You won’t need a spellbook or charms to produce the perfect Halloween dessert (and you can even skip the eye of newt)—we’ve got all the cookie recipes you need to craft a sweet spread for your party or get-together. You’ll find new ideas for sugar cookies, plenty of pumpkin-flavored treats and even a haunted Halloween gingerbread house. And that’s just the beginning. No Halloween cookie plate is complete, however, without a few of these soft and chewy cookies. They've got a stark black center and colorful Halloween-inspired powdered sugar coating on the outside. This recipe is perfect for a trick-or-treat celebration when you’re short on time; chilling the dough isn’t required, so the cookies come together easily and will be on the table in about an hour. Using both black and regular unsweetened cocoa powders give the cookies deep, balanced chocolate flavor, while the secret to the colorful coating is blitzing sanding sugar and sprinkles in a food processor until they’re powdery—no food coloring required.

The secret to these dreadfully delicious, fruit-filled cookies is handling your meringue with care. When piping, be sure to squeeze only from the top of the bag — you don’t want to pop the air bubbles that have been incorporated into your egg whites during mixing!

Some people love candy corn, while others...not so much. These slice-and-bake cookies, colored and shaped (but not flavored!) like the divisive Halloween treat, are sure to delight all your little ghouls and goblins. The dough can be made several days ahead and kept in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. It can also be frozen, though allow a minute or so longer for baking cookies sliced straight from the freezer.

All you need is a few drops of neon green food coloring and some candy eyeballs to transform white chocolate-covered sandwich cookies into an eerily fun Halloween treat. These alien cookie pops are great for parties or a fun everyday treat.

These Halloween-themed cookies are super easy to make with a simple sugar cookie base and coating of royal icing. Let little ones help decorate with jelly beans for the eyes and licorice lace for the mouth. We’ve added pumpkin pie spice to go with the season, but you can make this simple sugar cookie for any holiday or time of year— just omit the pumpkin pie spice and use the cookie cutter of your choice. These friendly ghosts are sure to make all your little goblins smile. Though this dough is easy to work with, if you are new to cookie making, you can roll the dough between floured sheets of parchment to prevent sticking.

It’s time to dig up your gingerbread person cookie cutter and disguise chocolatey cut-out cookies as friendly graveyard skeletons!

These cookies are monster sized and monster themed, making them perfect treats for your Halloween party. They bake up crispy on the edges and chewy inside. Feel free to vary the sprinkles and add some non pareils to the mix. Candy eyeballs come in various sizes so play around to see which combo you like best — we happen to think one medium and one large makes the monster look delightfully deranged.

No cookie plate is complete, however, without a few of these creepy butter cookies. You won’t be able to keep your hands off them—even though a dip in raspberry jam makes them look just like a pile of detached fingers!

Chocolate and peanut are a classic pair — just like Halloween and eight-legged critters. These cookies bring both duos together by topping freshly baked peanut butter cookies with spiders made from halved malt balls and piped chocolate.

Classic pinwheel cookies with a fun Halloween twist. These cookies come together by making a simple vanilla cookie dough, dividing it in half, then adding black cocoa to one half and orange gel food coloring to the other. Roll out the doughs, layer them together, then roll into logs. Chill, then coat in black sanding sugar, slice, and bake for a fun, slightly crisp holiday cookie.

Who says you have to put all the candy into trick-or-treaters buckets? Chopped up candy bars also make the perfect mix-in for these easy-to-make drop cookies.

These colorful cookies are the perfect addition to any psychedelic Halloween party.

For the perfect sandwich cookie, both the cookie and chocolate almond cream need to be the right texture. When baking the cookies, make sure the edges are set, but the centers are still soft. Chill the filling until thickened but not hard. Once the filling has set, it won’t melt at room temperature, but will be easy to work with and won’t squish out with that first big bite.

These festive cut-out cookies are all treat, no trick!

Are they cakes or are they cookies? Who cares?! One bite of these sweet, black-and-orange treats and you’ll be under their spell!

These haunted ghost cookies are hiding a spiced secret ingredient. We added pumpkin pie spice to traditional linzer cookie dough for a fun seasonal twist on the classic sandwich cookies.

Forget monsters under the bed; this entire house is haunted! Use candy melts to add the ghastly details — white chocolate cobwebs, ominous black windows, and a fanged front door — and as the glue to keep the monster inside!

We can't think of a better way to use up cookie dough scraps than to cut them into strips and wrap these adorable mummy cookies!

You can use any oval or peanut-shaped cookies you like to make these happy little ghosts. We like peanut butter- or chocolate-filled sandwich cookies or crisp ladyfingers, also known as savoiardi. You can even mix them up and do some of each. Simply dip them in melted white chocolate then pipe on eyes and a mouth with melted chocolate chips.

These handheld desserts are more than just a fun name. Soft, cakey cookies are stuffed with marshmallow cream cheese, then dipped in chocolate and festive sprinkles for a delightful Halloween treat.

You don’t need a special cookie cutter to make these Halloween cookies. Remove the top and bottom of a clean tuna can then pinch the sides together, until the shape resembles a skull. Genius!

Pumpkin puree, fragrant baking spices and a sweet cream cheese filling: what’s not to love about these easy-to-make cookies?

These scary-delicious treats are frightfully simple to make. You only need 4 ingredients and 20 minutes of prep time!