Out of This World Milky Way Cookie Recipe – Too Delicious For This Plant!

Move over plain jane cookies, my Milky Way cookies are bigger and even more irresistible in taste and texture! This easy recipe makes the softest, chewiest cookies stuffed with my favorite chocolate caramel and nougat candy bar, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top. Or make candy bar cookies with whatever holiday treats you like!

For years, we’ve been taking our leftover Halloween candy, chopping it into pieces, and baking it into soft and chewy cookies. It’s a simple way to elevate a classic salted chocolate chip cookies recipe and repurpose a humble candy bar, by turning it into a treat to share with friends and neighbors. Although we’ve baked every type of candy bar in cookie form, Milky Way cookies are the absolute best, in my opinion! The delicate balance of chocolate, caramel, and creamy nougat really boosts the flavor of classic cookie dough. But this core candy cookie recipe is so good, in fact, I now make treats with Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas candy, too!

Sommer’s Recipe Highlights

Classic Cookies with a Twist – These bakery-style candy bar cookies are lightly crisp on the outside, with just the right soft texture and perfectly sweet and gooey chocolate caramel inside. I sprinkle on a bit of flaky sea salt for an extra bump of flavor that enhances the chocolate and caramel!

Customize Your Candies – Really, you can make this cookie dough recipe with any type of candy bar you like. I am just partial to Milky Ways and think you should try them first. Then, if you want to branch out a bit, you might try adding chopped Snickers, Kit Kat bars, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Hershey’s chocolate bars, M&Ms, or whatever candy you have on hand.

No-Chill Cookie Dough – Unlike some traditional cookie recipes, these cookies with Milky Way bars don’t require chilling the dough before baking. I simply mix everything together in a large bowl, quickly scoop and roll the dough, and bake! Because I’ve nailed the ingredients here, and they are only in the oven for about 10 minutes, the cookies won’t spread too much.

Key Ingredients and Tips

• Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter in most recipes, especially when baking. I’m using the usual table salt to make the dough and sprinkling of flaky sea salt when the cookies come out of the oven, so yeah, we’ve got saltiness covered. Don’t overdo it by also adding salted butter.
• Light brown sugar – Often cookie recipes will include both brown and white sugar for a balance of warmth and sweetness. The Milky Way candies have a lot of granulated white sugar in them, so I only add brown sugar to give these cookies a sweet flavor that won’t hurt your teeth.
• Eggs – Using cold eggs to bake can throw off the baking time and cookie texture. I always set the eggs on the counter for 15-20 minutes to let them come to room temperature before using.
• Vanilla – Seriously, don’t cheap out on your vanilla extract. This must-have baking ingredient needs to be high-quality for the best tasting cookies. You can use liquid extract or vanilla bean paste.
• Dry ingredients – The usual all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt pantry staples are all you need.
• Milky Way bars – Milky Way bars come in various shapes and sizes. To account for this, the recipes uses 13-15 ounces of candy bars, no matter the size you’re using.
• Sea salt – Back to that flaky sea salt…A sprinkle of salt on top of a freshly baked cookie makes the caramel and chocolate flavors really pop!

How to Make

Find the full ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.

Prep – I get the oven preheating to 350 degrees F, and while that’s doing its thing, I gather the ingredients and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the Cookie Dough – You can do this in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Either way, start by beating together the softened butter and sugar until they get all smooth and fluffy. This takes a few minutes, so be patient! Then blend in the eggs and vanilla; the mixture will be silky and golden in color.

I whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl to be sure the flour, salt, and baking powder are combined evenly. Then I add this combo into the main mixing bowl bit by bit. Adding too much too quickly will make the dough clunky, and yes, that’s as bad as it sounds.

Milky Way Time – I unwrap the bars and use a very sharp knife to chop the candy into even-sized pieces. You want each piece to have layers of caramel, nougat, and chocolate. Then I eat a few pieces because I deserve a little treat. Then I use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix the remaining Milky Way pieces into the cookie dough by hand.

I’ve tried using an electric mixer to incorporate the chocolate chunks into cookie dough before, and let me tell you, friend, it did not go well. Cookie dough is simply much too thick, and the pieces get all kinds of stuck. Take the time to mix them in by hand.

Scoop and Roll – If you don’t already have one, go ahead and treat yourself to a true cookie dough scooper. It makes a world of difference! Here I’m using a 2-tablespoon scoop to evenly portion the cookie dough, making sure to get a couple of candy bar chunks in each ball. Then gently roll each portion into a golfball-sized ball, and set it on the prepared cookie sheet. These cookies tend to spread a bit, so place them about 2 1/2 inches apart so they don’t all pool together.

Pro Tip – For the prettiest cookies, make sure any exposed chunks of candy bar are facing up!

Bake – I bake these cookies for just about 10 minutes, just until they are beginning to turn firm and golden around the edges.

Sometimes cookies with large chunks spread abnormally. When I take the cookies out of the oven, I use a rubber spatula to push the cookies back into circles, if needed.

Sprinkle Some Salt – Speaking of when they come out of the oven, I’m ready to go with a pinch of sea salt to sprinkle on while the cookies are still warm. It’s optional, however, like my salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars recipe, I think the salted caramel makes these cookies with Milk Way bars seem more…Grown up? Maybe not, but it sure is delicious!

Expert Tip

One of the worst things you can do to cookies is overbake them. (Been there, done that!) And this is especially true for these chunky cookies, because the caramel will harden into a rock. To avoid that sad situation, I always play it safe and check them on the low end of the estimated bake time, around 10 minutes.

I immediately pull the baking sheet out of the oven once the edges of the cookies look set and the tops are no longer doughy. These cookies shouldn’t really get brown, and in fact, they’ll look aaalmost underbaked with a pale-ish color. But not to worry, they’ll continue to cook and firm up while cooling on the baking sheet.

Storage Notes

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. I’m gonna say it again: Do not store them in the fridge!

Baked cookies will freeze well for up to six months in an airtight Ziploc plastic bag. If you need to stack them in the bag, I suggest placing a piece of wax or parchment paper between the layers to keep the cookies from sticking together. When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw them on the counter for 20 minutes or so, until they come to room temperature.

You can microwave leftover cookies for a short 5-10 seconds to get them soft again. I suggest wrapping them loosely in a paper towel to keep the chocolate from melting all over the place.

Frequently Asked Quesions

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