5 Store-Bought Baked Halloween Treats, Ranked

It's officially the spookiest time of the year, and that means indulging in all manner of autumnal treats. Of course, there are countless pumpkin spice items out there that tap into the flavor of the season, but what about when you're looking for something a little more festive for Halloween? I've tried five different store-bought Halloween baked treats to give you the rundown on a few of the seasonal options out there.

I've ranked these goodies based on flavor, most importantly. However, I also recognize that a lot of people buy these items because of how they look, not necessarily how they taste, which is why I've also considered overall appearance and novelty in determining where each of these options lands on the list. Some of them are decorated to look like pumpkins, while others feature bats or other Halloween-inspired imagery. So, whether you're trying to find a treat to take to a Halloween party or you just want to stock your own kitchen with some fun, spooky treats, these are some sweets you might want to seek out at your own local grocery store.

Sugar cookies are a staple of festive dessert tables for just about every holiday. Because they have such a plain appearance and flavor, they can be decorated to reflect the season quite easily. Therefore, I wasn't surprised to see Lofthouse's Halloween sugar cookies that look like jack-o'-lanterns. The colors here are excellent; you get a really bright orange for the main part of the pumpkin, with a black cut-out mouth and a green stem. The colors don't exactly look natural, but that's to be expected from holiday-themed cookies like these. They're even sort of formed into a pumpkin-like shape instead of fitting into the standard round mold you expect from cookies.

Could the jack-o'-lantern's face be a bit clearer? Yes. But that's not my main complaint about these cookies. They just don't taste good at all, offering basically no flavor beyond some sweetness and a strange, unpleasantly nutty aftertaste. Obviously, I don't expect cookies like these to blow my mind on the flavor front, but I want them to at least taste somewhat enjoyable, and that's not what you get here. Unless you're putting out cookies solely for their appearance, I think you can safely skip these. Even then, there are cuter, prettier Halloween treats out there to try.

Two-Bite's Vanilla Cupcakes really take me back to elementary school. These cupcakes are exactly the kind of thing that teachers would serve during class Halloween parties (and probably still do). I never remember these cupcakes tasting particularly good, but they always got me in a festive mood nonetheless. That absolutely seems to be the goal when it comes to this tray of mini cupcakes. The cupcakes are adorned with a generous amount of bright orange frosting, which is further decorated with green, white, and black sprinkles. The highlight of the festive decorations, though, is the tiny bat sprinkles on top.

I found these cupcakes to be nauseatingly sweet, delivering a level of sugariness that actually made me feel sick after taking a bite. I wish that there was less frosting on them, but you can't really take it off without also scooping off those sprinkles in the process. The cupcake base also tasted off to me — not only is it overly sweet, but it's also weirdly dry and crumbly. Of course, these aren't freshly baked homemade cupcakes, but I expect at least a little bit more moisture. Despite their lack of deliciousness, the bat sprinkles are still a selling point to me. Ultimately, though, these cupcakes are better to look at than they are to eat.

Now, if you're looking for a better Halloween-themed sugar cookie option, look no further than Lofthouse's alternative, sprinkled cookies. These cookies are also designed to look like jack-o'-lanterns, but they have a more realistic shape to them. In this case, the dough isn't dyed, but rather, you can see the shape of the pumpkin's face from textured ridges. To give the pumpkin its typical orange hue, Lofthouse uses tiny, crystalline orange sprinkles that add not just color but also a subtle crunch to the cookies.

Don't get me wrong — these are far from the best sugar cookies I've ever had, and like their worse-tasting counterparts, they seem to be more about vibes than actual flavor. However, they're definitely a step up in terms of taste and texture. They have a pleasant sugary (albeit somewhat bland) flavor to them, with a hint of vanilla that adds more depth to the treat. I also like how chewy these cookies are, with a texture that seems hard at first but slowly turns more malleable as you start chewing. Plus, the addition of that sprinkled crunch is a nice addition to the treat, too. I wouldn't go out of my way to snag these cookies at my local grocery store's bakery, but they're not a bad option if you need a quick, festive Halloween treat.

There are so many different Oreo flavors out there to try, but the brand's Halloween cookies are only available for a limited time, making them worth seeking out for the season. They also happen to be my second-favorite baked treat of the bunch. This is because these cookies aren't just about appearances; they taste like standard Oreos, so they're actually a good option if you like these cookies in the first place. The combo of chocolate wafers and rich creme in the center is always going to be tasty, even if that creme is dyed orange, as is the case with this particular variety. I didn't compare this Halloween-themed take on the treat alongside original Oreos, so I can't be totally sure, but I feel this variety was a bit sweeter than standard. Still, though, that sweetness isn't unpleasant or overpowering.

Although this isn't the most festive-looking treat of the bunch, Oreo is still leaning into the Halloween theme here. In addition to that orange filling, you'll also find that the cookies are embossed with spooky designs, like jack-o'-lanterns, witch hats, and haunted houses. It's a great way to add some festivity to your dessert table without opting for a treat that may not actually taste very good.

There are a lot of store-bought donuts out there that frankly don't taste very good at all. Therefore, I was a bit nervous about what I was getting myself into when I tried these Two-Bite Iced Donuts. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they're actually the best baked Halloween treat of the entire lineup. The base of the donuts themselves is excellent, with a yeasty sort of texture that almost tastes fried. The icing on top is really pleasant, too. I especially enjoyed the chocolate varieties; it's rich and creamy without being too sweet, which can be hard to pull off with donut icing.

The Halloween-themed decorations here are a little less obvious than that of some of the other treats on this list, but I think the color scheme is Halloween-y enough to make them feel festive. The chocolate-iced donuts come with either a green drizzle or multicolored sprinkles, while the orange-iced donuts feature either a brown drizzle or brown sprinkles. When you serve them all together, you get a dessert that looks like it belongs alongside all of the other Halloween treats. The best part? You can also serve them as a sweet breakfast snack if you're celebrating the holiday in the morning.

I sought out all of the Halloween-themed baked treats I could find at local grocery stores in my area and tried them all at the same time with a cup of black coffee. Flavor was my first criterion to consider as I ranked these treats, and generally speaking, the best-tasting varieties came in at the top of the ranking. These treats weren't too sweet but still had pronounced flavors. Texture was also a minor consideration in some cases. Another factor that came into play was novelty and a festivity factor. Some of these items were ranked higher than they otherwise would have been because they look especially fun for the holiday.