My witches’ cauldron cookie cups are the perfect spooky and cute treat for Halloween! Chewy chocolate cookies are transformed into mini cauldrons, filled with a luscious pistachio cream “potion,” then topped with colourful sprinkles, a rogue eye and a pretzel stick “broomstick” for that magical finishing touch. They’re fun, festive, and so easy to put together making them ideal for parties, trick-or-treating, or a bit of themed baking fun at home. One bite and you’ll be spellbound!
Cute cauldron cookie cups
These cute cauldron cookie cups are guaranteed to steal the show at any Halloween gathering! Each one is as fun to make as they are to eat, and will add a touch of festive whimsy to any Halloween spread! Plus, if you’re as much a fan of the chocolate pistachio trend of the past few years, this beauty will be right up your street!
What you need to make cauldron cookie cups
- Unsalted butter: I like to use unsalted butter so I can control how much salt is in the pistachios chocolate chip cookies. For best results, use butter at room temperature.
- Brown sugar: for sweetness, but also chewiness, in the cookies.
- Caster sugar: for sweetness, and a little crisp, in the chocolate and pistachio cookies.
- Vanilla: for delicious flavour!
- Flour: I use plain/all purpose flour to make these soft baked cookies. I prefer adding raising agents separately, as I do with salt, so I can control the rise of each of my bakes.
- Cocoa powder: because chocolate cookies!
- Cornflour/cornstarch: gives the cookies that beautiful softness in texture we all love!
- Baking powder/bicarbonate of soda: the leavening agents in this bake, to give the pistachio cream cookies enough lightness so they bake into chewy delights!
- Salt: enhances the flavours in the bake. You will not taste it, I promise!
- Chocolate: you can absolutely use chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks. However I find that chopped chocolate will result in gooey pool of chocolate, making these pistachio chocolate chunk cookies extra special and decadent!
- Egg: helps with the binding and structure of the pistachio stuffed cookies.
- Pistachio cream: the star filling of these pistachio filled cookies. Also used to drizzle over the top of the cookies, I could literally eat this stuff straight from the jar with a spoon!
- Candy eyes/Halloween sprinkles/pretzel sticks: to decorate the finished
Equipment needed to make these cookie cups
- Cupcake tin*: you will need a twelve hole cupcake/muffin tin to make these chocolate cookie cups.
- Digital kitchen scales*: I always recommend using digital kitchen scales to weigh ingredients out over using a volume based measuring system, as cups. Weighing out the ingredients is much more accurate than measuring by volume, and will ensure better results in the cookies, so I would definitely take the plunge if you have not already.
- Measuring spoons*: for measuring smaller quantities such as tablespoons (tbsp) and teaspoons (tsp), a set of dedicated measuring spoons is a must! These are far more accurate than everyday eating spoons, and are really easy to get hold of too.
- Mixing bowl*: to mix all the ingredients together to make the best Halloween cookie cups.
- Handheld electric mixer*: investing in a good electric mixer is a brilliant help with all baking, and will make baking these chocolate chip cookies pistachio a total breeze!
- Sieve*: to remove lumps from the dry ingredients, ensuring everything gets mixed together evenly.
- Spatula*: to help with mixing ingredients and scraping the mixing bowl down.
- Pastry tamper*: used to press down the cookies to make them into cookie cups.
How to make Halloween witches’ cauldron cookie cups
Cookie cups are so easy and fun to make, and these cauldron cookies are no exception! First make the chewy chocolate cookie cups and leave them to cool, then fill with yummy pistachio cream before finishing with sprinkles, sugar eyes and a pretzel “broom handle”. Serve up, enjoy and watch them just disappear!
For the cookie cups
Step 1: Lightly butter a twelve hole muffin tin. Press a strip of parchment paper into each well so that both ends of the strip overhang the edges. Set the tin aside whilst making the cookie dough.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth and paler. Add in vanilla and mix through.
Step 3: Sift in the flour, cornflour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt. Mix until the mixture is evenly combined and is damp but not clumping. Tip in the egg and mix until everything is clumping together.
Step 4: Divide the cookie dough evenly into twelve portions, then roll each portion into rough balls and pop one into each muffin well. Press it down into an even layer, then use a pastry tamper or the end of a rolling pin to make a dent in the middle of each, turning it into a cup or bowl shape. Pop the tin in the fridge for the dough to chill for at least an hour.
Step 5: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F for 10 minutes. Once the oven is hot, bake the chilled cookie cups for 11 minutes until the edges are slightly firm, but the middles are still soft and squidgy. As soon as you remove them from the oven, use the pastry tamper or rolling pin to press down the middles of the cups, creating individual bowl shaped cookies. Leave the cups in the tin to firm up for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the filling and decoration
Step 1: Once the cookie cups have cooled completely, it’s time for the fun bit! Gently heat the pistachio cream until it is looser and more spoonable. It doesn’t matter if its a little lumpy, it all adds to the effect!. Spoon enough pistachio cream into each cookie cup to look like a green potion, swirling the top if you can.
Step 2: Place a sugar eye (or two!) on each swirl of pistachio cream. Top with additional sprinkles before finishing by pushing a pretzel “broomstick” into each cauldron. Allow a few minutes for the pistachio cream to firm up. Enjoy!
Why should I use cornflour (cornstarch) in my cookies?
Cornflour, or cornstarch, gives the cookies a soft and tender consistency that just flour or a mix of sugars alone cannot achieve. It also helps keep the cookies chunky when baked. You can swap it out for the same amount of flour if you wish, but you will love the result of it in the cookies so I would definitely recommend including it!
How do I make my chocolate cookies cups?
I have found I prefer a mix of white and brown sugar in my cookies. The white sugar adds to the crispy outside of the cookies. However, it is the brown sugar that is key for a wonderfully chewy cookie. The reason for this is the molasses in brown sugar. Molasses helps retain more moisture in the cookies, making them thicker, softer and deliciously chewier! The combination of this mix of sugars along with the cornflour (see above!) will make for the best cookies you will ever have!
Can I use oil instead of butter in my cookies?
Oil and butter are unfortunately not interchangeable particularly in my cookie recipes. This is because oil is liquid at room temperature when compared to butter. The result is they will spread more when baking, even after chilling, so it just is not possible to get the same final results.
What if my cookie dough is too soft?
You want the dough to be soft enough to work with, to press and shape into the muffin wells, so don’t worry if it feels soft at this stage. Once shaped and chilled, it should firm up enough to hold its shape better during baking.
Please keep in mind if you did not use block butter when making the cookies, they will remain soft and not firm up. I always use block butter, not oil or the kind that is spreadable from a tub, in my cookies. Using butter should result in the cookies really firming up, especially if chilled or frozen, and holding their shape beautifully when baked.
Why are my chocolate cookies cakey?
There are several reasons why these cookie cups might have turned out cakey. The most likely is that there was too much leavening agent or incorrectly measured flour in the cookie mixture.
How long will this easy cookies recipe keep?
These soft baked cookies never last long when I make them! Having said that, they are at their best if devoured within three days from baking to enjoy them at their best.
How to store the cookie cups
These incredible homemade pistachio chocolate chip cookies cups keep best when stored in an airtight container away from direct sunlight, ideally in a cool space. They will need to be consumed within three days of making, if they last that long!
Can you freeze chocolate cookie cups?
Yes absolutely! You can freeze the cookie dough once completely made before shaping and baking by simply bringing it together into a disc and wrapping tightly with cling film before freezing.
Thaw in the fridge overnight before dividing, shaping and baking according to the recipe.
Tips for making the ultimate pistachio chocolate chunk cookies cups
- Ensure the butter used is at room temperature. For no other reason than it will make it soooo much easier to beat it together with the sugars at the start of this recipe!
- This chocolate cookie cups recipe easy can certainly be made by hand too, if you do not have an electric mixer. Just make sure the butter is nice and soft and cream it together with the sugars as best you can.
- Butter the muffin tin thoroughly and line with the parchment strips. This will massively help when you come to releasing the cookie cups from the tin. Trust me, you don’t want to make my mistake!
- When preparing the dough for baking, push it into the base of each muffin hole evenly, then create a well in the middle using a pastry tamper (or the end of a rolling pin, if you don’t have one!). This helps give a little of the side “walls” for the cookie cups, making it easier to reform them after baking.
- Chill chill chill! Chilling the dough after shaping and before baking will help them hold onto more of the cup shape during baking.
- Reshape the cookie cups as soon as they’re out of the oven whilst the dough is still soft. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes to allow it to firm up enough to be released without risk of breaking.
- When removing the cups from the tin, I find it helps to twist the cups using the parchment strips to loosen the base from the tin. Once loosened, they will lift up easily. Allow to cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.
Troubleshooting
If you have any other questions about these pistachio chocolate cauldron cups, please leave me a comment below, I will do my best to help you. And if you do make this recipe for Halloween witches’ cauldron cookie cups, please do leave me a rating and review below. I would so appreciate your feedback and it is incredibly helpful for others looking for a recipe too. Additionally, you could also post a picture on Instagram and tag me when you share it with the world. Please do, you know I would love to see it!
More Halloween recipes for you to enjoy
Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Check these recipes out:
Halloween decorated pumpkin spice cookies: My Halloween pumpkin spice cookies with a gorgeous cream cheese frosting is exactly what you NEED in your life this spooky season!
Pumpkin spice brigadeiros. Usher in autumn with my pumpkin spice brigadeiros: creamy, spiced truffles. An easy, no-bake dessert perfect for cosy seasonal gatherings.
Thanks for joining me today, friends! Hope you will add this fun bake to your Halloween cookie ideas! As always, happy baking! x
Recommended equipment I used *
| Cupcake tin | Digital kitchen scales |
| Measuring spoons | Mixing bowl |
| Handheld electric mixer | Sieve |
| Spatula | Pastry tamper |
Halloween Witches’ Cauldron Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter
- 100 g (½ cup) soft light brown sugar
- 50 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 185 g (1 cups + 2 tbsp) plain (all purpose) flour
- 30 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- 2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 150 g pistachio cream
- sugar eyes u0026 sprinkles
- 2-3 pretzel sticks, broken into smaller sticks
Instructions
For the cookie cups
- Lightly butter a twelve hole muffin tin. Press a strip of parchment paper into each well so that both ends of the strip overhang the edges. Set the tin aside whilst making the cookie dough.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth and paler. Add in vanilla and mix through.
- Sift in the flour, cornflour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt. Mix until the mixture is evenly combined and is damp but not clumping. Tip in the egg and mix until everything is clumping together.
- Divide the cookie dough evenly into twelve portions, then roll each portion into rough balls and pop one into each muffin well. Press it down into an even layer, then use a pastry tamper or the end of a rolling pin to make a dent in the middle of each, turning it into a cup or bowl shape. Pop the tin in the fridge for the dough to chill for at least an hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F for 10 minutes. Once the oven is hot, bake the chilled cookie cups for 11 minutes until the edges are slightly firm, but the middles are still soft and squidgy. As soon as you remove them from the oven, use the pastry tamper or rolling pin to press down the middles of the cups, creating individual bowl shaped cookies. Leave the cups in the tin to firm up for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the filling and decoration
- Once the cookie cups have cooled completely, it’s time for the fun bit! Gently heat the pistachio cream until it is looser and more spoonable. It doesn’t matter if its a little lumpy, it all adds to the effect!. Spoon enough pistachio cream into each cookie cup to look like a green potion, swirling the top if you can.
- Place a sugar eye (or two!) on each swirl of pistachio cream. Top with additional sprinkles before finishing by pushing a pretzel ″broomstick″ into each cauldron. Allow a few minutes for the pistachio cream to firm up. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Ensure the butter used is at room temperature. For no other reason than it will make it soooo much easier to beat it together with the sugars at the start of this recipe!
- This chocolate cookie cups recipe easy can certainly be made by hand too, if you do not have an electric mixer. Just make sure the butter is nice and soft and cream it together with the sugars as best you can.
- Butter the muffin tin thoroughly and line with the parchment strips. This will massively help when you come to releasing the cookie cups from the tin. Trust me, you don’t want to make my mistake!
- When preparing the dough for baking, push it into the base of each muffin hole evenly, then create a well in the middle using a pastry tamper (or the end of a rolling pin, if you don’t have one!). This helps give a little of the side ″walls″ for the cookie cups, making it easier to reform them after baking.
- Chill chill chill! Chilling the dough after shaping and before baking will help them hold onto more of the cup shape during baking.
- Reshape the cookie cups as soon as they’re out of the oven whilst the dough is still soft. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes to allow it to firm up enough to be released without risk of breaking.
- When removing the cups from the tin, I find it helps to twist the cups using the parchment strips to loosen the base from the tin. Once loosened, they will lift up easily. Allow to cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.