Candy Bar Cookies

These candy bar cookies are always fun to make after Halloween when you are loaded with all sorts of chocolate bars. Mix it up to your own liking!

CANDY BAR COOKIES

These cookies came about years ago when I was trying to figure out a way to use up some of my kids halloween candy in a fun way. They each got to choose a few candy bars that they loved to put in and then we mixed them all up. Everyone loved them and it's become a fun tradition ever since. And the best part is you can use whatever you love to make them your favorite!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Candy Bars
• Flaked Sea Salt

HOW TO MAKE CANDY BAR COOKIES

• In a bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt and flour. Set aside.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add egg and yolk one at a time, mix until smooth on low speed. Beat in vanilla.
• Slowly mix in dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. I usually stop when I still have some flour remnants around the bowl.
• Chop up the chocolate bars into chunks, trying to keep some large and some small for different variants of size. Stir the chocolate into the dough until combined.
• Scoop the dough into large balls, I like to use the ¼ cup cookie or ice cream scoop. At this point you can either have the patience to chill the dough knowing the results which be better, or bake your cookies because you just can't seem to resist. I like to scoop out all the balls and lay them out on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, turn the oven on to 350 F, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place 8 chilled cookie dough balls on the cookie sheet, sprinkling with the flaked sea salt. Some people salt their cookies after they bake them, but I like to do both. This gives the salt that falls off the tops an opportunity to bake underneath the cookie and give even that much more flavor.
• Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown outside, with a slightly glossy texture to the inside. If your cookies don't come out in a perfect circle, I like to take a spatula and circle the rim of the cookie to bring in any spots that have spread a little too far.

WHICH CANDY BARS ARE BEST TO USE

While I do believe whatever is your favorite is the best to use, the basic staple candy bars are always good to use and pair well with each other. We generally use kit-kats, snickers, twix, reese's cups and m&m's.

ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS

Something I have found to be helpful through the years is not allowing the butter and eggs to come to complete room temperature when making cookies. This is ideal for cakes and some bars, but cookies are different. I like to sit my butter and eggs out for about 15-30 minutes before I begin the cookie mixing process. You want your butter to be warm enough to make a small finger imprint, but not so warm that you can push through the butter.

HOW TO STORE COOKIES

The baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container or large ziplock bag for a few days, although I rarely keep them out of we don’t eat them the first day. 

Freezing is key if you ask me. I always have frozen cookie dough balls and baked cookies in my freezer. Maybe because I grew up like this, but you always want to be prepared with cookies. You can easily pull out a handful of already baked cookies and throw them in a cute cellophane bag, and you’ve got a gift for a friend. Just let them defrost and they are just like they were baked the same day.

OTHER POPULAR COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY:

Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chewy Monster Cookies

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment below if you make them and love them as much as I do.