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These Halloween Candy Cookies are a perfect way to use up all that leftover Halloween candy. They take less than 30 minutes and are easy and super customize-able. The cookie base is gooey and soft and each bite is loaded with meltey Halloween candy!
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I don't know about you, but I always have way too much leftover Halloween candy after October 31st. And frankly, after a while I get sick of eating all those mini chocolate bars on their own. So - the easiest solution? Chop up the candy, throw it in some cookie dough, and bake! Somehow, cookies are something I can never get sick of 😉
These cookies are loaded with chocolate, caramel, crunchiness, peanut butter, you name it! They make me want to buy extra bulk boxes of Halloween candy so that I can just make them all year round.
What kind of Halloween candy should I use?
These cookies should be made using chocolate-based candy. You can use any chocolate-based Halloween candy you want, and you can pick anywhere from 3 or more candies. You need about ¾ cup -1 cup in total. I typically use a few of my favourite vegan/dairy free Halloween treats, but you can use anything you want!
When I make these for friends, I sometimes make them with regular Halloween chocolate instead of dairy free. Here are some of my non-dairy free suggestions:
- Reese's Pieces
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
- Snickers bars
- Twix bars
- Kit Kat bars
- Aero bars
- Smarties
- M&M's
- Coffee Crisp bars
What candy is dairy free?
Growing up, Halloween was always a bit tricky for me because 90% of the candy I got trick or treating had dairy in it! For people who are lactose intolerant, have dairy allergies, or are vegan, it can be hard to find good dairy free chocolate-based Halloween candy.
Here are some of my favourites:
- No Whey No No's - these taste just like Smarties/M&M's! They can be a bit harder to find in some places but I found these on Amazon.
- Cocomels - these are my favourite vegan soft caramels. They're soft and delicious!
- Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups* - These are super popular and are made without milk. They are so good and taste just like Reese's *If you have an allergy, make sure to read the label because it does say "May Contain Milk".
- Free2Be - These are like Reese's but they are dairy free and peanut free, plus free from 8 other allergens!
- Enjoy Life Chocolate Crunch Bars - These are sooo delicious. They have this really great crunch to them and you would never know they are dairy free! These are sold individually in quite a few places and are pretty popular.
Those are just a few of my favourites, but check around online or at stores in your area and you might find some more hidden gems!
How to make leftover halloween candy cookies
The cookies are super quick and easy to make, with no chill time for the dough! This Halloween version takes those cookies to the next level because each bite is unique and loaded with different flavours and textures of the different candies. These cookies are ready in 25 minutes and are thick, soft, and gooey inside.
About an hour before you start baking the cookies, pick your favourite Halloween candy that you want to use and place it in the fridge to chill. This will make the candy easier to cut and it won't be too soft when it gets mixed into the dough.
The cookies start off like regular chocolate chip cookies. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and set them aside for later. Next, pick a few of your favourite Halloween chocolates, and if the chocolate is in a bar form, chop it up into small chunks.
Next, you're going to beat together the butter and sugars for about a minute, then add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat again. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and then mix them together until combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times to make sure the dry ingredients are fully combined.
Add in the chopped up Halloween candy and mix the dough for another 10 seconds, or until the chocolate is just combined throughout the dough.
Form balls that have about 1.5-2 tablespoons of dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies are done after between 8-10 minutes in the oven. The edges will look just slightly set, with barely any golden brown to them and the middles will look under-baked.
Tips for making leftover halloween candy cookies
Chill your Halloween Candy
About an hour before you make the cookies, put the candy (not chopped up yet) into the fridge to chill. Using cold candy ensures that the candy won't blend into the dough before it get's baked, and that the candy won't spread and melt too much.
It's also a lot easier to cut up the candy bars when they are cold because they don't squish and melt. This happens typically with chocolate peanut butter cups or caramel filled chocolate candies.
Don't Mix caramels directly into the dough
If you are using any soft caramels in these cookies, leave them out of the dough. Once you have scooped the dough onto the baking sheet, gently push 1-2 soft caramels into the top of the dough before baking.
If you mix soft caramels into the dough, sometimes they will end up at the bottom or edges of the cookies. When you bake them, they are going to spread and having them at the bottom or edges will make a sticky mess.
Don't Use too much halloween candy
While we all know I LOVE a cookie loaded with chocolate, you don't want to put TOO much candy into the dough. Putting too much candy in the cookies will result in a bit of a mess, and you want to make sure that there is still a good ratio of cookie-to-candy. ¾ cup - 1 cup is the perfect amount!
Stick to Chocolate-Based Halloween Candy
Although there are a lot of dairy free gummy candies, you'll want to stick to chocolate-based candy to avoid having a melty mess on your hands. Gummy candies won't incorporate well into these cookies. Chocolate-based candy and cookies go much better together, trust me!
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Halloween Candy Cookies
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Handheld or Standing Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (vegan or regular)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups +2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¾ - 1 cup chocolate-based Halloween candy, chopped (dairy free or regular)
Instructions
- Chill your Halloween candy in the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes before you begin making the cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Remove the Halloween candy from the fridge and chop it up into chunks*
- In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer, combine butter and sugars, mixing until smooth.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat until just combined (do not over-mix!).
- Mix in the dry ingredients until a dough forms. Toss in the Halloween candy and mix until just combined.
- Make 1.5-2 tbsp sized balls and place them on the baking sheet around 3-4 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes. Remove them from the oven when the edges look set. They will look under-baked in the middle! Remove from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
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