Carved pumpkins, Halloween, jack-o'-lanterns

Halloween Treats: Pumpkin and Chocolate Cookies

10/19/2025

Knock knock.
“Trick or treat?”

In just under two weeks, October 31st will arrive, bringing with it the spookiest night of the year: Halloween!
If you’re looking for the perfect treat to bake for Halloween and to be ready when little ghosts and goblins knock on your door shouting “trick or treat!”, you’re in the right place! Here’s a recipe for cookies with a cozy fall flavor that are monstrously delicious and bound to be a hit with grown-ups, too: pumpkin and chocolate cookies with a hint of cinnamon.

Pumpkin and chocolate cookies with cinnamon, carved pumpkins for Halloween, jack-o'-lanterns, freshly baked pumpkin chocolate cookies

Get baking right away: the irresistible aroma that will fill your kitchen as soon as they’re in the oven will make it hard to wait for the first bite. Just remember to save some for the cheerful bands of little monsters who come visiting, or you might risk becoming the target of their playful tricks!

Pumpkin and chocolate cookies

Autumn-flavored treats with a hint of warming cinnamon

DifficultyMedium

Cooking time12m

€

CostLow

Ingredients

Makes about twenty cookies:
350 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
200 g dark brown sugar (or muscovado)
80 g granulated sugar
100 g melted butter
100 g butternut squash purée
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
200 g dark chocolate
Pinch of flaky sea salt

Method

For the pumpkin purée:

Bake half a butternut squash in the oven at 375°F (190°C) for about 40 minutes.
Scoop out 100 g of the cooked flesh and blend until smooth.

For the cookies:

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, combine the melted butter, both sugars, pumpkin purée, and cinnamon until smooth.
Add the egg and mix again.
Fold in half of the dry ingredients, stirring gently with a spoon without overmixing, then add the rest.
Chop the dark chocolate into pieces and fold it into the dough.
Mix until the chocolate is evenly distributed.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Using a spoon, form dough balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space between them.
Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.
Bake for 12 minutes. After about 8 minutes, open the oven, remove the baking sheet, and tap it gently against the counter: this will help the cookies and chocolate spread better.
Return to the oven and repeat the process twice, every 30 seconds.
Once baked, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them rest for 5–10 minutes.

Another Halloween treat idea

If you’d like to bake something else along with the cookies for your cheerful little monsters, here’s another idea: pumpkin and chocolate muffins from our Cesarina Elena in Castelnuovo del Garda. While we suggest them as a fun idea for Halloween, they’re perfect any time of year! In fact, they’re a wonderful treat to enjoy with a cup of hot tea or a wholesome snack for kids to take to school.

Pumpkin and chocolate muffin

Discover the recipe

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The tradition of Halloween: from the Old World to the New (and back again)

Halloween has roots in both Catholic traditions and Celtic pagan rituals. The holiday derives from the vigil of All Saints, established by the Church in the 8th century, but it is also linked to Samhain, the Celtic New Year marking the end of summer and the beginning of winter, a time when it was believed that the boundary between the living and the dead grew thinner.

With European migration to America, especially by the Irish and Scots in the 1800s, Halloween moved from the Old World to the New, transforming from a religious observance into a popular and commercial holiday. From there, in the 20th century, it returned to Europe, popularized mainly through cinema and television. Today in Italy, about 16% of the population celebrates it, and it drives a significant commercial market.
In short, Halloween is a holiday that blends pagan elements, Christian traditions, and modern adaptations, evolving into today’s global event with a strong commercial appeal.

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