These Candy Cookies are your answer to what to do with leftover Halloween Candy. They’re soft, chewy, filled with chocolate chips, and taste great with just about any type of candy bar or chocolate candy.
For more easy chocolate chip cookies, you can also try our Pizookie recipe, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, or DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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Leftover Candy Cookies
One of my favorite new fall traditions is making this Candy Cookies recipe with leftover Halloween candy. The dough is based off of my soft and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, then packed with chopped candy bars.
I let each of my kids pick out their favorite candy bars to use, letting them make their own custom Halloween candy cookies. You can also use this recipe to make a warm and gooey Pizookie skillet cookie too.
You definitely don’t need to limit these fun cookies to Halloween. They’re perfect year round for birthdays, bake sales, and parties whenever you have extra candy from the previous holiday.
Key Ingredients
- Butter - use unsalted, room temperature butter.
- Sugar - regular white granulated sugar.
- Brown Sugar - I like to use light brown sugar for this recipe.
- Eggs - any kind of large eggs will work. It’s best if they are at room temperature so that they don’t “shock” the butter when you add them.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
- Salt - we like to use sea salt.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - the combination of these two ingredients helps the cookies to rise and stay nice and soft.
- Flour - I use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips - I recommend using Guittard or a similar brand.
- Leftover Halloween Candy - you want to choose a chocolate based candy bar like Snickers, Heath, Butterfingers, Reese’s, etc. Cut into ?” pieces before mixing in.
How to Make Candy Cookies
- Make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar using the paddle attachment for about 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, vanilla and peppermint extracts and salt and mix on low to combine. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda and flour. Mix until combined, then add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until mixed, scraping the bottom and the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Mix in the chocolate chips and candy bars. Add the chocolate chips and candy bars and mix on low just until combined. Do not overmix!
- Scoop the cookies. Using a small ice cream scoop, or a spoon, scoop 2" balls and place onto an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and set around the edges. Top with extra crushed candy canes and chocolate chips as soon as they come out of the oven, if desired.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using chocolate candy bars such as Hershey’s, Snickers, Kit Kats, Crunch Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Heath Bars, Butterfingers, Milky Way, etc. Experiment with all sorts of leftover Halloween candy! Both full sized and mini candy bars work great.
The baking time depends on how hot the oven is, how many you are baking at once, how big the cookies are, and how accurate your oven thermometer is. In general, when baking these cookies at 350 degrees they should take between 9 to 11 minutes to bake. They are done with they just begin to brown around the edges.
It’s always a good idea to chill your cookie dough if you have the time. This helps them from getting too flat and keeps them nice and chewy. Even just a 30 minute chill in the fridge can make a difference. If you are running short on time, however, it is not completely necessary with this recipe.
Storing and Freezing
- Storing Baked Cookies: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Freezing Cookie Dough: Cookie dough freezes great. The easiest way is to make and scoop the dough as directed, then place onto a baking tray and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Then, transfer to freezer bags and store for up to 3 months. To bake, just pull the cookies out onto a parchment or baking mat lined baking sheet and preheat your oven for at least 30 minutes. Bake as directed, adding an extra minute or two to the total time.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, if you happen to have a lot left over. You should freeze them in an airtight container separated by layers of parchment paper. You can thaw either in the fridge or at room temperature.
Candy Bar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter room temperature
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cups Chocolate Chips Guittard or similar brand
- 2 cups Candy Bars - Snickers, Heath, Butterfinger, Reeses, etc cut into ⅓" pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar using the paddle attachment for about 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, vanilla extract and salt and mix on low to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda and flour. Mix until combined, then add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until combined, scraping the bottom and the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the chocolate chips and cut up candy bars and mix on low just until combined. Do not overmix!
- Using a small ice cream scoop, or a spoon, scoop 1 ½" balls and place onto an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and set around the edges.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Of The Best Cookie Recipes
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Cake Mix Cookies
- M&M Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
- Molasses Cookies
- Gingersnap Cookies
- Andes Mint Cookies
- White Chocolate and Coconut Cookies
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Fall Recipes
These soft and chewy Candy Bar Cookies are packed with chocolate chips and chopped candy bars. They're the perfect way to use up leftover Halloween candy.
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