Pillsbury's Halloween Sugar Cookies Have Inspired a New Dessert Trend

By Chanel Vargas

Updated on 10/29/2023 at 1:15 PM

Natalie Camila
Natalie Camila

The Halloween desserts continue to trickle in on TikTok, and some bakers are getting creative with a holiday classic: Pillsbury's Halloween sugar cookies. As quintessential Halloween snacks for many '90s and 2000s kids, the treats are known to disappear off shelves almost as soon as they arrive every fall. For those with nostalgic ties to the cookies, it's hard to imagine making the spooky treat even better. Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, though, we dug up six easy Halloween dessert recipes that have us rethinking the way we've been eating the cookies our whole lives.

In addition to their adorable designs — most notably, the bright orange-and-green pumpkins and the purple ghosts — the cookies are known for their soft texture and sweet, buttery taste. Though they're delicious on their own or dipped in a glass of milk, adding frosting, cake batter, and even brownie batter takes the cookies to another level. Some at-home bakers have even gone so far as to create Frankenstein desserts, including cinnamon rolls topped with Halloween sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies layered with the festive snack.

From creamy sugar cookie cheesecake to spooky ice cream sandwiches, there's definitely more than one way to enjoy this classic Halloween dessert. While some recipes require a little bit of mixing and chilling, others are fairly effortless. Plus, the Pillsbury packaging is marked with a label that indicates the sugar cookie dough is safe to eat raw. This means, even if you don't have time to preheat your oven, you can still savor in the nostalgia of the sweet treats this Halloween.

Whether you're looking for a recipe to try out with your family or a quick Halloween dessert to whip up in between scary-movie marathons, you'll want to keep your fridge stocked with these ready-to-bake cookies all season long.

See how to conjure up a Pillsbury Halloween cookie dessert for your next costume party ahead.

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe

Even as a chill begins to pick up in the air, there's never a wrong time to eat ice cream. In fact, many TikTok users are combining summer and fall in the form of spooky ice cream sandwiches using the Pillsbury Halloween cookies as a base.

See how to make the Halloween dessert ahead.

Ingredients

  • 2 packages Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
  • Ice cream of your choice

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Remove your container of ice cream from the freezer to thaw.
  3. Tightly line a 9" x 9" baking pan, lined with parchment paper, with a package of the Pillsbury sugar cookie dough. Repeat this step with a second pan and the remaining package of sugar cookie dough.
  4. Use a sheet of parchment paper layered over the cookies to press down on the dough and ensure that the cookies are compact.
  5. Remove the parchment paper and bake both batches of cookies for about 11 minutes or until they reach your preferred texture.
  6. Meanwhile, add a thick layer of ice cream to a lined pan the same size as the pans you are using to bake the cookies. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth out the ice cream.
  7. Place the ice cream pan in the freezer and allow to chill for at least one hour.
  8. Once the cookies have baked and cooled down, remove the ice cream from the freezer and assemble all three layers as follows: cookie, ice cream, cookie.
  9. Use a knife to cut the ice cream sandwiches to your desired size, and enjoy!

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Cheesecake Recipe

Graham cracker crusts are a cheesecake classic, but a sugar cookie crust might be our new favorite, thanks to these pumpkin Halloween cookies. Maddison Koutrouba, The Squeaky Mixer on Instagram, created a recipe for a sugar cookie cheesecake using the ready-to-bake Pillsbury cookies as a base. While the cookies themselves do have to be baked for a few minutes, the filling is no-bake, making it an easy treat to serve at your next Halloween party.

See how to make the Halloween dessert ahead.

Cheesecake Ingredients

  • 2 packages Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 24 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
  • 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
  2. Place the Pillsbury sugar cookies at the bottom of the greased pan. To make sure the bottom of the pan is completely covered, feel free to slice a few cookies into halves or quarters to fill in any uncovered spaces.
  3. Bake the cookies in the pan for about 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
  4. While the cookies cool, prepare the filling by whipping the heavy cream in a medium-size bowl using an electric mixer. Whip until fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes, and set aside.
  5. Next, in a large bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese until soft. Add in the confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Continue to beat until everything is evenly combined and there are no lumps in the mixture.
  6. When the mixture is smooth, fold the whipping cream from step four into the cream cheese mixture using a spatula.
  7. Pour the mixture evenly over the cooled cookie using the spatula to smooth out the filling.
  8. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for three hours or in the freezer for two hours.
  9. If you're making homemade whipped cream, use an electric mixer to beat the heavy whipping cream until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the sugar and finish by mixing in the vanilla.
  10. Top the chilled cheesecake with swirls of whipped cream and additional sugar cookies. Enjoy!

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Cheesecake

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Layered Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

If you like to try a little bit of everything at the dessert table, you might be baking up a batch of these layered, chocolate chip Franken-cookies sooner than you think. With no mixing or chilling required, this cookie-stuffed recipe, shared by Natalie Camila, is easy to make with the whole family and is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.

See how to make the Halloween dessert ahead.

Ingredients

  • 1 package Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
  • 1 package Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie dough

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a greased baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Evenly space out the precut chocolate chip cookie dough on the baking sheet.
  3. Bake the chocolate chip cookies for five minutes and remove from the oven.
  4. Lightly press a slice of the Pillsbury sugar cookie dough in the center of each chocolate chip cookie.
  5. Place the cookie sheet back in the oven and bake for 8–9 more minutes or until the edges of the chocolate chip cookies are golden brown.
  6. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes.

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Chocolate Chip Cookie

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Chocolate Chip Cookie

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Similar to the layered cookies, this recipe combines Pillsbury Halloween cookies with a classic fall dessert: cinnamon rolls. Warm, gooey, and packed with flavor, these Halloween cookie cinnamon rolls are an innovative and easy treat to serve after a long night of trick-or-treating or during a spooky dinner party.

See how to make the Halloween dessert ahead.

Ingredients

  • 1 package Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
  • 1 package Pillsbury cinnamon rolls

Directions

     
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line a greased baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Evenly space out the uncooked cinnamon rolls on the baking sheet.
  3. Press an uncooked Pillsbury cookie into the center of each cinnamon roll.
  4. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 15 to 17 minutes and remove from the oven.
  5. Allow the Halloween cookie cinnamon rolls to cool for 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Cupcakes Recipe

If a whole cake sounds like a lot to bake, you can also make Pillsbury sugar cookie cupcakes using spooky ghost cookies or cute pumpkin cookies. The Squeaky Mixer's recipe combines chocolate cake batter with purple frosting for a finished treat that's way better than Halloween candy.

See how to make the Halloween dessert ahead.

Ingredients

  • 2 packages Pillsbury Ghost sugar cookie dough
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cups boiling water

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt until evenly combined.
  3. In a small pot, bring 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Turn off the heat as soon as the water begins to boil.
  4. In the bowl from step two, create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
  5. Slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together while adding in a slow stream of the boiling water from the side of the bowl. Once the batter is smooth, set aside.
  6. Place a Pillsbury cookie at the bottom of each cupcake liner and bake for 5–7 minutes, or until the cookies have spread to fill the bottom of the cupcake liner.
  7. Once the cookies have spread to fit the bottom of the liner, scoop the prepared chocolate batter on top, making sure to fill the liners about 3/4 of the way full.
  8. Bake the cupcakes for 12–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  9. While the oven is still preheated, bake the second package of Pillsbury cookies on a cookie sheet for 12–15 minutes.
  10. Next, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl to make the buttercream frosting. Slowly add one tablespoon of heavy cream at a time until the buttercream becomes smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and salt, as well as your desired amount of food coloring.
  11. Once all the cookies and cupcakes have cooled completely, decorate the top of each cupcake with the buttercream. Finish each cupcake with a baked sugar cookie.

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Cupcakes

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Cupcakes

Pillsbury Halloween Cookie Brookies Recipe

For anyone with an extra sweet tooth for chocolate, this recipe for sugar cookie brookies, shared by TikTok user Halie Amos, is a must try for fall. A cross between brownies and cookies, the Halloween-inspired treat uses premade brownie mix and Pillsbury Halloween sugar cookies to create a dessert that's sure to disappear as soon as it's out of the oven.

See how to make the Halloween dessert ahead.

Ingredients

  • 1 box premade brownie mix + any ingredients called for on the box
  • 1 package Pillsbury sugar cookie dough

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease a nine-by-nine-inch baking pan.
  2. Prepare the brownie mix according to the instructions on the box.
  3. Pour the brownie batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 18 minutes. Do not bake the brownies all the way through according to the instructions on the packaging.
  4. After 18 minutes, pull the pan from the oven and layer about nine Pillsbury cookies evenly across the surface of the brownies. Press the cookies down lightly with your fingers to ensure they are embedded in the brownie mixture.
  5. Place the brownies in the oven and bake for 13 more minutes or until the brownie batter has reached your desired consistency.
  6. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing and enjoy!