Spooky Oreo Halloween Cookies: Bats, Spiders and a Swirly Monster

Picture a sandwich cookie dipped in glossy dark chocolate, with two googly candy eyes peeking out and either wide bat wings, eight skinny spider legs or a wild swirl around the edge. These Oreo creatures need no oven, and they are a good first project for little helpers.

The look is more silly than scary, which suits a classroom party or a monster-themed get-together. Each cookie takes only a few minutes to decorate, and one bag of candy melts goes a long way.

Why they suit a Halloween party

Three designs come from one base, so a single tray gives you a whole cast of characters. Guests can choose their favorite, and kids can decorate their own at a table set up with a bag of melted candy melts and a pile of eyes.

Since the chocolate hardens at room temperature, the cookies can sit on a dessert table without a cooler. Arrange them on a platter lined with parchment or stand them in a tiered tray.

What you need

• Oreo cookies
• Dark chocolate candy melts
• Candy eyes
• A few lollipop sticks (for smoothing)
• A plastic zipper sandwich bag
• Wax paper

How to make them

1. Put a generous handful of candy melts in the zipper bag. Melt them following the directions on the package, usually in short bursts in the microwave, with the bag opened a little to let steam out. Knead the bag gently between bursts so the melts soften evenly.
2. While the candy melts soften, cover your work surface with wax paper. Set the cookies on it about six inches apart so you have room to add wings and legs.
3. Once the candy is smooth, snip a very small corner off the bag. A tiny opening gives you better control, and you can always cut it larger.
4. Pipe a thick swirl of chocolate over the top of a cookie until it forms a generous mound.
5. Use a lollipop stick to spread the chocolate flat and nudge it over the edges, so the sides of the cookie are covered too.
6. Press two candy eyes into the wet chocolate right away, before it begins to set.

The bat

While the coating is still wet, pipe the outline of a wing on each side so the wings touch the cookie. Fill in each outline with more chocolate and smooth it with the stick. Let it dry completely.

The spider

Pipe four legs on each side of the cookie, eight in all. Use the stick to press the ends of the legs against the coated cookie so they bond as they dry.

The monster

Skip the wings and legs. Swirl the melted candy around the outer edge of the cookie a few times for a shaggy, furry border. It is the easiest of the three and it looks different from the others.

Make-ahead and storage

Let every cookie dry completely on the wax paper before you move it. Once the coating is hard to the touch, the cookies are ready to serve.

To prepare them ahead, store them in a single layer in an airtight container, with wax paper between layers if you need to stack them. Keep them somewhere cool and dry, away from sunshine and heat, so the coating does not soften or lose its shine.

A few practical tips help:

• If the melted candy starts to thicken in the bag, warm it for a few seconds more.
• Work on one cookie at a time, because the eyes only stick while the chocolate is wet.
• Make a few extras. The first one is often a practice round.
• Keep the bag warm between cookies by resting it on a folded towel, not on a cold counter.

For a party, set out the finished bats, spiders and monsters in a mixed group so the table looks lively. Younger children can handle the eyes and the swirling, while an adult supervises the hot melted candy.