Dark Chocolate Halloween Cookies should be at the top of your fall baking list! They are soft in the middle, crisp on the edges and they will not disappoint.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
In a medium mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
Beat to combine and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until very light and fluffy, another 1 minute.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and mix until well combined.
Stir in 1 cup of the M&M candies and reserve the other half.
Refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes. This will help the cookies to not spread as much while baking and will make the soft dough easier to work with.
Place a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough on the baking sheet (feel free to roll the dough in your hands to create a round ball if not using a cookie scoop.
Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Place a few M&M candies on top of each piece of cookie dough do and lightly press them into the dough. The candies are hard to see in the dark dough so placing them on top makes the cookies really cute.
Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes (9 minutes was perfect for me). The edges will look set and the centers will still be slightly glossy.
Let the cookies rest of on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Store cookies covered in an air-tight container for up to 3 days or freeze for much longer storage.
Notes
The M&M's are so fun in this recipe, but don't let them stop you! You can stir any (or a combination) of the following: Semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, Reese's Pieces, peanut butter chips, candy corn, chopped leftover Halloween candy bars. It's a really fun and flexible recipe.
If you skip the chilling time your cookies will just spread more and get flat, they still taste great. You can also add an additional 3 tablespoons of flour if you'd like to skip the chilling time, it'll help the cookies not to spread as much.
Dutch-process cocoa is less bitter and a bit darker in color than traditional cocoa powder. You are free to use traditional cocoa powder if that's what you have on hand. You cookies will be a bit more brown. If you want your cookies even more black in color, find dark cocoa powder like Hershey's Special Dark blend, the cookies will be gorgeous and dark.