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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like all your favorite chocolate treats combined into one heavenly bar of goodness. Perfect with a glass of milk!
Texture: Thick, chewy, soft, and slightly crunchy from the chocolate candies or cookies.
Ease: Easier than cookies! No mixer, no waiting for butter to come to room temperature, and no chilling or scooping dough.
Why you’ll love this recipe: This is a super quick dessert that’s perfect for using up Halloween candy or whatever mix-ins you’ve got in your pantry!
Leftover Halloween candy has never tasted so good as it does in these Loaded Cookie Bars.
They’re super chewy, slightly gooey, and loaded with Oreos, M&M’s, Reese’s, and whatever other candy you have on hand.
The best part? No electric mixer, no waiting on butter to come to room temperature, no chilling, and no scooping. Just mix the dough, press it into a pan, and bake! Who needs artificial refrigerated cookie dough when it’s this simple?!
These cookie bars are completely customizable, so feel free to swap in your favorite candy or whatever mix-ins you’ve got in the pantry. Keep reading for some customization ideas, plus all my tips for getting that perfectly chewy texture.
Reader Love
OH MY GOSH, these were so delicious! I used M&Ms, peanut butter cups, dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and Reeses pieces… and YUM! They were perfectly soft on the inside. This is officially my go-to recipe for cookie bars.
I’ve made these several times. I substituted the cookies and candies with one cup each of chocolate chips, craisins and chopped pecans. I just use all-purpose flour. I follow all cooking directions accordingly. They’re scrumptious.
Ingredient Notes For Success
A few key ingredients are what give these cookie bars their signature chewy, dense texture:
Dark Brown Sugar: Brown sugar holds onto more moisture than granulated sugar, which helps create chewy cookie bars with a richer flavor.
- Swap: You can use light brown sugar 1:1, but the color, taste, and texture will be slightly different.
Egg + Egg Yolk: The extra egg yolk adds fat for a richer, chewier texture without adding more moisture from an egg white. I haven’t tried any egg substitutes.
Bread Flour: The higher protein content helps develop stronger gluten, giving these cookie bars their especially chewy, sturdy texture. Measure your flour with a digital kitchen scale for the best results. If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon-and-level method to avoid adding too much flour, which can make the bars dry and crumbly.
- Swap: If needed, use all-purpose flour 1:1, but the bars won’t be quite as chewy.
Melted Butter: Using melted butter means there’s no need to cream the butter and sugar together. Creaming incorporates air, which would make these bars lighter and less dense. Melted butter helps create the dense, chewy texture we want.
How to Tell When Cookie Bars Are Done Baking
The cookie bars are done when the edges and top are golden brown and the center looks soft but still set. You want a little gooey softness to remain. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool, so be careful not to overbake.
For the best results, bake these cookie bars in a light-colored metal baking pan. Metal conducts heat more efficiently than glass or ceramic, helping the bars bake evenly from edge to center.
If you only have a glass or ceramic pan, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F and increase the baking time by 5 to 15 minutes. Otherwise, the edges can bake before the center is fully set, leaving you with an underbaked or even raw center. Learn more about Glass vs. Metal Pans here.
How to Customize Loaded Cookie Bars
These cookie bars are made for using up whatever you have on hand. Swap in your favorite candy, cookies, or other treats like:
- Chocolate bars: Snickers, Hershey’s, Milky Way, Twix, Kit Kat
- Peanut butter candy: Reese’s Cups, Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter chips
- Caramel candy: Rolos, caramels, Milk Duds
- Chocolate chips: Semisweet, milk, dark, or white chocolate chips
- Cookies: Oreos, graham crackers, shortbread
- Pretzels: Chocolate-covered pretzels or chopped plain pretzels
- Other crunchy candy: Heath bars, Butterfingers, Crunch bars
- Nuts: Chopped cashews, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds
Tip: Check your pantry and the bottom of the Halloween candy bucket before buying anything new! If you’d happily eat it with chocolate, you can probably chop it up and throw it in these bars.
Storage & Freezing
Storage: Cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Add a tortilla to the container to help keep the bars softer for longer.
Freeze: Freeze the bars in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature and, if desired, refresh in a 300°F oven until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, just know the bars will be less chewy. Use a total of 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour.
Yes! That’s the whole point of these loaded cookie bars. Swap in your favorite chocolate, candy, cookies, pretzels, or whatever treats you have on hand. If you’d eat it with chocolate, it’ll probably work in this recipe!
Make sure you’re using a light-colored metal baking pan and baking until the center looks set but still soft. If using glass or ceramic, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F and increase the baking time by 5 to 15 minutes. See the How to Tell When Cookie Bars Are Done Baking section above for more guidance.
I haven’t tried that, but other readers have had success with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. You may need to increase the baking time and tent the top partway through baking to prevent over-browning.
Yes! Halve all the ingredients and bake in an 8×8-inch metal baking pan. Start checking for doneness around 18-20 minutes. For the egg yolk, beat one yolk and use half, about 9 grams.
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Ingredients
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (159 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (127 grams) bread flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 20 Oreo cookies, chopped
- 1 cup M&M candies
- 1 cup chopped Reese’s (or other chocolate candy)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 13-inch metal baking pan** with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, vigorously stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until very well combined. Add in the vanilla, eggs, and egg yolk and stir until well combined. Gradually add in the flours, baking soda, and salt and stir until just combined. Fold in the Oreos, M&M’s, and Reese’s, reserving some to sprinkle on top.
- Use a spatula to press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the reserved candy, pressing each down lightly. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown but not overcooked. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and recently updated with recipe improvements and additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I made these cookie bars for my bike club. They were a big hit! I’ve been told to put them on the list of cookies I can make again!
Can you use just A.P flour?
If I sub the Oreos with something else would Iuse about a cup of mixins or so?
Great video. Yes prefer on camera. short and to the point.
Really like the anicdotal tips. Like why melted butter and why only baking soda.
LOVED the video – thanks for the tips on bread flour also! I am going to make these tonight – just to practice up for Halloween leftovers 😉
Yay! Enjoy 🙂
You are an amazing cook. Thank you for taking the time to break down recipes to find out how to get the best results. I also love that you use ingredients that I already have and clearly describe the directions so that I can replicate your successes.
These are on my gotta-make list and I know they will be met with rave reviews.
These look awesome, Tessa!
ohhhhh man, these out sinful!!
Oh my god. These cookie bars look amazing. Crunchy, chewy, thick, and easy to make? What’s not to like?!
Oh man, chewy cookie bars are the BEST!
I don’t know what it is but I’ve been so tired lately too. . and I never need to take a nap! Well, thank goodness we get an extra hour of sleep this weekend! Daylight savings to the rescue! I love the idea of using up leftover halloween candy for these!!! love and pinned!
I’m only in a warm daze because I’m curled up under a heated blanket and am pounding back coffee. It’s another cold and rainy day in Seattle.
I don’t have any kids to bring me candy to make these AMAZING bars, but that means less sharing for me 😉 Pinned!