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With rich flavors of maple, pumpkin, and toasty brown butter, these Spooky Ghost Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies are packed with fall flavor and the perfect festive treat. If you’ve ever worried that pumpkin cookies turn out thick and cake like, you don’t need to worry here. The base cookie is designed to be tender and chewy, not cakey.
To bring them into full Halloween mode, each cookie is decorated with a white chocolate ghost and black candy melt eyes and mouth for extra spooky charm. Keep reading for the pumpkin cookie recipe used and how to decorate them.
These soft and chewy brown butter pumpkin cookies are topped with ghostly white chocolate shapes and sweet little candy melt faces. They’re the perfect mix of cozy fall flavor and Halloween fun, making them ideal for baking with kids or bringing to a spooky get together.
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Total Time: 42 min (plus cooling and decorating time)
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These cookies are a beautiful blend of flavor and fun. The brown butter and maple pumpkin base gives you all the cozy fall vibes, while the ghost decoration turns them into an instant Halloween classic. They’re soft, chewy, and incredibly fun to make.
They also come together easily using simple tools and just a couple of decorating ingredients. Whether you’re an experienced baker or just want something cute and easy for your next party, these cookies are a guaranteed win.
Ingredients
• 1 batch Brown Butter and Maple Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
For Decorating:
• White chocolate (Ghirardelli melting wafers recommended)
• Black candy melts
• Piping bag or ziplock bag
Helpful Tools:
• Medium cookie scoop
• Light colored baking pans
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Bake your batch of brown butter pumpkin cookies and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Decorating will work best once the cookies are fully cooled and set.
- Melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth.
- Place a small spoonful of melted white chocolate onto the top of each cooled cookie. Use the back of the spoon to gently press and pull the chocolate down the cookie, forming a ghost like shape. Practice this on parchment paper if needed before working on the actual cookies.
- Let the white chocolate ghosts sit until they’re completely hardened.
- Melt the black candy melts in a microwave safe container and transfer to a piping bag or ziplock bag with a small tip cut off.
- Pipe small dots to make eyes and a mouth on each ghost. Let the candy melt features dry and harden completely before serving.
Halloween Plates Disposable Plastic – Spider web theme
Why I Love This Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
This recipe is a fall staple that I’ve made for years. It combines pumpkin, warm spices, maple syrup, and browned butter to create a cookie full of flavor and chew.
What makes it special:
- The flavor is perfectly balanced. Pumpkin lovers and skeptics alike will love this cookie.
- The texture is exceptional. Soft centers with chewy edges that melt in your mouth.
- The recipe is simple. No chill time and no mixer required, aside from browning butter.
Pro Tips
• Let the cookies cool completely before adding white chocolate to avoid melting or sliding
• Use a piping bag for better control when adding ghost faces
• Don’t worry if the ghost shapes aren’t perfect – spooky is meant to be messy
• Practice your ghost shape on parchment paper to get a feel for the spoon technique
Nutrition Info
Each decorated cookie contains approximately 230 to 270 calories depending on the size and amount of chocolate used. Expect around 12 grams of fat, 30 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein per cookie.
Disclaimer: Nutritional estimates will vary based on exact ingredients and serving size. Always check individual labels or consult a nutritionist for precise information.
Final Thoughts
Whether you have a Halloween party to host or want to spoil friends and family this October, these Spooky Ghost Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies are sure to get devoured. The flavor is rich and satisfying, the texture is chewy and delightful, and the ghost motif brings the perfect spooky seasonal twist. Give them a try, and you’ll have a fall favorite you’ll return to again and again.
Let me know if you want a matching Pinterest pin caption or a batch of Halloween cookie ideas next!
