Candy-Filled Sugar Cookies

The holidays are moving along quickly, as always! But in today's Cookie Challenge recipe, we're going to be moving back to Halloween. Well, kind of. Whenever I go trick-or-treating, I always have leftover candy. So I'm incorporating some candy into today's cookies. This recipe can be used anytime. But it's super perfect for when you have some excessive chocolate.

First of all, if your leftover candy is not chocolate, I can't help you! But all those Fun Size Snickers and Mini Reese's Cups will now have a purpose. I decided to go with a crunchy, peanut buttery, chocolate theme...

I tossed in Reese's, Snickers, Butterfingers, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. But I actually don't recommend using Butterfingers or any toffee. Toffee is full of sugar and is sticky. This causes it to melt and make the cookie stick to the pan. I recommend adding Kit Kats or Twix instead.

One of the most important steps of this recipe is chilling the candy. To get the "Candy-Filled" part of the cookie, we need to mix the candy into the dough. It wouldn't be good if it melted! So putting the candy and chips in the fridge is actually the first step of the recipe. 😀 

 This recipe is similar to my sugar cookie recipe. But this time, there is no cornstarch and there is more brown sugar. The focus is less on the sugar flavor and more on a chewy, "clean slate" type of cookie base.

Let me know what you think of these in the comments down below, and tell me what candy you put in. ;) Xoxo, see you soon!

Makes about 42 cookies

Candy-Filled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) cold, chopped butter
• Candy and chips

Directions

1. Put all of your candy and chips in the fridge to chill!!!
2. Toss your flour, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, cream both sugars and cold butter - using a beater on medium-high speed - until smooth. This could take up to 5 minutes.
4. Beat in the eggs on low until combined, then do the same with your vanilla.
5. Make sure to beat your mixture enough so that the clumps are reduced. It may still look a bit grainy, but that's okay. Make sure you don't overbeat! 
6. Beat on low setting as you gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
7. Using a spatula, gather your dough at the bottom of the bowl, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.
8. When the chilling is just about complete, take out and chop up your candy. Place the chips and chopped candy into a bowl.
9. Remove your dough from the fridge and - with clean hands - knead the candy and chips into the dough until it is mostly even.
10. Preheat your oven to 350. Place Tbs-sized pieces of dough onto greased baking pans at least one inch apart. 
11. Bake for about 12 minutes before allowing to cool, and enjoy!