brownie Bites
- Time Commitment:35 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <500 calories
Dark as midnight on a moonless night—dark chocolate, that is. (The filling is actually milk chocolate, but you could use dark or white if you wanted.)
27.Halloween Chocolate Mousse
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, special occasion–worthy
Wecouldmake a cheesy joke about graveyards, but we’ll just say these are delicious.
28.Apple Tart with Soft-Pretzel Crust
- Time Commitment:2 hours, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Is a soft-pretzel crust a bit of an undertaking? Maybe, but it’s worth every drop of effort. Use a crisp, sweet-tartapplefor a balanced flavor—we like Honeycrisp, Gala or Pink Lady.
29.Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 5 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser, <500 calories
We can’t decide which is more swoon-worthy: thepumpkincake, or the cream cheese glaze? If you don’t have an angel food cake pan, you could make this into cupcakes. Just reduce the baking time and keep an eye on them in the oven.
30.Caramel Coconut Macaroons
- Time Commitment:40 minutes
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
We’ll let you in on a sweet tip: If you dip these cuties in melted chocolate, they taste like a fancy Mounds bar.
31.Caramel-Chocolate Macadamia Tart
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 50 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
This classy tart might not scream “Halloween” from the get-go but go ahead, take a bite. It tastes just like acandy bar.The crust is a press-in situation, so there’s no fussy rolling or chilling required.
32.Snickerdoodle Chocolate-Chunk Bundt Cake
- Time Commitment:2 hours
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
For adults, Halloween is definitely about reminiscing on your favorite nostalgic candy. And FYI, this cake tastes like a Twix. To make the flavors more complex, try swapping the light brown sugar for dark brown.
33.Easy Nutella Mousse
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 30 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, special occasion–worthy
For a last-minute dessert, break out a jar ofNutella.We know you already have one in your pantry.
34.Pumpkin Pie with a Chocolate Crust
- Time Commitment:3 hours, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
Halloween color scheme? Check.Autumnalflavor profile? Double check. The crust comes together with a whopping two ingredients (and both are store-bought).
35.Dark Chocolate Dipped Pretzels
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:<10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
These toe the line between snack and dessert, which is why we love them so much. Just be sure to use the most festive sprinkles in your pantry.
36.Salted Caramel Apple Sundae
- Time Commitment:50 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, gluten free
Admit it, you were sold at the mention of saltedcaramel.三个ingredients-how酱本身要求’s that for effortless?
37.Mini Caramel Apples
- Time Commitment:50 minutes
- Why We Love It:<10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, gluten free, make ahead
Forget the gigantic, mass-produced caramelapplesyou find at the store (or even at the pumpkin patch). Making them at home is easy, fun and worth getting gooey caramel stuck to your teeth.
38.The World’s Biggest Peanut Butter Cup
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 5 minutes
- Why We Love It:gluten free, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
All Halloween candies aren’t created equal. Peanut butter cups > everything. So naturally, we had to supersize them. A tip for serving: When slicing into this beauty, let it come to room temperature for about ten minutes and run your knife under hot water to avoid cracking.
39.Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 30 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <500 calories
The outside is soft, the inside is creamy and they’ll melt in your mouth. If you’re craving the flavor ofcheesecakebut don’t feel like making one, this cookie is for you.
40.Creamy Pumpkin Eton Mess
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser, gluten free
This tastes like the best part of pumpkin pie (the filling). Plus, you can use store-bought meringue cookies, if you want to save time.
41.Sea Salt Chocolate Pumpkin Cups
- Time Commitment:18 minutes
- Why We Love It:gluten free, dairy free, paleo, ready in <30 minutes
DIY candy? Trust us, it’s worth it. These guys are a little sweet, a little salty and (surprisingly) pretty healthy too.
42.Jack-O’-Lantern Hand Pies
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, special occasion–worthy
Fill them with your choice of bourbon-apple or roasted blackberry (and go ahead, use store-bought crust if you want).
43.Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
The cookies are flavored withcinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and would be as delicious on their own as they are when decorated with chocolate.
44.Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why We Love It:dairy free, vegan, crowd-pleaser
No eggs, no dairy, no problem. If you don’t tell anyone it’svegan, they probably won’t even know. You can use any dairy free milk in the base, like rice, unsweetened almond or light coconut milk.
45.Biscuit Dough Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
Are these the cutest single-serve desserts in existence? They’re definitely up there. You don’t even have to worry about achieving a tender, flaky crust (store-bought biscuit dough does that for you).
46.Cinnamon Sheet Cake with Cider Frosting
- Time Commitment:55 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
For a more subtle take on the holiday, you can’t beat this easy sheetcake.The whole thing is ready in under an hour (and the frosting is divine).
47.Halloween Pumpkin Pie
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
It’s remarkable what you can do with a good pie crust and a few seasonal cookie cutters.
48.Pumpkin Bars
- Time Commitment:3 hours
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
They’re a cross between apie, a cake and a cookie. And yes, they’re as good as they sound. Swap the cream cheese frosting for another flavor if you dare—we like the sound of chocolate.
49.Black Sesame Ice Cream
- Time Commitment:
- Why We Love It:<10 ingredients, special occasion–worthy, gluten free
Imagine the look on everyone’s face when you serve them a bowl of black ice cream. Now imagine when they dive in with spoons. You registered for thatice cream makerbecause youneededit; now put it to good use.
50.Halloween M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Time Commitment:4 hours, 26 minutes
- Why We Love It:kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, make ahead
Proof that you don’t have to spend all day and night making a festive treat. Chilling the dough ensures it’s easy to scoop when you’re ready to bake.
51.Apple Cider Caramels
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It:<10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
These caramels feel veryMartha Stewart, don’t you think? If it’s your first time making the confection at home, don’t panic. Just bring out your candy thermometer and resist the urge to stir.
52.Pumpkin Tiramisu
- Time Commitment:8 hours, 30 minutes
- Why We Love It:<10 ingredients, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser, no cook
If you can’t find pumpkin pie liqueur, use something equally creamy and sweet, like Irish cream.
53.Apple Cider Doughnut Holes
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 30 ,minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
The apple cider adds a hint of seasonal flavor and also keeps these snackable doughnut bites from drying out.
54.Sourdough Doughnuts with Concord Grape Glaze
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 40 minutes
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
Psst: Concordgrapesare in season. They taste like childhood and look like a mad scientist’s creation. (And if you can’t find ’em fresh, no worries. Just use juice.)
55.Kit Kat Bar Ice Cream Cake
- Time Commitment:3 hours
- Why We Love It:crowd-pleaser, no bake, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
Sign us up for any dessert that doesn’t require turning on an oven. Even better, this one comes together with just three ingredients.
56.Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:ready in <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
If there’s one holiday that requires you to stuff cookies with candy, it’s Halloween. Embrace it.
57.Mini Caramel Pecan Pies with Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust
- Time Commitment:45 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
Want a dessert that looks mighty impressive but can be made in under an hour? These little guys will do the trick. The secret isstore-bought pie crust, natch.
58.Puff Pastry Apple Galette
- Time Commitment:1 hour
- Why We Love It:one pan, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
This might be the prettiest苹果甜点we’ve ever laid eyes on. It doesn’t hurt that it’s easy to whip up in a single skillet with store-bought puff pastry.
59.Pumpkin Pie Parfaits
- Time Commitment:1 hour
- Why We Love It:vegan, gluten free, <10 ingredients
They’re vegan, gluten-free, made with ten ingredients and ready in 60 minutes. Need we say more? Sure: Use store-bought granola if you don’t want to make your own.
60.Cinnamon Meringue Pie
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 50 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
There’s nothing scary about this gorgeous fallpie.While the base is a cinnamon custard, it borrows its fluffy topping from citrus pies. The combination of sweet and spice just works, people.
61.Sweet Potato Sugar Cookies with Marshmallow Frosting
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Sweet potatocasserole always felt like dessert to us anyway. This is an excellent way to use up any leftover cooked spuds you have hiding in your fridge.
62.Sticky Toffee Honeycomb Cake
- Time Commitment:1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It:special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
It’s certainly pretty enough for a party, but it’s actually easy enough to make anytime your sweet tooth strikes. Look for honeycomb at specialty grocery stores or your nearest farmers market.
63.Gluten-Free Matcha Cheesecake Frankensteins
- Time Commitment:2 hours, 41 minutes
- Why We Love It:no bake, crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
These gentlemen areno-bakeand take about 25 minutes to assemble, no big deal. The cheesecake is matcha-flavored, so yeah, they’re for adults too.
64.Candy Charcuterie Board
- Time Commitment:30 minutes
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
We’ve died and gone toHalloween candyheaven. While mixing up the candy and chocolate provides the most crowd-pleaser, variety, we can also envision a sour candy feast or chocolate lover’s tray.
65.Candy Apples
- Time Commitment:1 hour
- Why We Love It:beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
These apples have a secret: They’re made with melted down Jolly Ranchers for an easy treat. The white chocolate drizzle is optional, but we think worth it.
Katherine Gillen is a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City restaurants. She used to sling sugary desserts in a pastry kitchen, but now she's an avid home cook and fanatic baker.