Easy Halloween Candy Cookie Recipe

Put your leftover Halloween candy to good use with this Halloween candy cookie recipe.

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You might also like Easy No Bake Halloween Treats, Healthy Halloween Snack Ideas, and Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.

The Best Use Of Halloween Candy

POV: Spooky season is over and you’re still surrounded by bags of leftover candy that you’re not sure what to do with. (We’re assuming you’ve already eaten as much straight candy as you can handle…) Wondering what to do with leftover Halloween candy? Well, we’ve got you covered.

There are tons of fun and easy things to do with your extra halloween candy, but we LOVE making these leftover halloween candy cookies. They are thick, chewy, and can consist of whatever candy your heart desires.

Best Candy For Cookies

For this recipe, we used Kit-Kats, M&Ms, Snickers, and Twix. This choice of candy was mainly based on what we happened to have leftover. (Hence the name Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies haha.) We really enjoyed this candy combination, but if you need more ideas for your candy cookie recipe, we also like:

Reese’s
Almond Joy
Butterfinger
Hershey’s Bars
Crunch Bars
(The candy opportunities are endless)

stack-of-leftover-halloween-candy-cookies.

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Tips & Tricks

This is a very simple candy cookie recipe, but there are a few key things to remember when making your dough so that your cookies turn out as good as possible! Follow these quick tips, and your cookies will be in great shape when you pull them out of the oven.

Don’t overbeat your shortening and sugar. While creaming together your shortening and sugar, make sure to stop mixing as soon as your mixture has reached a light, fluffy texture. (This usually takes 2-3 minutes.) If you let the shortening and sugar continue mixing after it becomes fluffy, it allows more air in, which can negatively impact the thickness of your cookies.

Sift your flour! It’s an extra step, but it’s oh so important. Sifting your flour will help keep your cookies light, fluffy, and well mixed.

Don’t overmix your dough. After you’ve added your dry ingredients, mix them just until fully combined. As soon as all ingredients are completely mixed together, stop mixing. This will keep them from becoming too chewy or dense.

Chop your candy small. When cutting up the Halloween candy, we found it best to chop our candy bars into small bite sized pieces. For this candy cookie recipe, we diced our chocolate bars and then mixed in our M&Ms whole.

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Recipe FAQ’s

How big should I make my cookies?

We tested this recipe out with both a smaller and larger cookie scoop, and both sizes turned out great with the same baking time. I prefer making these cookies a little bigger so that I can fit more pieces of candy in each cookie, but you can make these cookies any size you like.

Can I use butter instead of shortening?

We recommend using shortening/crisco, as it helps the cookies turn out thicker. If you do use butter to make this Halloween candy cookie recipe, your cookies will be a lot thinner. That said, if you prefer a thick and chewy cookie, you should definitely use shortening/crisco.

How many cookies does this recipe make?

That depends on how large or small you make your cookies. When making the cookies using a smaller cookie scoop, this recipe yields 24 cookies. If using a larger scoop, the recipe yields about 14.

Can I use canned whipped cream for the topping?

I would not recommend using canned whip cream to create a frosting because it melts so quickly and would not maintain its shape and thickness as a layer on your cake. To avoid a runny mess, don’t use whipped cream from a can to frost your strawberry shortcut cake. However, if you choose to top an individual slice of cake with some Reddi Wip before eating, you’d be ok.

Before You Start

Chop your candy beforehand!
Remove the eggs from the fridge so they’re room temperature when you start.

Halloween Candy Cookies

October 27, 2021

Author: Mallory & Marissa

Put your leftover Halloween candy to good use with this Halloween candy cookie recipe.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Chill Time 1

Total Time 1 32

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings cookies

Calories 119 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar packed
1 egg room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups chopped candy of your choice

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and the sugars until light and fluffy (2-3 min). Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry mixture into batter, and mix until fully combined. (Avoid overmixing the dough.)Using a spatula, stir in chopped candy.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and cover 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil. Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheets, leaving a few inches between each ball of dough. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cookies cool & enjoy!

Notes

Here are some great candy ideas for your Halloween candy cookies:

Reese’s
Almond Joy
Butterfinger
Hershey’s Bars
Crunch Bars

Nutrition

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.