Halloween brings both tricks and treats. There is one Halloween treat in particular that has caught the eye of the Pinterest world and has landed in my kitchen: the Graveyard Cookie. Personally, I am no connoisseur of the kitchen, but this easy and cheap recipe has given my roommates and me a spooky treat that will fit perfectly alongside our eerie Halloween decorations. 

The Graveyard Cookie is a twist on the classic chocolate chip pan cookie and only requires 12 minutes in the oven. For those who prefer a crispier crust on their cookie, I recommend leaving it in for at least 18 minutes. 

Ingredients: 

—  2 cups of flour

—  1 teaspoon baking soda

—  1/2 teaspoon salt

—  3/4 cup margarine or butter (I chose to substitute I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter for butter, mainly because I live on a college budget, and these are the ingredients I am forced to work with in my kitchen. However, my roommate taste-testers said they could taste no difference, so feel free to get creative!)

—  1/2 cup sugar

—  3/4 cup brown sugar

—  1 egg 

—  2 teaspoons vanilla

—  1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I chose the dark chocolate route because that is my personal favorite. However, milk chocolate will work as well.)

—  6 Oreo cookies (For an extra sweet treat try the double-stuffed. It’s Halloween, so why not embrace a sugar high?) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together aside from the Oreos. Once all the ingredients have been combined, begin cracking the Oreos into small chunks, and incorporate them into the mixed bowl. Next, grease a frying pan with either butter or non-stick spray. Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, pour them into the bowl and flatten them so they cover the entire pan. Place the pan in the oven for 12 minutes, and voilà! Let the decorating begin. 

To add an ominous feel to the graveyard cookies, take a couple of Oreos from the pack and turn them into creepy crawlers. Place 3 pretzel sticks on either side of the Oreo to give them a spider-leg feel, and give them a face using frosting. Lastly, add some candy corn, and you have a delectable Halloween treat. 

For those Illini who may prefer a different Halloween treat, students have weighed in on their favorite Halloween recipe.

    Maddie Thompson, sophomore in Applied Health Sciences, said her favorite snack for the Halloween season is Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. 

“It is the perfect amount of pumpkin and chocolate that is perfect for a sweet a Halloween treat,” Thompson said. Her recipe includes:

—  3 cups white sugar

—  1 can pumpkin puree

—  1 cup vegetable oil

—  2/3 cup water

—  4 eggs

—  3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

—  1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

—  1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

—  2 teaspoons baking soda

—  1 1/2 teaspoons salt

— 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 x 5 pan. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, and fill the pan halfway. Bake for one hour, and a slice of chocolate pumpkin bread will be ready to enjoy after cooling. 

Christen is junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].