Description
Delightfully festive Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies that combine a spiced butter cookie dough with a gooey milk chocolate center. Perfect for Halloween celebrations, these soft cookies feature charming pumpkin shapes with carved faces, dusted with cinnamon sugar for an extra touch of warmth and sweetness.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 12 oz milk chocolate, chopped or chocolate bars
Topping
- Cinnamon sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Make the Dough: In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract, mixing until the mixture is well combined.
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Gradually incorporate these dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two halves, wrap each in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
- Preheat & Roll: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to approximately ¼-inch thickness. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible. For half of these cut-outs, carve Jack-O’-Lantern faces using a sharp knife or smaller cookie cutters to create facial features.
- Assemble the Cookies: Arrange the uncut pumpkin cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place a piece of milk chocolate in the center of each uncut cookie. Top each with a Jack-O’-Lantern face cookie cut-out, gently pressing the edges to seal the chocolate inside.
- Bake & Finish: Bake the assembled cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they turn lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven, immediately dust with cinnamon sugar, and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Make sure the dough is well chilled before rolling to prevent sticking and to create clean cookie shapes.
- Use good quality milk chocolate for the best melting and flavor experience.
- Press the edges firmly to avoid chocolate oozing out during baking.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain softness.
- These cookies can also be made ahead and frozen before baking for convenience.
