Description
Delightfully festive Chocolate Filled Halloween Pumpkin Cookies featuring soft brown sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins, some carved with adorable faces and filled with rich hazelnut spread and chocolate. Perfect for celebrating Halloween with a delicious and visually fun treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Brown Sugar Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Decorations
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1 cup hazelnut spread
- Additional 1 tsp cinnamon (for cinnamon sugar)
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon until evenly combined. Set aside for later use.
- Make the Cookie Dough: In a large mixing bowl, add unsalted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the mixture until pale and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Gradually add the flour mixture and fold in with a spatula until fully incorporated.
- Chill the Dough: Divide the cookie dough into two portions. Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight to firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Set your oven to 175°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with parchment or baking paper and set aside.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the chilled dough evenly to your desired thickness. Using a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, cut out about 36 cookies.
- Chill the Cut Cookies: Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate them for 30 minutes to help maintain shape during baking.
- Create Faces on Half the Cookies: Using a small knife or a Stanley knife, carefully cut out small smiles and eyes from half of the cookies to create pumpkin faces.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until they turn golden brown on the edges.
- Prepare Cinnamon Sugar and Finish Cookies: Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon to create cinnamon sugar. Brush the baked cookie faces with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Allow the cookies to cool completely to room temperature.
- Assemble Sandwich Cookies: Warm the hazelnut spread slightly to soften. Spread a small amount on the flat side of the whole cookies (without faces). Sandwich these base cookies with the decorated face cookies.
- Fill Faces with Chocolate: Melt additional chocolate (from the butter or optionally added chocolate if available) and transfer into a piping bag. Carefully fill the carved faces on the sandwich cookies with the melted chocolate to create a spooky, delicious effect.
Notes
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks to maintain freshness and prevent spoilage.
- Prep Time: About 20 minutes, excluding chilling time.
- Cook Time: Approximately 15 minutes per batch.
- Total Time: Around 1 hour and 40 minutes when including chilling, baking, and assembly.
- Use a pumpkin cookie cutter to ensure the shape fits the theme perfectly.
- Chilling the dough and cut cookies is essential to maintain the pumpkin shape during baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
