Delicious, soft-baked peanut butter ghost cookies are coated with powdered sugar and decorated with candy eyes and black icing. They’re the perfect Halloween party food! I have been having so much fun making and decorating Halloween cookies and treats this year! Of course, there are the well-loved classics: Halloween Witch Finger Cookies with almond fingernails and Popcorn Balls decorated to look like ghosts. But I’m thinking outside of the Halloween party box with these Peanut Butter Ghost Cookies! This unique Halloween cookie recipe is sure to impress your friends and family. These are made completely from scratch, and so simple. Delicious soft peanut butter cookies are made even more fun with cute and easy Halloween decorations.
Peanut Butter Ghost Cookies Recipe
Made from Scratch – You’ve seen the Halloween peanut butter ghost cookies that are made from Nutter Butter cookies, coated in white chocolate? These are so much better! Homemade peanut butter cookies coated in powdered sugar make even tastier ghosts. Easy Halloween Cookies – You need just a few standard simple ingredients to mix up this cookie dough, and it’s made using only one single bowl. Spooky Cute Decorations – These cookies are obviously Halloween themed, but they aren’t bloody or super scary, so they’re perfect for kids’ parties!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this Halloween Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe: Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Flour and Cornstarch: Cornstarch is my secret ingredient for making soft, chewy cookies. Brown Sugar: To add sweetness, and richness, and to keep the cookies moist and tender. Butter: It’s important that your butter is soft before you start. I like to let it naturally come to room temperature. Egg: One large egg binds the ingredients together. Be sure to let your egg come to room temperature before mixing it into the dough. Peanut Butter: For best results in this cookie recipe, use creamy peanut butter. Avoid using “all natural” peanut butter, as it tends to be too oily for baking. Powdered Sugar: To make these little ghosts perfectly white and spooky. Black Icing: Pick up a tube of black writing icing or black cookie frosting to create the eye and mouth details. Candy Eyes: I love these, and put them on lots of my Halloween recipes! Check out my Frankenstein Peanut Butter Cookies, and Monster Halloween Snack Mix!
How To Make Easy Ghost Cookies
Recipe Tips
When mixing cookie dough, try not to mix too much. Stir in the dry ingredients just until you can no longer see them. Overmixing can cause the cookies to be dense and hard. Chill the dough. In order for these cookies to keep their ghostly shapes, it’s important that the dough is chilled so that the butter can harden again. Chilling the dough already portioned makes the process quicker. Try varying the shapes. Make some of the ghosts more rounded and others long and thin. Get creative and have fun with this recipe! Avoid overbaking. You want these peanut butter cookies to be soft. Remove them from the oven when they are set on top and lightly golden around the edges. To cool the cookies more quickly, move them from the pan to a platter and pop them in the freezer! Don’t have candy eyes? It’s fine! these cookies are super cute with just the black icing eyes. You could also use a little bit of white icing to pipe on details if you like.
Storing Tips
These cookies are best if enjoyed within a day or so of making them, but they can be stored for up to 3 days or so. Keep them in an airtight container in a single layer. If you need to stack them, be sure to put parchment paper between the layers. After a day or two, the powdered sugar will absorb into the cookies and not be so visible. You can sprinkle them with some extra sugar right before serving!
Can I make these nut free?
I haven’t tested this recipe using a nut-free spread, but I will let you in on a little secret – you can make ghost cookies with just about any soft cookie recipe! Just bake your nut-free cookie dough (or gluten-free, or vegan cookie dough) into ghost shapes, and add the powdered sugar and faces once they’re baked.
What can I use instead of black icing?
Try using black candy melts or melted chocolate to make the ghost eyes and mouth! Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips would work best.
Where can I find candy eyeballs?
These are usually readily available in big stores like Target and Walmart during the Halloween season. You can also just order candy eyes online and make your life a bit easier! These adorably spooky Halloween Peanut Butter Ghost Cookies will be so much fun this fall! Make these for a Halloween party, or as a treat for your family, and don’t forget to Pin the recipe! © Little Sunny Kitchen
