These loaded Chewy Candy Bar Cookies (featuring a medley of Snickers, Hershey's, M&M's, and more!) will delight that candy-loving little kid inside all of us. Ready in under an hour with a quick mix up, these cookies can be customized to take your favorite classic candy bar to the next level or to give all that leftover Halloween candy a new life!
Candy bars and a delicious chewy, brown sugar cookie in one super-easy treat - need I say more?
I love a recipe that can bring new life to an ingredient you already have lying around. And when it come to the last bit of that leftover halloween candy you just aren't enjoying anymore, this recipe will dress it up and turn it into a renewed favorite treat.
If you have little kiddos at home coveting that candy, it's a lot of fun to let them bust up the chocolate bars or Reese's cups or whatever else you'd like to add in, and mix them into the dough too for a fun afternoon of baking together. Because this dough is pretty darn forgiving, a little extra mixing from little hands won't hurt the delicious end result at all.
(Another really fun kid-friendly cookie around Halloween is my (adorable) monster eyeball sugar cookies!)
And if you're looking for more delicious quick mix cookie recipes that any little kid would love to help mix up (and taste test of course!), check out my Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies, Small-Batch Peanut Butter Cookies, Funfetti Sprinkle Cookies, and Chewy Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies!
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Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Crisp & chewy: these cookies are wonderfully chewy thanks to some brown sugar, but the white sugar still gives them a super satisfying crisp edge as well.
- One-bowl, quick mix: they're a one-bowl mix up, with only 15-20 minutes of prep time total.
- Simple ingredients: all these ingredients are ones you should already have in your cupboard whenever you get the urge to whip something yummy.
- Fast bake: they only take 15 minutes to bake so you can satisfy that cookie craving in just 30 minutes!
- Customizable: any candy bars, m&m-style chocolate pieces or chocolate chips work in these cookies. So they're great for building your perfect custom blend of candy bar and chippy goodness (or to use up all that leftover halloween candy).
- Cookies or bars: I've tested a few different baking methods for this recipe so you can pick between a classic round cookie shape or make them as an easy one-pan bar cookie instead.
Ingredient Tips
- Unsalted butter: since salt can be a big component of certain candy bars, be sure to use unsalted butter here so the saltiness doesn't get overwhelming.
- Brown sugar + white sugar: you do really need both to get the combination of a crispy cookie edge (white sugar) and perfectly chewy, gooey middle (brown sugar). Feel free to use light or dark brown sugar too. I like the milder flavor of light brown sugar for these cookies. But, if you'd like a little extra note of molasses, go for the dark brown sugar. In a pinch, these cookies could be made with just white or brown sugar, but please note, it will change the final texture and look of the cookies. (And if you need a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe without brown sugar, I've got you!)
- Baking soda: baking soda helps these cookies spread out, not puff up like baking powder would. Developing this recipe without baking powder helps to keep us in the chewy instead of cakey world.
- Change up the inclusions: the flavoring options here are as limitless as the ever-expanding candy aisle at your local grocery store which means you can make this recipe on repeat and never get tired of it. Feel free to change up the inclusion mix each time you make this recipe to fit whatever candy bar/chocolate chip combo sounds extra tasty to you (or your candy-loving little taste testers) that day.
For a full detailed list of all ingredients and measurements, just head down to the recipe card below!
Please note, that any additional substitutions haven't been tested so I can not guarantee the results. However, if you do experiment and find a variation you love, please let me know in the comments below!
How to Make Candy Bar Cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla together until very light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add in the egg and beat until the batter is smooth and fluffy again.
Step 3: Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt, just until combined.
Step 4: Stir in the chopped candy and/or chocolate pieces just until evenly distributed.
Step 5: Scoop into 2" rounds and tray up on a baking sheet.
Step 6: Bake until edges are just golden brown, but the centers are still pale. Right out of the oven, knock the tray firmly on the counter to settle the molten dough.
Step 7: Cool, share and enjoy all the loaded candy-packed goodness!
For a more detailed list of all these steps, just head down to the recipe card below!
Storage + Freezing
- Making ahead of time: you can bake these delicious cookies from the fridge or freezer if you'd like to make them in advance. Just note, they won't spread nearly as much when baked from a chilled temperature as they are designed to work best when baked fresh.
- This dough will keep in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for up to a month.
- For best results, store as fully scooped dough balls so you can just drop them right on the sheet. You still bake them at 350°F, but you may need a few extra minutes for proper doneness, so just follow the visual cues listed in the recipe more than the time itself in this case.
- Storage: these cookies will keep for up to a 5-7 days in an air-tight container at room temperature.
- Freezing: while you can freeze baked cookies for up to a month, I find texturally these cookies are best enjoyed fresh.
Pro Baker Tips
- Use a scoop: while not required, you’ll find an ice cream scoop to be very helpful for these cookies. It will allow you to quickly and evenly portion and form your dough balls and let you skip rounding the dough balls by hand. It also produces much more uniform cookies than scooping with a dinner spoon as well.
- Knock it when it's hot: hitting the cookies on the counter fresh out of the oven helps collapse their lofty domes and settle the molten batter. This gives you that nice chewy texture and helps to crackle the top.
- Don't over-bake! Because these cookies are supposed to keep a little bit of doughy chewiness to them, we want to make sure we don't over-bake them or they can turn into crunchy cookies quite quickly. This is why we want to look for dry, still pretty pale tops, just-brown edges and bottoms, and also a slightly soft top indicating a little molten dough is still underneath.
- Round with a cookie cutter: some candy bar layers (like nougats or caramels) can create a little puddle when they melt in the oven and turn a round cookie into an irregular blob. If this happens, use a round cookie cutter that's a little bigger than the baked cookie and swirl it in circles around the cookie, gently nudging the edges into a proper circle when the cookies are super warm right out of the oven. If the cookie is still round but there's a "splat" of say caramel that exploded out the edge, you can also just use the cookie cutter or a knife to cut that extra bit off the side when hot for a clean cookie edge.
Recipe FAQs
To re-chewy and re-gooey these cookies for that fresh-out-of-the-oven taste any time of day, just microwave in 5-second intervals until the chocolate nice and molten!
(They took about 8 seconds in my microwave, reheating one cookie at a time.)
Yes! You can bake these delicious cookies from the fridge or freezer if you'd like to make the dough in advance. Just note, they won't spread nearly as much when baked from a chilled temperature as they work best when baked fresh.
This dough will keep in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for up to a month.
For best results, store as fully scooped dough balls with their decorative chip in (if using) so you can just drop them right on the sheet. Then just sprinkle with the sea salt right when you're ready to bake. You still bake them at 350°F, but you may need a few extra minutes for proper doneness. So just follow the visual cues listed in the recipe more than the time itself in this case.
While I would love for you to try my recipes and be able to meet your dietary needs as well, unfortunately any substitution of primary ingredients like butter, eggs, or flour will drastically alter the baking chemistry here and likely and compromise the results.
So while you are always welcome to experiment, and I love to hear how it goes when you do, I have not been able to test all those substitutions so I can't recommend them.
I find you will always have better results when baking up treats designed with say vegan butter sticks, flax seed eggs, or almond flour from the start. And luckily, Google can help you find many of my fellow bloggers with delicious recipes in those specialty diet niches!
Yes! A full single recipe of this dough fits great in an 8" square pan or a 9" round pan. For baking instructions, just check out the "Test Kitchen Tips" in the recipe card below. 
One of the best things about this recipe is you really can use any bar or pieces of chocolate candy you like!
My personal favorite combo is chopped Reese's cups, chopped snickers bars, and M&M's or dark chocolate chips which is what you'll see in the photos here.
Also, please note that really large caramel or nougat chunks can be used, but may melt out and create a whole or side puddle when baked so it's best to avoid using too many of those if possible.
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⭐ If you gave this recipe a try please give it a ⭐ rating and tag me on Instagram @mint.and.mallow.kitchen so I can see what you're baking up! ⭐
📖 Full Recipe
Loaded Chewy Candy Bar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup mixed chopped candy bars, M&Ms, and/or chocolate chips (see notes)
Instructions
- Cream butter, sugars, and flavor: preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla together until very light and fluffy for about 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed using a hand or stand mixer.
- Beat in the egg: add in the egg and beat for 30 seconds more on medium-high until the batter is smooth and fluffy again.
- Add in dries: add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the batter, and mix on low speed just until the flour is incorporated and a smooth dough forms (be sure to scrape the bowl really well about halfway through mixing!).
- Add candy bars: add in your candy bar mixture, and mix in by hand or carefully on low speed, just until they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Scoop dough balls: scoop dough into 2” rounds, using a scant ¼ cup of dough per cookie (or to bake as bars, see "Tips" section below). Roll dough balls between your hands to fully round (if not using an ice cream scoop to portion).
- Tray and top: place scooped cookies on prepared baking sheets at least 2” apart. For an extra hand-made touch, press a candy piece or chocolate chip into the top of each dough ball (optional).
- Bake: bake for 17-19 minutes, just until the bottoms are a medium golden brown, and there’s a touch of brown around the top edges. The tops should still be fairly pale and crackly, but look dry although they’ll be soft to the touch (a touch underbaked is actually good for these cookies as they’ll crisp up when they cool).
- Knock ‘em down: as soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, knock the tray firmly on the counter, or hit it a few times from underneath with an oven mitt on (this helps to settle the molten batter while it’s still all gooey and give you that nice crackly finish).
- Cool, share and enjoy: cool cookies as long as you can resist the temptation to enjoy one of these candy and cookie mash-ups, and then pass them around for an extra sweet treat!
Test Kitchen Tips
- Baking as bar cookies: if you'd rather bake these as a one pan recipe, you can press all the dough into an even layer in a greased and lined 8" square or 9" round pan. Then bake at 350°F for 24-28 minutes, until golden brown, dry and fully set on top.
- Which candy bars? You can use whatever candy bars, peanut butter cups, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, or even just regular chocolate chips you have available. I would only caution again using whole caramel or nougat candies (even if chocolate coated) as those can melt into a puddle and burn, and make quite a mess of your cookies. But caramel in a nut bar (like Snicker’s) is totally fine to use (and tasty!).
- Chilled bakes: if you’d like, you can bake these cookies directly from the fridge or freezer too. Just know that doing so will make the cookies spread a little less and stand a bit taller. You can chill scooped dough balls (with their candy pieces already pressed in on top, if using) for 1 month in the freezer or 4 days in the fridge. When baking chilled or frozen dough balls, still set your oven to 350°F and following visual cues to determine doneness as you may need a few extra minutes of bake time.
- Storage: leftover cookies can be kept at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 7 days.
Nina says
Loved these!