Halloween involves all things sweet and delicious, and everyone loves a spooky treat! Spoil your kids and neighbors with homemade baked goods that are as easy to make as they are fun to eat. We teamed up with award-winning bakery Ovenly in NYC on simple recipes for Halloween cookies and cupcakes that all are sure to enjoy.
Happy baking (and Halloween)!
BLACK-AS-NIGHT COOKIES
Boo! These buttery shortbread cookies are packed with deep, dark chocolate flavor. Use a cookie cutter to make spooky Halloween shapes (you can find ghosts, bats and pumpkins online or in specialty stores). You can even get creative and turn them into cookie sandwiches—just add a few drops of all-natural dye to the buttercream recipe and fill.
- Prep Time
20 min - Cook Time
25 min - Serving Size
16 to 18
Ingredients
- Parchment paper or softened butter, for greasing the baking pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1⁄4 cups (10 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and cold
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp of cocoa noir, also called black cocoa powder (the powder from Guittard works great)
- Optional: Orange-dyed buttercream for cookie sandwiches (see buttercream recipe below)
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 275°F.
- Grease the rimmed baking pans with butter or line with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cocoa. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream together the cold butter and sugar on medium speed until it’s light and barely fluffy (about 2 minutes). Do not over whip the butter. It should be medium yellow in color and slightly cool to the touch.
- Turn the mixer off. Add the flour mixture and mix on the lowest setting until just incorporated.
- Place a long piece of parchment or waxed paper on a countertop or cutting board. Remove dough from bowl and press down into a thick disk. Top dough with another long piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll dough with a rolling pin until it is 1⁄4” thick.
- Using a cookie cutter of choice, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll any scraps into 1⁄4” thick and cut.
- Place cut cookies onto a rimmed baking and freeze for 5 to 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 275°F, or until center of cookies look set.
- Remove and let cool.
Get Creative!
To turn these into cookie sandwiches,add a few drops of all-natural food coloring to our buttercream recipe to fill cookies. Simply top the back of one cookie with a teaspoon of buttercream and press down with another cookie. Et violà!
CANDY CORN CUPCAKES
Homemade candy corn makes these cupcakes a perfect trick-or-treat delight. The vanilla cupcake recipe is made with natural ingredients and flavored with real vanilla beans. Not only are they a classic favorite, they’re also fun to bake and decorate! For a Halloween spin, top them with Ovenly’s creamy vanilla buttercream and all-natural candy corn.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLZGtPFAxYE/
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
- Prep Time
20 min
Ingredients
- 16 Tbsp (1 cup, 8 ounces) cold, unsalted butter
- 7 cups of confectioners’ sugar + more for thickening
- 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup of heavy cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preparation
- Cut the cold butter in 1⁄2 inch pieces. Let it come to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, 3 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and 1⁄4 cup heavy cream. Mix on low until just incorporated. Then blend on medium-high until the mixture is creamy and ingredients are incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add more confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, mix on low until the frosting is thick but spreadable. Beat for 1 minute after each addition. You may not need to add all the remaining sugar. Once you have your desired consistency, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Raise the speed to medium-high, and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. The buttercream should be thick but spreadable. If it is too thick, add a little more cream. If it is too thin, add a little more confectioners’ sugar.
- Add the vanilla to the buttercream and beat in for 10 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer. Leave at room temperature until ready to use, or make up to three days ahead and store in refrigerator. Let buttercream come to room temperature and beat to creamy before use.
VANILLA CAKE
- Prep Time
20 min - Cook Time
25 min - Serving Size
16 to 18
Ingredients
- Softened unsalted butter and all-purpose flour, for preparing the cake
- 4 cups of cake flour, sifted
- 2 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, (preferably full-fat), at room temperature
- Caviar from 2 vanilla bean pods
- 2 1⁄2 cups sugar
- 1 lb (4 sticks, 16 ounces) softened unsalted butter
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- Cupcake liners
- Optional: candy for decoration
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the sugar and unsalted butter together until light and fluffy, on medium speed, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, 1 at a time, turning the machine off to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- With the machine off, add a third of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl. Mix on low until the flour mixture is just incorporated. Add half of the sour cream mixture, and beat on medium-low until just incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture and repeat the process, finishing with remaining third of the flour mixture.
- When all the ingredients have been added and appear almost combined, stop the mixer. Using a spatula, stir the batter and incorporate the remaining dry flour. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before removing them from the cupcake tins.
- Using a piping bag, or small offset spatula, top each cupcake with around 2 to 3 tablespoons of buttercream. If desired, decorate with candy.
