Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies
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Halloween candy cookies featuring a chocolate cookie dough base packed with chopped candy bars and Reese’s Pieces, plus plenty of candy corn on top. Starting with the base from my favorite bakery-style Oreo cookie recipe, this recipe combines the best parts of a classic double chocolate cookie with the flavors and colors of Halloween, offering an easy and tasty way to repurpose all of those leftover Halloween treats.
Key Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder – Look for a natural, unsweetened cocoa powder. Do not use Dutch Processed, or the sweetened cocoa powder you’d use for making hot cocoa dip. If possible I recommend measuring the cocoa powder by weight rather than volume; too much can make the dough too dry, or the cookies too bitter.
- Butter – You’ll need 113 grams (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. If you opt to replace the unsalted butter with softened, omit the salt from the dough or the cookies will be too salty.
- Sugars – To add sweetness and moisture to the dough, I’ve used a mix of granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. You can replace the granulated with another white sugar, and the dark brown sugar with another dark, moist sugar. Please visit my guide to different types of sugar for suggested replacements.
- Vanilla Extract – Opt for a pure vanilla extract, or substitute vanilla bean paste. If you’d like to experiment with different flavors, you can add a teaspoon of coffee extract (to emphasize the rich chocolate flavor) or a flavor extract such as marshmallow (LorAnn makes a good one) to play up the marshmallow notes of the candy corn.
- Mix-ins – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces, and chopped candy bars. You’ll also need store-bought or homemade candy corn to decorate. If you have a big Halloween candy surplus, you can also make my Halloween candy bark, or save the leftovers to fill a Rice Krispie treat cornucopia for Thanksgiving dinner!
Notes on Candy
For the cookies pictured here, I chose a mix of Kit Kat, Twix, Snickers, Three Musketeers, and plain Hershey bars. Some other good options include Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milky Way, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Crunch, Whoppers (or Malteasers), Rolos, or Milk Duds. In addition to chopped chocolate bars, you can stir in Reese’s Pieces, M&Ms, Peanut M&Ms, or other crunchy, chocolate-y candies like chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate sunflower seeds, or chocolate covered espresso beans. Chopped walnuts or peanuts also make a good addition to the dough.
Avoid chewy, “sugary” candies like Skittles, Swedish Fish, Mike & Ikes, Starburst, Sour Patch Kids, or Haribos. (These types of sweets will melt in the oven, causing your cookies to over-spread and creating a gooey, melty mess!) If you do want to incorporate sugary candy, press it into the tops of the cookies as a decoration after baking, rather than stirring it into the cookie dough, or save it to make a Halloween-inspired chocolate gummy bark instead.
Tips and Tricks
- Freeze before baking. If using lots of bars with caramel, nougat, or other soft fillings (like Milky Way or Three Musketeers bars), I recommend a pre-bake freeze to prevent the candy pieces from breaking as you stir, and from over-melting as they bake. See my Rolo cookies recipe for an example.
- Use a sharp chef’s knife. Use a very sharp knife to chop the chocolate bars into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces. Don’t go too big or they won’t mix easily into the dough; and don’t make the pieces too small or they’ll melt and disappear as they bake.
- No need to chop smaller candies. For M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, or chocolate-covered peanuts, just toss them in whole.
- Add a fun finishing touch. You can sprinkle each cookie with Halloween sprinkles, or add a pinch of coarse or flaky sea salt for a salty-sweet contrast.
- Decorate after baking. After baking, I’ve decorated each cookie with a few additional chopped chocolate bar pieces, as well as a few kernels of candy corn. (The candy corn here is store-bought, but you can also make your own.) To preserve color and visual appeal (and prevent a melty mess!) add the candy corn and candy bark chunks after baking, not before.
- Reshape with a round cutter. Because of the candy bars of various shapes, sizes, you’ll notice that these cookies spread more than usual, or look slightly misshapen after baking. To create a perfectly round cookie, use a round metal cutter. to “swirl” each one into a round shape. Do this immediately after removing the tray of cookies from the oven. Don’t wait until the cookies cool or they will break.
Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies
- Total TimeAbout 3 hours
- Yield24-26 3-inch round cookies 1x
Halloween candy cookies featuring a chocolate cookie dough base packed with chopped candy bars and Reese’s Pieces, plus plenty of candy corn on top.
Ingredients
192 grams all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
113 grams unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup / 1 stick)
105 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
105 grams dark brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
1 large egg, at room temperature
45 milliliters whole milk (3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
85 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (3 ounces; 1/2 cup)
113 grams M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces (1/2 cup; 4-ounce box)
175 grams coarsely chopped candy bars,* such as Reese’s, Snickers, Kit Kat, or Twix (1 1/2 cups), plus more to decorate
Candy corn, store bought or homemade, to decorate
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.
In a separate mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix softened butter on medium-high speed until until creamy, about 30 seconds.
Add the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar, followed by the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes more. Mixture might look slightly separated.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
With a flexible rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips, M&Ms, and chopped chocolate bars.
Cover bowl with clingfilm/plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to scoop, at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
With a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop or melon baller, scoop the dough into 1 1/2-inch portions. Arrange half of the portions on prepared tray, allowing 2 inches of space in between each ball for the cookies to spread as they bake.
Freeze tray for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
Bake in preheated oven for 14-15 minutes, or until cookies are puffy and set around the edges but still somewhat soft in the middle.
For perfectly round cookies, quickly reshape each cookie with a round metal cutter.
Working quickly, press a few candy corn and chopped candy bar pieces into the tops of each cookie to decorate.
Allow cookies to cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Do prevent breakage, I recommend freezing the chopped pieces for 30 minutes before stirring them into the dough. See my Rolo Cookies recipe for an example.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
To make ahead: The cookie dough requires at least 2 hours of chilling time, but you can prepare it up to 24 hours in advance, then cover the bowl with clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or layer between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature.
Other Halloween Recipes You Might Enjoy
Candy Corn Cookies
Halloween Pretzel Sticks
Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins
Homemade Candy Corn
Ghost Marshmallows
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
