Learn how to make the BEST Candy Cookies! These thick, chewy, candy-stuffed cookies are a total treat for chocolate lovers, easy to make, and the perfect way to use up leftover Halloween candy!
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I try to avoid buying candy. Not that I don't love it, but I simply can't resist sneaking a bite (or four) when I know it's hiding in my pantry. I have zero willpower!
At this time of year though, candy seems to be everywhere. Everyone is offering up treats, and who am I to say no? Thankfully, I found a great way to use leftover Halloween candy ... these delicious Candy Cookies!
If you're a candy lover, or your home is overflowing with leftover Halloween candy, then you need to try this recipe. These yummy cookies are thick, crisp around the edges, and chewy in the middle ... as all good cookies should be in my opinion! Plus, they're stuffed with candy bars.
It honestly doesn't get much better, right? But don't take my word for it, try them for yourself!
Ingredients
These leftover Halloween Candy Cookies use basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. Here's what you'll need:
- Unsalted Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated and Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Candy Bars or Other Leftover Candy
You'll need two cups of chopped candy for this recipe. Feel free to use one type, or you can use a mix, like I did. Get tips on the best chocolates to use below.
To bake the cookies, you'll also need a couple sheet pans. I have these Circulon Cookie Baking Sheets, and they're the best! Super heavy duty, and everything I've ever cooked with them bakes evenly.
Best Candy to Put in Cookies
The best candy to put into cookies is chocolate candy, like chocolate bars. Mini candy bars work great. However, part of the fun of making these cookies is seeing how your favorite candy bar will be transformed during baking, so don't feel like you need to stick to plain chocolate ... have fun experimenting!
For my Candy Bar Cookies, I used a mixture of Almond Joy, Heath, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Whoppers, and Milk Duds. You could also use Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, different types of Hershey Bars, Twix, Rollos, Butterfingers, Kit Kats, M&M's, etc.
Each type of candy reacts differently to being baked. Plain chocolate candy melts perfectly, of course. Anything with marshmallow or nougat tends to spread (make sure all the pieces are surrounded by dough). And caramel has a tendency to get a little hard after cooling.
How to Make Candy Cookies
There are a few tricks to this recipe for getting that perfect thick, chewy texture. First, you'll use melted butter instead of room temperature butter. This will make your cookies extra chewy.
After you melt the butter, mix it together with the sugars, vanilla, and salt until it's smooth and shiny. Then, you'll beat in an egg.
Next, you'll combine the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) in a separate bowl. Fold this flour combo into the butter mixture, then carefully mix in the chopped candy.
Shape the dough into 16 even balls. Place the balls on a baking sheet (you will probably need a couple), then flatten them slightly. If there's any candy sticking out around the cookie edges, tuck it back into the dough. This will help stop the candy from spreading too much.
The second trick is that you need to refrigerate the cookies overnight before baking. Chilling the dough keeps the cookies from spreading excessively while baking, and it also makes them nice and chewy.
After chilling the dough, bake the cookies until they're golden brown around the edges and on the bottom. Let your Candy Bar Cookies cool a bit, then dig in ... trust me, the wait will have been worth it!
Storage
Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about a week.
Related Recipes
If you enjoyed these tasty treats, try some of my other cookies recipes next:
- Honey Cookies
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Cookies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Cake
- Poppy Seed Kiss Cookies
- Ginger Spice Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Curry Shortbread Cookies
- Coffee Chocolate Cookies
Candy Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups chopped candy bars
Instructions
- Using microwave, melt butter in a large bowl, then mix in sugars, vanilla, and salt until smooth and shiny. Beat in egg.
- Whisk flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then fold into butter mixture.
- Carefully mix candy into dough.
- Roll dough into 16 equal balls. Place balls on a greased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
- Gently press dough balls to flatten slightly. Then cover baking sheets and refrigerate cookies overnight.
- The next day, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until browned around the edges and on the bottom.
- Let cookies cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Serve cooled cookies right away or store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
i really try to not be critical but I followed this recipe to a T and I had to throw out most of the cookies. They went flat and 15 minutes was too long, they would of been also totally burnt. Perhaps too much butter, not sure, but I would not use this recipe again. Sorry
Hi, Sandra. I'm so sorry the recipe did not turn out for you. Thank you for the feedback. Did you refrigerate the cookies overnight? I've tested this recipe a few times, and that's one of the reasons why they might not have turned out. Since the cookies are made with melted butter, they won't hold their shape if they're not refrigerated (and also why they need a longer cooking time).
i made these cookies thursday for halloween. we cant stop eating them!
i didnt have room in my refrigerator for the trays overnight, so i froze them. then removed from the freezer about 30 minutes before. after baking i inserted a salted caramel square in the center like a thumbprint cookie. i am saving this recipe!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Joy! I love the idea of adding a chocolate in the middle, and those salted caramel squares are my fave ... I'll have to try that! 🙂
This cookie sounds so good and I know that a batch wouldn't last long at my house.
They are definitely hard to resist, Paula! 😉