Leftover Candy Cookies Recipe

Candy Cookies Recipe Ingredients

• Salted Butter. I grew up using salted butter in baking, and still do to this day. If you’d prefer to use unsalted butter, just replace it 1-for-1 with the salted butter in the recipe and add an extra pinch of salt too.
• Granulated Sugar. Granulated sugar both sweetens your cookies and also helps them remain soft and moist too! We’re talking about cookies with that perfect chewy center here.
• Brown Sugar. Brown sugar contributes to a nice and chewy cookie (in addition to sweetening). You can use either light brown sugar and dark brown sugar in this cookie recipe. Light has a more subtle flavor than dark, due to a lower molasses content. In addition to more robust flavor, dark brown sugar will make your cookies a little bit darker in color too (not a big deal!). I tend to use whichever I have in my pantry at the time.
• Vanilla Extract. Vanilla extract adds depth of flavor to our cookie recipe.
• Large Egg. Using whole eggs helps to provide structure, leavening, and moisture to our cookies.
• Salt. Salt is used in baking to enhance flavors and create balance (especially with the sweetness of the candy pieces in this recipe). 
• Baking Soda. Using baking soda as our leavening agent helps our cookies rise and also helps to create chewy cookies.
• All-Purpose Flour. All-purpose flour is ideal for baking cookies because it has the optimal protein range for this type of baking. When properly baked, all-purpose flour also contributes to cookies having a nice, chewy texture. Plus, it’s a common pantry staple for most people and is easy to find at your local grocery store, Target, Walmart, or Costco too!
• Candy Bars of Choice. You will put candy bar pieces into your cookies (like you would do with chocolate chips in CCCs). Some of the best candies to cut into pieces for this recipe include: Kit Kats, Milky Way, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Hershey Bars, Crunch Bars, Butterfinger Bars, and m&m’s. Basically all the chocolate candy bars you’d typically get while trick-or-treating. If you have other fun size candy bars on hand that aren’t listed, give them a try! And I’m not going to fault you for throwing in a handful of candy corn into your dough if you’re feeling it. 

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Possible Dietary Restrictions?

This candy bar cookies recipe is vegetarian as written, and can easily be altered to be a dairy free or gluten free cookie recipe too!

• To make these dairy free, replace the butter with vegetable or canola oil. As a standard rule of thumb, you can use oil in place of butter by using ¾ the amount of butter called for in the recipe. So for a single batch of our cookie recipe, replace the listed ½ cup of salted butter with 6 Tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil. I would also recommend increasing the amount of salt used to ½ teaspoon (since we left out the salted butter).
• Make these into gluten free cookies by replacing the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe with the one-to-one gluten free flour alternative of your choice.
• If making these for someone with a food allergy, it would also be wise to verify the candy you’re using is dairy free and/or gluten free (this may be a little tricky with Halloween candy, so do your research!).

Storing Leftover Candy Cookies

Fully cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (if they last that long!). Leftover Halloween candy cookies can also be frozen to enjoy at a later date!

How to Freeze Before Baking

Freezing cookie dough balls is a great way to enjoy fresh-baked cookies at a later date! To do so, follow the recipe card up until the dough is formed. Then scoop dough into balls onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet (making sure they’re not touching) and do a “flash freeze” of the dough balls by placing them into the freezer to chill for 1 hour. Once the cookie dough balls are cold and solid, simply place them into a labeled freezer bag to bake another time.

You can freeze cookie dough balls for up to 3 months, and bake them from frozen! To do so, just add 2-3 minutes of baking time to the time listed on the recipe card when you’re ready to enjoy them.

How to Freeze Cookies After Baking

Ensure your cookies are completely cooled before freezing. Then place the cookies into a large freezer bag or an airtight container in your freezer for up to 3 months. To help prevent your cookies from sticking together, place parchment paper between them. When you’re ready to enjoy, simply thaw the frozen cookies in the refrigerator or on the countertop.