This Candy Bar Cookies recipe is one of those amazing leftover Halloween candy cookie recipes that you need to have on your radar. Loaded with all your favorite candy bars and colorful M&Ms, there is a delicious surprise in every bite!
When Halloween is just around the corner, I always stock up with a ton of candy to give out to the kids in the area. My favorite candies to get in are miniature candy bars like Milky Way, Kit Kats, and Hershey bars. I like to get some softer candies as well, like gummy worms and, of course, candy corn, for a bit of variety.
No matter how much I try and get the amount right, there always seems to be too much candy. With this recipe, though, it isn't wasted. Make good use of leftover Halloween candies by making these incredibly soft and chewy cookies.
This cookie recipe is the best way to continue Halloween celebrations after October 31st. Whatever your favorite candy is at Halloween, it will taste amazing in these cookies!
Shopping List
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Vanilla Extract, Eggs
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose flour, Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Baking Soda, Salt
Chocolate. Miniature Candy Bars, M&M Candies or Chocolate Chips (Optional)
How to make Candy Bar Cookies
Miniature Halloween Candy is my favorite, I feel like I can enjoy a couple of candy bars and they are so easy to pop in your mouth.
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap mini candy bars and chop into small pieces.
For reference, I have cut the small square Milky Ways, Snickers and Three Musketeer Bars into quarters. And the Mini Twix bars into fourths. (mini candy bars)
Using a stand mixer or a large bowl and hand mixer cream softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Don't forget to scape the sides of bowl to include all the ingredients.
Mix in eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and continue to cream together. Then add Brown Sugar and combine.
In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda together. Gradually add dry ingredients a little at a time.
Hand stir candy pieces into cookie dough and don't forget to add some M&M candies or Chocolate Chips into the cookie dough. They add fun color and always taste great.
Using a medium size cookie scoop, place heaping spoonfuls on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place cookie dough at least 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread while baking
Press a few pieces of candy bars on top of the cookie dough before baking. This just adds a great visual to the cookies.
Bake cookies until edges are set. No need to over bake these cookies.
Cookies can cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
FAQs
Recipes that call for chocolate chips will normally work just fine if you use chopped candy bars. After all, it's just chocolate with a sweet filling! This way, you can really get creative with some classic sweet treats.
The types of ingredients, the amount you use, and also the shape of the cookies will affect how crispy or chewy your cookies are. This recipe makes perfectly crisp-on-the-outside and soft and chewy-on-the-inside cookies every time!
Storage and Freezing
Storage: Store these candy cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a week. Cookies are best when enjoyed within 2-3 days after being freshly baked.
Freezer: These candy cookies can be frozen by placing them in a sealed container or freezer bag and putting them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper between each cookie in a stack to prevent them from sticking together.
Substitutions and Variations
- Press some extra pieces of candy onto the top of the cookies, like leftover M&M's chocolate candy or reserve a few pieces of candy bars.
- You can use this recipe to make leftover Halloween candy cookie bars too. Simply put the dough into a baking pan lined with parchment paper in a single layer and bake it for a bit longer. Once it has finished baking and cooled down, cut the cookie slab into square bars and enjoy! Think Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars but with mini candy bars.
- Add some peanuts for extra crunch and a nutty flavor.
- Use any variety of candy for this recipe for any time of year - how about using candy canes for Leftover Christmas Candy Cookies with red and green M&Ms!
- To make perfectly round cookies, put the cookie dough balls into the bottom of a muffin top tray instead of a baking sheet. The cookie dough will spread into a perfect circle in the oven (see below).
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center, crispy edges, and chewy texture? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time, here are some pro tips.
Use a Cookie Scoop - Using a cookie scoop keeps the cookie dough balls all the same size, which is essential for baking. I have used a medium size 50 cookie scoop in these photos.
Cookie Baking Time - Cookies are perfectly baked when the edges are set and the centers are no longer glossy.
Weigh Ingredients Correctly - Baking is a science and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. For tips on how to weigh your ingredients correctly, check out my Measuring Guide!
Have you tried this Halloween Candy Bar Cookies Recipe?
Let me know what you think of this recipe! Tag @bestcookierecipes on social media so I can see how cute your creations are! I would also love to read your comments below. Let me know what you think of these spooky cookies! It really does help!
More CandyBar Cookies Recipes
- Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies
- Halloween Sugar Cookie Bars
- No Bake Nutter Butter Acorn Cookies
- Spiced Pie Crust Cookies with Cinnamon Sugar
- No Bake Witches Hats
- Frankenstein Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Candy Bar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup Butter Softened
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 ⅓ cup Brown Sugar (285g)
- 2 Eggs large
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 ¾ cup All Purpose Flour (450g)
- 30-40 Miniature Candy Bars Cut into Pieces
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips OR M&M Candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, or using a stand mixer, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs and vanilla to the bowl and continue to cream together. Next, add the brown sugar.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix in flour mixture a little bit at a time until fully incorporated.
- Mix the candy bar pieces, chocolate chips OR M&M candies into cookie dough by hand.
- Spoon heaped spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure each cookie dough ball is at least 2 inches apart.
- Press any additional candy bar pieces on top of the cookie dough before baking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are set and centers are no longer glossy.
- Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to fully cool.
Notes
- Storage: Store these candy cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a week. Cookies are best when enjoyed within 2-3 days after being freshly baked.
- Freezer: These candy cookies can be frozen by placing them in a sealed container or freezer bag and putting them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper between each cookie in a stack to prevent them from sticking together.
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