Halloween Cookies from Leftover Candy -

by Laura Onstot | Laura Onstot, registered nurse and mom of 2 young kids, rarely pees alone, only frequents restaurants with Kraft Mac N Cheese, and blogs at Nomad’s Land. In her spare time, she can be found sleeping on the couch while she lets her kids watch endless episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Her parenting advice is questionable, but at least she’s honest.

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I believe in feeding my children a colorful diet of fruits and vegetables. And I also believe that I am living my best life when I eat a colorful diet… of M&M’s. So for me, Halloween is a winner of a holiday. My kids go and work for candy. And then after they go to bed, I steal their best stuff.

But, I am not stupid. I don’t stash it away, eating one piece at a time. Then they might notice a steady stream of candy wrappers in the garbage can that look oddly similar to their missing candy. Instead, I unwrap it all at once, dispose of the wrappers in an opaque black bag, chop up the candy, and add it to cookie dough for the best cookies of the year: Halloween Cookies.

It’s kind of like hiding a dead body- the whole chopping up candy to hide it. But it’s not like hiding a dead body in that, I would never eat a dead body. I do, however, eat chopped-up candy in my cookies.

The best part is that the candy is hidden in plain sight. You can eat the cookies in front of your kids, and they will never know of the crime you committed.

Genius? Yes. You’re welcome.

Halloween Cookie bitten into. — Photo Credit by Laura Onstot

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Ingredients for Halloween Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. of salt

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups chopped up assorted M&M‘s or any other chocolate Halloween candy

*Pro-tip: If you don’t have enough candy for two cups, add chocolate chips to supplement. Or steal Halloween candy from your neighbor. Whatever route you choose, I won’t judge.

Directions to Bake Halloween Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Combine the butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat until creamy. Add eggs, beating well. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add in chopped Halloween candy and mix slowly until combined.

All the ingredients mixed into a Halloween Cookie Mix — Photo Credit by Laura Onstot

Use a tablespoon-sized scoop and roll into balls. Place on a parchment-paper lined baking tray.

Scoop of Halloween Cookie dough. — Photo Credit by Laura Onstot

Balls of Halloween Cookie dough placed on a parchment paper and cookie baking tray. — Photo Credit by Laura Onstot

Bake for 9-11 minutes, and then cool on the cookie tray until you are able to eat the cookies without burning the roof of your mouth off- approximately 5-10 minutes. I believe they taste best cooled to room temperature, but I’m not going to engage in the battle over whether warm or cool are the best. It’s not worth risking my life. You do you.

Enjoy! And when your kids ask what happened to all of their candy, blame someone else.