Halloween Candy Cookies
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What’s a Halloween Candy Cookie?
They’re basically a chocolate chip cookie but instead of chocolate chips, they’ve got big chunks of ooey gooey chocolate bars in them. Each cookie is slightly different because they all end up with a different combination of chocolate bars in them.
They’re perfect for Halloween parties, or after Halloween if you’ve got leftover Halloween candy kicking around.
What kind of Halloween Candy should I use?
I use a mix of chocolate bars and M&M’s - I like a combo of Snickers, Twix, Peanut M&M’s, regular M&M’s, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s Cookies & Cream, and Reese’s Pieces. You can use any combo you want or have on hand.
I don’t use gummy candies like Swedish Berries or Sour Patch kids - I stick to chocolate bars because that’s the way I like it, but if you want to get wild, go ahead and try adding some gummy candies!
What do I need to make them?
Here’s your grocery list:
-Salted Butter
-Sugar
-Brown Sugar
-Eggs
-All Purpose Flour
-Baking Soda
-Salt
-Milk Chocolate Chips
-Mixed Halloween Candy (200 grams plus more for the tops of your cookies)
You will also need a kitchen scale or measuring cups & spoons (but I highly recommend the scale!) , a stand or handheld mixer (or a bowl and a wooden spoon and some arm strength!), a small bowl, a spatula, a whisk, a baking sheet, parchment paper, and a #24 cookie scoop if you want to make perfectly uniform cookies.
Here’s how to make them:
First, keep in mind that these cookies need to chill for at least an hour in the fridge before you bake them, preferably longer, like overnight. Plan accordingly!
You can find the full recipe below but I’ll go over the steps in a little extra detail here.
First, gather all of your tools & ingredients, and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
You’re going to add your softened butter & sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat those on medium speed until they are fully combined. You don’t want to beat too long or you’ll end up with cakey cookies. Alternatively, if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer or a just a bowl and a wooden spoon.
While your butters and sugars are mixing, crack your eggs into a separate small bowl and add your vanilla extract to the same bowl.
With the mixer running on medium speed, add 1 egg. Wait until it looks fully incorporated, then add the next. Stop your mixer, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula (you can find my favourite sprinkle spatula here!), then mix again for a few seconds.
Whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Add flour mixture to mixer bowl and mix on low speed until JUST incorporated. You’ll probably still see a few bits of unmixed flour. That’s ok.
Unwrap the Halloween Candy you plan to use and roughly chop it up. I like big chunks, but you do you. I like to separate out any M&M’s or similar candies because they don’t need to be chopped.
Add your Halloween candy & milk chocolate chips and mix again for a few seconds. Take your bowl off the mixer and use your spatula to scrape around the edges and bottom of your bowl to make sure there are no rogue unmixed bits of butter or sugar or flour. Everything should be completely uniform. Alternatively, you can use clean hands to do this step (I’m also a big fan of this method - this way you can feel very easily whether or not your dough is completely mixed)
Using a #24 cookie scoop (Like this one), scoop each cookie into a large airtight container. You might need to do a couple layers depending on the size of your container. Before you layer your cookie dough balls, press a few extra pieces of Halloween candy into the top of each cookie. If you need to do a second layer, place a pieces of parchment paper on top of the first layer and make a second layer of cookie dough balls on top of that. Place your cookie dough balls in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350 C, then place your cookie dough balls on your parchment covered baking tray. You should be able to fit about 12 on a standard baking tray. Leave a few inches between each cookie. Alternatively, you can use your hands to form the dough into balls about 2” in diameter.
Bake your cookies at 350 F for 9-10 minutes, just until there are no wet spots on top of your cookies, but the tops are still shiny.
The fillings in the chocolate bars might burst out the sides of your cookies a bit, especially if you have some bigger pieces. If you care about the aesthetics of your cookies, just use a spoon to push in the irregular parts and make each cookie perfectly circular as soon as they come out of the oven before they cool.
Let cookies cool completely and store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Halloween Candy Cookies
Ingredients
- 320g (2 1/2 cups) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 210g (1 cup) Salted Butter (Room Temperature)
- 95g (1/2 cup) Granulated Sugar
- 200g (1 cup) Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs (Room Temperature)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 100g (1/2 cup) Milk Chocolate Chips
- 200 g (1 heaping cup) Assorted Halloween Candy, Chopped, plus more for tops of cookies- see notes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 C.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set Aside.
- Add butter, sugar, and brown sugar to a mixer bowl and beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment until ingredients are combined. Don't beat too long or you will get cakey cookies.
- Break your eggs into a pitcher or bowl and add vanilla extract. Add to mixer while running on medium speed one at a time, waiting until each one is incorporated before adding the next.
- Stop mixer and scrap down sides and bottom of bowl. Mix again for a few seconds.
- Add your flour mixture to mixer bowl and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Add your chocolate chips & Halloween candy and mix again on low for a few seconds. Take the bowl off of the mixer and mix by hand or with a spatula to make sure everything is uniformly mixed.
- Scoop with a #24 scoop into a large container with a lid, separating each layer with parchment paper. Add a few more chunks of Halloween candy to the tops of each cookie. Place in fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably overnight.
- Place cookie balls on a parchment covered baking sheet bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes, until there are no wet spots on top of the cookies.
Notes
I like to use a mix of chocolate bars and M&M's. I haven't tested this recipe with gummy or sour candies so I cannot tell you what the results would be! If you try it, let me know :)
