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    Home » Recipes » All Desserts

    Halloween Candy Cookie Bars

    Published: Oct 31, 2019 · Modified: Oct 19, 2021 by In Fine Taste · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These Halloween candy cookie bars are a favorite around our house! They are easy to make, just mix and dump in a pan, and bake! They’re versatile and always turn out perfectly! They are the perfect way to use up that leftover Halloween candy

    cookie bar with candy on top and candy scattered around it.

    Why this Recipe Works

    These Halloween candy cookies bars super versatile and are perfect for using up that leftover Halloween candy, or leftover candy from any holiday—Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter, etc.

    No mixer is required and the dough requires no chill time! You can even substitute the leftover candy for just regular old chocolate chips if that’s all you have. This recipe is perfect for tossing in the remnants of all those random little bags of chocolate chips, nuts, caramel bits, or whatever you have floating around.

    Ingredient Notes

    ingredients for cookie bars with labels.
    • Butter. We use melted butter in this recipe which not only makes this recipe easier (no mixer!) it keeps these cookie bars nice and dense.
    • Sugar. White sugar helps sweeten and gives these a great texture.
    • Brown Sugar. The molasses in brown sugar adds a wonderful flavor that complements the candy, oats, and coconut.
    • Salt. A little salt enhances the flavor while also balancing out the sweetness.
    • Baking Soda. Baking soda helps the cookie bars rise so they are not too dense.
    • Vanilla. Vanilla complements all the flavors and gives that wonderful bakery flavor.
    • Flour. This makes up the body of the cookie bars. We use all-purpose flour.
    • Shredded coconut. Sweetened shredded coconut helps these cookies be soft and chewy. They are not overwhelmingly coconutty, it really just adds to the soft, chewy texture of these bars. If you really don’t like coconut then you can substitute more oats, see notes or our expert tips section.
    • Oats. Old fashioned oats give these Halloween candy cookie bars a great texture and the perfect chew, and the flavor pairs perfectly with the coconut and candy.
    • Candy. I always go for a variety of my favorite chocolate or nut-based candies. I always add some semi-sweet chocolate chips in their too. You can substitute all or a portion of the candy for chocolate chips if you are short on candy.  

    Ideas for mix-ins:

    • Reese’s
    • Snickers
    • M&Ms
    • Twix
    • Kit Kat
    • Chocolate chips—white chocolate, peanut butter chips, dark chocolate, semisweet, butterscotch
    • Heath bar
    • Peanuts
    • Almonds

    How to Make this Recipe

    how to make halloween cookie bars, step 1 and 2.
    1. Start by mixing together melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
    2. Once combined, add in eggs and vanilla.
    how to make halloween cookie bars, step 3
    1. Then, stir in flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder until just combined.
    how to make halloween cookie bars, step 4.
    1. Add in oats, shredded coconut, and chopped candy and mix-ins (reserve some for topping off the batter with).
    how to make halloween cookie bars, step 5.
    1. Spread the batter evenly into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle reserved toppings over top of the batter.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 23-25 min. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

    What to do with leftover candy

    • Make these Halloween candy cookie bars. That might seem like a given, but this is my favorite thing to do with my leftover candy.
    • Make candy corn butterfingers. If you have a bunch of leftover candy corn try making these candy corn butterfingers, they taste like the real deal and are just 3 ingredients.
    • Use it for gingerbread houses. Leftover Halloween candy is perfect for decorating gingerbread houses during the holiday season.
    • Freeze it. Candy freezes exceptionally well! Throw it in the freezer for a treat later on.
    • Have an ice cream bar. Chopped up candy on ice cream is another tasty idea for using up all that extra candy. Try pairing it with our homemade hot fudge.
    • Put them in brownies. If cookie bars aren’t your thing, try chopping them up and mixing them in with our incredible fudge brownies!
    • Donate it. There are tons of places that you can donate your Halloween candy! Check out this post for a full list of places you can donate your Halloween candy.

    Expert Tips

    • Replace the coconut with all oats. You can make these cookies bars strictly with oatmeal. Just replace your 2 cups of shredded coconut with an additional 1½ cups old-fashioned oats.
    • Best candy to put in cookies. This is really a personal preference, but I think that a variety of chocolate and nut-based candies are the best in these Halloween cookies. I usually like to go for a mixture of Reese’s, Heath bar, Snickers, and M&Ms. But you really can’t go wrong with any of them!
    • Don’t overmix the dough.  These cookies are dense, soft, and tender. They’re simple to make and don’t require any mixer or a lot of arm work. Overmixing the dough will develop the gluten in the flour, which will make these Halloween cookies tough.
    • Don’t overbake the cookie bars. These Halloween candy cookie bars are designed to be soft and chewy, they may look slightly underdone when you pull them out, but the residual heat from the pan will help them set up and continue to cook them slightly as they cool. If you overbake these cookie bars they will start drying out faster and won’t stay as fresh.
    overhead shot of cookie bar with candy on the side.
    signature: "Enjoy! Alyssa".

    P.S. We had a blast showing you guys how to make these cookie bars on ABC4's Good Things Utah, so hop on over there if you want to watch the video. 

    Check out these other DELICIOUS recipes!

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    P.S. If you tried this recipe or any other In Fine Taste recipe take a second and rate it below! We love hearing what you think.  Let’s stay in touch! Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest for more recipe ideas.

    close up of halloween candy cookie bar

    Halloween Candy Cookie Bars

    These soft and chewy oatmeal cookie bars are easy and are loaded with coconut, chocolate, and candy!
    4.70 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cookies
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 23 minutes
    Total Time: 33 minutes
    Servings: 24
    Calories: 298kcal
    Author: Alyssa--In Fine Taste

    Ingredients

    Cookie Bars:

    • 1 cup butter melted
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 cup brown sugar packed
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 ½ cups flour measured correctly
    • 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
    • 2 cups old fashioned oats
    • 2-3 cups of candy/mix-ins

    Mix-in Ideas:

    • Reese’s
    • Snickers
    • M&Ms
    • Twix
    • Heath bar
    • Chocolate chips (white chocolate, peanut butter chips, dark chocolate, semisweet, butterscotch)
    • Peanuts
    • Almonds
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl combine melted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Once combined, add in eggs, and vanilla.
    • Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until just combined. Then stir in shredded coconut and oats, and mix ins (I reserved some mix-ins to sprinkle on top).
    • Spread batter into a greased 9x13 pan until evenly distributed. Bake for 23-25 minutes, Cool completely before serving.

    Notes

    Substitute the coconut for oats. You can make these cookies bars strictly with oatmeal. Just replace your 2 cups of shredded coconut with an additional 1½ cups old-fashioned oats.
    Replace the candy. You can replace the candy with chocolate chips. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 288mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g
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    Tried this recipe? Leave a review below, then take a picture and tag us @InFineTaste on Instagram so we can see!

    originally published November 1, 2018

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jill Chamberlin

      August 24, 2022 at 11:29 pm

      Is it possible to make these bars into regular cookies?

      Reply
      • In Fine Taste

        August 25, 2022 at 2:56 pm

        Hi Jill, I have never attempted to make these into cookies before. The dough is fairly wet, which makes the bars really soft and chewy, but I'm afraid if you tried to make them into cookies they would spread like crazy.
        - Alyssa

        Reply
    2. ELISABETH HOLLEY

      October 22, 2021 at 8:41 am

      These are delicious and I followed the recipe as written. The taste is delicious. I did try to cook them in a smaller foil pan so I could give them away and they spilled over (I did think ahead and put the foil pan on a cookie sheet) so I would recommend using the 9x13.
      A great way to use Halloween candy!

      Reply
    3. Amy

      June 21, 2021 at 8:44 am

      Do these freeze well

      Reply
      • In Fine Taste

        June 21, 2021 at 11:15 am

        Hi Amy, yes, these cookie bars freeze great! I would recommend slicing them up and wrapping them individually in plastic wrap before putting them in a a larger bag or food storage container. They should keep for about 3 months, just let them thaw out on the counter before eating.
        - Alyssa

        Reply

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