As if giant bakery style cookies weren’t indulgent enough – we’re gonna cover the entire top with all of your kids leftover Halloween candy and make THE BEST big, soft, chewy, bakery style Halloween Candy Cookies. These cookies aren’t for the ameteur sweet tooth, but they’re SO good and such a fun way to use up all of that leftover candy!
Ingredients
- Salted Butter. When making giant bakery style cookies I always suggest using a high quality butter like Kerrygold, Plugra, or Danish Creamery. It helps the cookies remain soft and gives them great flavor. AND I almost always grab the salted butter when making dessert. Salt makes sweet things taste even better!
- Granulated AND Brown Sugar. This combo is key to achieving that classic chocolate chip cookie flavor. I opted for dark brown sugar, which gives these cookies extra chew, and a more molasses-y flavor. Regular light brown sugar is fine to substitute, but they won’t be *exactly* the same.
- All purpose AND bread flour. This might seem a little extra, but I think using both types of flour is worth it for the end result. These cookies are massive, and the bread flour helps create more gluten which helps with the cookies structure and texture.
- Halloween Candy. Use a mix of your favorite chocolate candies. I used M&Ms, mini M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Hershey’s Bars, KitKats, and Reeses. I would avoid candies made entirely out of sugar – like smarties, skittles, nerds etc…because they will probably taste a little odd and will also just disintegrate into your cookies.
- Flaky Salt. I typically say that the addition of flaky salt to the tops of your cookies is optional, but in this case I think it’s a requirement. The cookies are SO sweet and rich with all the candy, so the little pinch of salt will help balance that out a bit.
Tools & Equipment
- Mixer. This dough requires quite a bit of mixing – especially when you add the egg – to help build the structure so the huge cookies don’t fall apart. So I suggest using a stand mixer. A handheld mixer will work as well, but will require some effort.
- Kitchen Scale. Please please please bake using gram measurements. It’s the only way that I can guarantee that your bakes will turn out just like mine. Especially with this recipe, you’ll weigh out the dough when portioning the cookies because they’re just TOO BIG for a cookie scoop!
- Cookie Sheets. I absolutely LOVE my sheet pans from USA Pan. This is not an ad I just love them so much. I have both quarter and half sheet pans from them and use both almost daily. I love the half sheet pan size for baking these cookies and the quarter sheet pan size for chilling the dough.
- Parchment Paper. This precut parchment paper is maybe my favorite thing ever for baking. It’s shipped and stored flat so the edges don’t roll up on you and it fits perfectly on a half sheet pan.
How to Make Halloween Candy Cookies
Make and Chill the Dough.
I’m gonna hit you with the bad news first – these cookies require an overnight chill. Don’t hate me! I promise it’s worth it. If you’re really pressed for time promise me that you’ll at least chill them for like 4-6 hours. But, if you can wait – the full overnight chill really helps develop the perfect flavor and texture.
Start by creaming the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk and mix for another 3 minutes – don’t skimp on this time. Whipping air into the egg is going to help the texture SO MUCH. You’ll know it’s ready when it’s glossy and has thickened.
Mix in the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt – until just combined with a few streaks of flour remaining. Then, stir in the chocolate until it’s combined and no streaks of flour remain.
Use a kitchen scale to portion 6 giant cookie dough balls – about 5.5 oz each (depending on how much chocolate you added.) Roll them into smooth balls in your hands, then place them on a parchment lined sheet pan – I love my quarter sheet pan for this. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
Bake the Cookies and Add Candy.
When ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. There’s only 6, but they’re big so I’d recommend only baking 3 per cookie sheet, giving them plenty of room to spread.
Then, select your candies, unwrap them, and place them in the freezer. We’re going to add them AFTER the cookies bake so the chocolate doesn’t just melt into an unrecognizable puddle. Freezing them will help them hold their shape when we place them on the hot cookies. *If you’re using twix, snickers, or any other candy with caramel, I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces BEFORE you freeze them. No need to freeze the m&ms – they will kind of “sweat” when they come out of the freezer and your hands will suddenly be rainbow colored.
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven with the edges look set and are starting to turn golden brown, but the centers still look slightly under baked. They will finish baking on the hot cookie sheet OUTSIDE of the oven and keep that perfectly gooey melty center.
While the cookies are still hot, press the FROZEN candy all over the tops, covering as much surface area as possible. Then, top with flaky salt and let them cool!
Enjoy!
These cookies are best slightly warm so enjoy after letting them cool slightly, but not all the way! If you’re making ahead of time or have leftovers – store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days or up to a week in the fridge. When ready to eat, pop them in the microwave for 10-12 seconds for that fresh-from-the-oven vibe!
Halloween Candy Cookie FAQs
- What candies should I use? I opted for the chocolate fan favorites – Reese’s, Kitkat, M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, and Hershey’s Bars. Copy mine exactly, or use your favorites – just be sure to avoid candies like Nerds, Skittles, Sour Patch etc (they are pure sugar and will most likely just melt and not taste the best!) and stick to the chocolate candies!
- Can I make these cookies ahead of time? Yes! You can prep the recipe up to the point where you have the dough portioned into 6 cookies. Then place the dough in an airtight container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, just place the cookies on the counter to thaw before baking as directed.
- Can I make these cookies gluten free? I have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour. I use bread flour AND regular all purpose in this recipe to help the cookies have some structure since they’re SO BIG. But – you should be able to swap out both flours for a gluten free flour alternative and it should work fine. I’d recommend portioning them a bit smaller and bake 9-10 cookies instead of 6.
Halloween Candy Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes + overnight chill time
- Cook Time: 15 min.
- Total Time: 30 minutes (PLUS overnight chill!)
- Yield: 6 Giant Cookies
- Category: Cookies
Description
Big bakery style cookies that are soft and gooey in the middle with perfectly crinkly crisp edges and covered completely in your favorite leftover halloween candy!
Ingredients
- 1 C (2226g) Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 C (165g) Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/4 C (55g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lg Egg + 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or pure vanilla extract)
- 1 C (125g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/4 C (165g) Bread Flour
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 C Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 C 72% Dark Chocolate Chips *See notes
- 1/2 C M&Ms
- 1 C Assorted Chocolate Candy Bars, chopped
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars for 5 minutes, wiping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until it’s fluffy and lightened in color.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla bean paste. Mix for 3 minutes or until the mixture is shiny and thick.
- Add in the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, bread flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and mix until just combined with a few streaks of flour remaining.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and remaining streaks of flour.
- Portion the dough into 6 large cookie dough balls – about 5.5oz each. Use your hands to roll into smooth dough balls. Cover and place in the fridge overnight (or at least 6 hours)
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place 3 cookies on each cookie sheet giving them plenty of room to spread.
- Select your chocolate candies, unwrap them, slice them into smaller pieces, and place in the freezer. Don’t freeze the M&Ms!
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until the edges look set and are starting to brown, but the centers still look slightly under baked.
- Remove from oven and press FROZEN chocolate candies all over the tops of the cookies, covering as much surface area as possible. (pro tip- use mini M&Ms to fill in the gaps!)
- Top with a healthy pinch of flaky salt, then allow the cookies to cool slightly and set up a bit on the hot cookie sheet.
- Enjoy warm!
Notes
*I like using a mix of semi sweet AND dark chocolate chips in the recipe because with all of the super sweet milk chocolate in the candy bars, the dark chocolate will help balance it a little. Of course they will still be SUPER sweet and indulgent because of the candy. I like the 72% Dark Chocolate Chips from Trader Joe’s!
If you loved this recipe for my Halloween Candy Cookies, be sure to leave a star rating and review below and tag @buuckfarmsbakery on Tiktok and Instagram. To save this recipe for later, click on the Pinterest icon on the recipe card above, or on any of the images throughout this post.
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