Big, Chewy Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies
Got a mountain of fun-size candy bars sitting on the counter after trick-or-treating? Chop them up and bake them into these big, chewy Halloween candy cookies, the thick, Crumbl-style kind with golden edges and soft middles that you’d normally pay bakery prices for. One batch makes 8 oversized cookies in about 35 minutes.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Big, Chewy Crumbl-Style Halloween Candy Cookies
- Serves: 8 Large Bakery-style Cookies
- Main Ingredients: unsalted butter, softened, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder
- Why You'll Love It: These Halloween Candy Cookies are the perfect way to turn that mountain of leftover candy into something even better. They’re fun, festive, and just the right balance of chewy, chocolatey, and over-the-top. Happy baking, y’all!
Every bite is a little different, with peanut butter from a Reese’s in one spot and caramel from a Snickers or a crunch of Kit Kat in the next, so toss in whatever mix your family left in the bowl. If you’d rather stick with one candy, my old-fashioned M&M cookies are a classic, and either one is awfully good with a mug of stovetop hot chocolate on a chilly fall night.
Why These Halloween Candy Cookies Bake Up Thick and Chewy
The dough uses three times as much brown sugar as white sugar, which keeps the centers soft and chewy, and a little baking soda plus baking powder gives the cookies lift so they rise tall instead of spreading thin. Shaping the dough into half-cup portions and pressing them into thick disks gives you that bakery look, and letting them finish setting on the warm pan keeps the middles gooey.
Ingredients for Halloween Candy Cookies
Leftover Halloween candy: Snickers, Twix, Kit Kats, Reese’s cups and M&M’s all work. Chop the bars into bite-size chunks so every cookie gets a few different kinds.
Unsalted butter: Let it soften at room temperature so it creams up light and fluffy with the sugars. Melty butter makes the cookies spread.
Light brown sugar: It does most of the sweetening here and is the secret to the chewy texture.
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper so the bottoms don’t over-brown and the cookies slide right off.
- Freeze softer candy like Reese’s cups or Milky Ways for about 10 minutes before chopping so it doesn’t turn into a sticky mess.
- Save a handful of chopped candy to press on top of the warm cookies for that bakery-case look.
- For smaller cookies, use a medium cookie scoop and take a few minutes off the bake time.
How to Make Halloween Candy Cookies
1Cream the Butter and Sugars
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
2Add the Egg and Vanilla
Beat in the egg and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
3Mix in the Dry Ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, then add it to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing just until combined so the cookies stay tender.
4Fold in the Candy
Gently fold the chopped Halloween candy into the dough with a spatula.
5Shape the Cookies
Scoop the dough into 8 large portions, about ½ cup each. Roll them into balls, flatten them into thick disks and set them on the baking sheets about 3 inches apart.
6Bake
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers look just set. They’ll keep firming up as they cool.
7Cool and Top
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Press a few extra candy pieces on top while they’re still warm.
Serving and Sharing Halloween Candy Cookies
For a Halloween party spread, set these out with a pan of frozen yogurt Halloween bark and a plate of ghost meringue cookies, or browse our full list of easy Halloween treats and desserts for more ideas. A cookie this size is a treat all by itself, so wrapping each one in a cellophane bag makes a sweet gift for teachers and neighbors.
On a cool night, a warm cookie and a mug of hot spiced apple cider is hard to beat, and a bowl of sweet and salty fall snack mix on the side keeps everybody munching through a scary movie.
Halloween Candy Cookies FAQs
What candy works best in these cookies?
Chocolate bars with caramel, peanut butter or crispy wafers hold up best in the oven, like Snickers, Reese’s cups, Twix, Kit Kats and M&M’s. Hard candies and gummies don’t melt the same way, so leave those in the treat bowl.
How can I make them even chewier?
Add an extra egg yolk to the dough along with the whole egg. It makes the cookies richer and a little chewier in the middle.
Can I make Halloween candy cookie bars instead?
Yes. Press the dough into a parchment-lined 9×13 pan and bake at 350°F for about 25 to 28 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is still a little soft.
Big, Chewy Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups chopped leftover Halloween candy Snickers, Twix, KitKat, Reese’s, M&M’s, etc.
- Optional: 1 extra cup chopped candy to top cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2–3 minutes). Add egg and vanilla: Mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add gradually to the wet mix, mixing until just combined.
- Gently fold in chopped candies and chocolate chips. For softer candies (like Reese’s), freeze 10 minutes before chopping.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (about ½ cup dough). Roll into balls, then slightly flatten into thick disks. Place 3 inches apart. (Optional: place extra chopped candies on top of cookie dough before baking)
- Bake 13–15 minutes, until edges are golden brown but centers look just set (they’ll finish setting as they cool).
- Let rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a rack. (Optional: When cookies are removed from the oven, press chopped candies on top for a chunkier look)