This recipe uses leftover Halloween candy – don’t let it go to waste, make a Halloween candy cookie dough to put in the freezer for later! This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if a purchase is made using links on this page, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Every year I end up with way too much Halloween candy! I have this ridiculous fear that I will run out of candy and disappoint the neighborhood kids, so I buy giant bags of candy from BJ’s and always end up with extra.
This year I bought two huge bags of candy, and after giving them away for my kids’ Halloween parties and handing them out on Halloween night, I still had tons of candy left.
What a better way to use it up than with these freezer-ready leftover Halloween candy cookies!
The best candy for leftover Halloween candy cookies
These cookies work best with chocolate-based candies, though there really are no rules. Whatever you have can go into the cookie!
I love a loaded cookie. In this recipe I used three cups of chopped candy bars and M&Ms. If you don’t have that much candy, you can add chocolate chips to make up the difference.
The best candies for these cookies are:
- Snickers
- Milky Way Bars
- M&Ms (all varieties)
- Reese’s
- Kit Kat Bars
- Twix Bars
- Heath Bars
- Take 5
- PayDay
- 100 Grand
- Hershey Bars (all varieties)
I used a mix of white, dark and milk chocolate candy bars (Snickers, Milky Way, Kit Kat, Reese’s and Twix) as well as peanut and regular M&Ms. They are delicious!
To make the cookies nut-free
This recipe has peanut butter in it, though you can easily swap it out for butter. To make these nut-free, replace the peanut butter with a stick of softened butter.
Stick with peanut-free candy bars, like plain chocolate bars and M&Ms, to make it allergen friendly.
Other ideas for what to do with leftover Halloween candy
If cookies aren’t really your thing, there are a few other things you can try.
Make a candy bark by melting down your favorite chocolate and topping with chopped candy. When the chocolate cools, break it into chunks that you can eat later.
You can also fold candy and chopped candy bars into brownie batter. Reese’s cups in brownies is a favorite in my house!
With leftover Reese’s cups, try this no bake peanut butter pie. We love this at Thanksgiving!
You can also freeze candy for later. Cold Milky Way bars and cold Twix bars are often in my freezer for a cool treat.
This recipe works with leftover candy from any holiday! It was definitely a great use for Halloween candy in my house this year and I’ll definitely be doing it again.
Candy Cookies
These cookies are the perfect way to use up leftover Halloween candy or any holiday candy! Bake immediately or store in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (about 1 stick)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 cups candy (a great use of leftover Halloween candy, chop up candy bars to bite size pieces)
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla, beat until well incorporated. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined. Using a soft spatula or spoon, carefully fold in candy until mixed throughout.
- To freeze cookie dough: line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour and then you can place into a freezer bag or freezer safe container. The frozen dough will last for several months. When you want to bake the cookies, remove the number you want to bake from the freezer and place a few inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes, until cookies are soft on top and golden on the bottom and edges.
- To bake immediately: preheat oven to 350. Place a few inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake for 8-10 minutes, until cookies are soft on the top but golden brown on bottom and edges. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before eating.
Notes
Best candy to use. Any kind of M&Ms, Snickers, Kit Kat, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, and Twix work great in these. Candy corn would also work well. If you are using a lot of candy with caramel in them, you may notice it melting and crisping the edges of the cookie.
Substitute peanut butter. You can use 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter instead of peanut butter to make these nut-free.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
40Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 175Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 15mgSodium 106mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 0gSugar 20gProtein 2g
Nutrition values are approximate.