Description
These festive Witch Hat Cookies are a perfect Halloween treat with a delightful peanut butter base, tinted purple and decorated with sprinkles and Hershey’s Hugs or Kisses to resemble witch hats. They are soft, slightly chewy, and bursting with peanut buttery flavor and a fun seasonal twist.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- â…› tsp fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Additional
- Purple gel food coloring (or any color of choice)
- Halloween sprinkles or purple sanding sugar
- 33 Hershey’s Hugs or Kisses, unwrapped
Instructions
- Cream Wet Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar using an electric mixer for 2 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then add the egg, creamy peanut butter, and vanilla extract, mixing until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture—composed of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and fine sea salt—into the wet ingredients. Stir carefully until the dough comes together uniformly.
- Add Food Coloring: Incorporate purple gel food coloring into the dough and mix thoroughly to ensure an even, vibrant color. You can substitute any other gel color of your choice for a personalized touch.
- Chill the Dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or overnight if possible. This helps the dough firm up for easier handling and better texture when baked.
- Decorate Dough Balls: Once chilled, shape the dough into balls and roll them in Halloween-themed sprinkles or purple sanding sugar to give the cookies a festive, crunchy outer coating.
- Bake Cookies: Place the sprinkled dough balls approximately 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and just beginning to crack on top.
- Freeze Before Adding Chocolate: Immediately after baking, transfer the cookie tray to the freezer for 10 minutes to cool. This step helps prevent the chocolate toppings from melting when you press the Hershey’s Hugs or Kisses onto each cookie to complete the witch hat look.
Notes
- Refrigerating the dough is crucial to maintain the shape and manageability of the cookies.
- Freezing the cookies briefly before adding the chocolate keeps the chocolate from melting and helps it set neatly on top.
- You can substitute peanut butter with almond or sunflower butter for a different flavor or to accommodate allergies.
- Adjust the baking time slightly if you prefer softer or crisper cookies.
- Use gel food coloring to avoid affecting the dough’s consistency.
