These Pumpkin Patch Chocolate Cookies are the cutest cookies for autumn and Halloween! They're a chunky chocolate cookie packed with chocolate chips. On top is a silky chocolate ganache, Oreo "soil" crumbs, a fondant pumpkin and some green buttercream vines. They're super easy to make and they look so freakin adorable too!
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Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information
- Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and egg) are at room temperature before you start baking.
- I used unsalted butter for this recipe, a baking spread will work but butter has a lower water content so the dough will be less sticky.
- I recommend using light brown soft sugar for delicious flavour and a more gooey cookie, but you can replace it with caster sugar if you can't get hold of light brown soft sugar.
- I used milk chocolate chips in the cookies, you could use dark or white chocolate, or omit them entirely if your prefer.
- To make the fondant pumpkins, you can follow my tutorial on Instagram, or you can buy some ready made pumpkin decorations or pumpkin sweets.
- Instead of chocolate ganache, you could use Nutella to stick the decor to the cookies.
- I used crushed Oreos for the "soil", but chocolate bourbon biscuits would also work well.
- I made the little signs from wooden lollipop sticks that I broke in half, wrote on with pen and stuck together with some double sided tape. You don't have to make the signs, and if you do please be careful of splinters or small fragments of wood left in the food.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Pumpkin Patch Chocolate Cookies
To make the cookie dough, mix together the butter, light brown soft sugar and caster sugar. Then mix in the vanilla extract and egg. Next, mix in plain flour, cocoa powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Finally, mix in the milk chocolate chips.
Roll the dough into balls with your hands, then flatten them a little and place them onto lined baking trays. Bake them for 12 minutes, leave to cool on the trays. While they are baking make the chocolate ganache by putting the dark chocolate, double cream and butter in a bowl and microwaving until melted. Set aside to cool. Make the green buttercream by mixing the ingredients together and put it into a piping bag.
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, spread chocolate ganache on top of each one, add a fondant pumpkin, Oreo crumbs and pipe on some pumpkin vines with the green buttercream.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Do you have to chill the cookie dough before baking?
No, you don't have to. Make sure not to flatten out the cookie dough balls too much, the taller the balls the less the cookies will spread. If it's a particularly warm day or the dough has been handled a lot, you may want to chill them. If you do want to chill them you can do for 30 minutes before baking.
How do you get perfectly round cookies?
As soon as they come out of the oven get a round cookie cutter, or a glass held upside down, that is larger than the cookies and put it over each cookie. Move it in a circular motion, pressing against the sides of the cookies gently to adjust any irregularities. This is called "scooting" or "hula hooping" the cookies.
How should the cookies be stored and can they be frozen?
You can keep the balls of unbaked cookie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months, and you can bake them straight from frozen whenever you fancy a fresh cookie. The baked cookies will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a cool place. You can freeze the baked cookies too, wrap them well or store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Put a square of baking paper between each one to stop them from sticking together.
Do you need any electric mixer to make this recipe?
While an electric mixer is helpful in making these cookies and will give the best results, you don't need one to make them. You can absolutely make the cookies by hand with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease. If you have an electric stand mixer, then you can use the paddle attachment to make these cookies.
Can this recipe be made gluten free?
For gluten free you can replace the plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. You may also like to add ¼ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. You will also need to use a gluten free alternative to the Oreos. Both Sainsburys and Asda offer a gluten free cookies and cream biscuits in their free from sections. You can also buy gluten free Oreos in some parts of the world and via Amazon. Please check the labels of everything you use if serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.
Can this recipe be made dairy free?
For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread instead of butter for the cookies. I recommend the block style ones such as Flora Plant or the Stork Baking Block. You will also need to use a dairy free alternative to double cream and a dairy free chocolate for the ganache. Please do check the labels of everything you use if serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.
More tips for making the Pumpkin Patch Chocolate Cookies:
- Make sure to leave space between the balls of cookie dough on the baking trays as they will spread when baking, about 2" should ensure they don't stick together. If you make bigger cookies, you will need to leave more space.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for at least 5 minutes (nearer to 10 minutes is ideal) before trying to move them onto a cooling rack. Otherwise they will be too soft and will break or stick to the baking paper.
- This recipe makes 14 good sized cookies, but if you want bigger cookies you could divide the mixture into 12 or less instead.
Troubleshooting
My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Recommended equipment & ingredients
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Cooling rack
- Kitchen scales
- Electric hand mixer
- Piping bags
- Stand mixer
- Round cutters
- Oreos
- Milk chocolate
- Vanilla extract
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More Halloween recipes...
Pumpkin Patch Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 125 g Butter softened, unsalted
- 125 g Light brown soft sugar
- 75 g Caster sugar
- 1 Egg large
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 215 g Plain flour
- 35 g Cocoa powder
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 200 g Milk chocolate chips
For the ganache
- 100 ml Double cream
- 100 g Dark chocolate
- 15 g Butter
For the green buttercream
- 25 g Butter softened, unsalted
- 50 g Icing sugar
- ⅛ tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ tbsp Milk
- Green food colouring
For the other decorations
- 4 Oreos crushed
- 14 Fondant pumpkins or sweets or ready made decorations (see notes)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/200C/400F/Gas Mark 6, line your baking tray(s) with baking paper
- Ideally using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, caster sugar and light brown soft sugar together until fluffy and paler in colour. This will take 3-5 minutes in an electric mixer (I use speed 3)
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix in
- Add the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt (you can mix them together in a separate bowl first if you like) and mix them in until just combined
- Then mix in the milk chocolate chips briefly, just to evenly distribute them
- Divide the dough into portions, I weighed the dough out to make each cookie an equal size. Place the dough balls onto lined baking trays, leaving space (at least 2") between them to spread. If you don't have enough baking trays, keep the dough in on the counter and bake the cookies in batches
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, then leave to cool on the trays for at least 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack
- While they are baking, make the ganache by placing the dark chocolate, butter and double cream into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds on high (I used a 900W microwave). Then stir well. Microwave in 10 second blasts, stirring between each one, until the ganache is smooth and glossy. Set it aside to cool and thicken
- Make the green buttercream by mixing together the butter and icing sugar, then add the vanilla, milk and green food colouring, and mix until smooth and the desired shade is achieved. For best results use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer. Put the green buttercream into a piping bag and snip off a small section at the end with scissors
- To decorate the cookies, spread a layer of ganache over them using the back of a teaspoon, add a fondant pumpkin, then sprinkle on the crushed Oreo crumbs, finally pipe on some vines with the green buttercream
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 3 days
Notes
-
- Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and egg) are at room temperature before you start baking.
- I used unsalted butter for this recipe, a baking spread will work but butter has a lower water content so the dough will be less sticky.
- I recommend using light brown soft sugar for delicious flavour and a more gooey cookie, but you can replace it with caster sugar if you can't get hold of light brown soft sugar.
- I used milk chocolate chips in the cookies, you could use dark or white chocolate, or omit them entirely if your prefer.
- To make the fondant pumpkins, you can follow my tutorial on Instagram, or you can buy some ready made pumpkin decorations or pumpkin sweets.
- Instead of chocolate ganache, you could use Nutella to stick the decor to the cookies.
- I used crushed Oreos for the "soil", but chocolate bourbon biscuits would also work well.
- I made the little signs from wooden lollipop sticks that I broke in half, wrote on with pen and stuck together with some double sided tape. You don't have to make the signs, and if you do please be careful of splinters or small fragments of wood left in the food.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
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