Description
Soft, fudgy Reese’s Oreo Bat Cookies made with chocolate cake mix, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Oreo bat wings, and candy eyes. These fun Halloween cookies use a simple decorating method and come together in under one hour.
Ingredients
- 13.25 oz Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix, prepared without following the box directions
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 16 regular-size Reese’s peanut butter cups
- 16 Oreo cookies, each cut in half
- 32 candy eyes
- 1 tablespoon chocolate candy melts; chocolate chips or thick chocolate frosting can substitute
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs in a large bowl until a dough forms.
- Cover and chill the dough for 20–30 minutes to make scooping easier and limit spreading.
- Scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 9–11 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. While still warm, gently press one peanut butter cup into the center of each without pushing it through the cookie.
- Melt the chocolate candy melts in the microwave using 10-second intervals, stirring between each interval until smooth.
- Use small amounts of melted chocolate to secure one Oreo half to each side of the peanut butter cup as bat wings.
- Attach two candy eyes near the inner edges of the Oreo wings using melted chocolate.
- Allow the decorations to set for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Keep leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Decorated cookies can be refrigerated for 10–15 minutes to make the chocolate set faster.
Unbaked dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day; allow it to soften briefly before scooping.
For a 15.25 oz cake mix, increase the vegetable oil to ½ cup to prevent dry dough.
Neutral oils such as vegetable or canola oil work best.
Regular-size peanut butter cups give the intended proportions; mini cups can be used with smaller cookies.
Candy eyes can be replaced with white icing or melted white chocolate plus a small dot of black icing.
Cookies can be baked one day ahead and stored airtight, then decorated the following day; slightly warm them before adding the peanut butter cups.
Avoid pushing the peanut butter cups completely through the warm cookies.
Triple chocolate fudge cake mix can be replaced with red velvet, devil’s food, or yellow cake mix, with oil adjusted for box size. Prepared chocolate cookie dough can also be used.
Mini peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered caramels, or fudge-striped cookies can work as center alternatives.
For mini bat cookies, use a smaller cookie scoop and mini Oreos.
For an optional finish, drizzle the set cookies with white candy melts.
Serve the cookies slightly warm for a softer peanut butter cup center.