Looking for cookies that are out of this world? Try these Mars Bar Cookies stuffed with gooey chocolate chips and Mars Bar pieces. They’re thick and soft and full of dark brown sugar flavour. Ready in under 45 minutes, these cookies are just begging for a glass of cold milk!
Do you ever get tired of plain ol’ chocolate chip cookies? No? Neither do I! I am; however, always excited when I get a chance to try out new chocolate chip cookie ideas. I think this recipe is a winner.
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What to Expect from this Recipe
- Soft texture. These cookies are thick and soft. They are perfect for stuffing!
- Gooey inside. The inside is full of melted chocolate chips AND Mars Bar pieces.
- One bowl. You’ll only need to use one bowl which saves time on clean up.
There are so many varieties of chocolate chip cookies and I admit that I often gravitate towards ones like buttery cookies like these butterball cookies or these butterscotch biscuits, but this recipe really made me sit up and take notice! Anything stuffed inside a cookie just has to be good and a Mars Bar is no exception.
The caramel, nougat, and milk chocolate melt in the middle to create a gooey centre that you’ll fall in love with. The cookie dough itself is not overly sweet, so you don’t have to worry about too much sugar overload, but still, these cookies are definitely for those with a sweet tooth.
Ingredient Notes
The full list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Brown and granulated sugar: Using two sugars gives us both sweetness from the granulated sugar and a deeper caramel flavour from the brown sugar.
- Egg plus additional egg yolk: Adding an additional egg yolk is a great trick to use to ensure your cookies are thick enough to hold the stuffing.
- Mars Bars: These chocolate bars are nougat and caramel covered in milk chocolate. They are similar to Milky Way bars. You can use your favourite candy bar here. Snickers would be great too!
🥣 Instructions
I used my stand mixer to cream the butter, sugar, and eggs together. A handheld mixer or just a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease would also work!
- Cream the butter and sugar together. This step is always so important and one you don’t want to rush through. It takes a couple of minutes to do with a stand mixer and a bit longer by hand. You want to cream until you no longer feel the crystals of sugar in the butter.
- Mix in remaining wet ingredients. At this stage, you want to make sure everything is super smooth and creamy. If there are still lumps of butter, keep creaming!
- Fold in flour. When adding the flour, do so gently. Too much overmixing can result in tough cookies. Make a scooping motion with a wooden spoon or spatula straight down the bottom of the bowl and gently bring the ingredients up to the top. Continue to do this until the ingredients are just combined.
- Chill. Pop the dough into the fridge for 15 minutes to chill and relax. This step makes it less messy to do the stuffing and rolling part.
- Stuff. Scoop out a tablespoon of dough and flatten it in the palm of your hand. Sprinkle on a few pieces of Mars Bar. Top with another tablespoon of dough and seal the edges as you roll the dough it into a ball.
Hint: As tempting as it may be, don’t overload the cookies with Mars Bar pieces. If you stuff them too full, the chocolate bar pieces may ooze out of the middle.
- Bake. Start checking the cookies after 12 minutes. They were baked in 16 minutes in my oven. The tops should be smooth and golden.
Helpful tips
- Ingredients at room temperature. Before you start creaming the butter, sugar, and eggs, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. It makes it so much easier to achieve a smooth cookie dough.
- Reshape. If your cookies come out of the oven in an unusual shape, gently press the sides with an offset spatula to encourage them back into a neat round shape. This is totally optional!
- Top with chocolate chips. While the cookies are still warm, drop a few chocolate chips onto the tops to give them some extra chocolatey flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep the dough in the fridge to bake later?
Yes, you can! Some say that the flavour of chocolate chip cookie dough improves the longer it sits. I recommend chilling the dough for 15 minutes before baking it as it makes it less messy when stuffing and rolling the cookies. If you’re refrigerating the dough for a couple of hours, make sure to press some plastic wrap over the top of the dough to keep it fresh. Once you’re ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before scooping and stuffing.
What can I do with leftover egg whites?
You’ll have one egg white leftover from this recipe. Don’t throw it away! You can put it into a small zip top bag and freeze it to use in another recipe that uses egg whites like mini pavlova nests or meringue. You could also toss it into some scrambled eggs or an omelet.
Can I use other chocolate bars to stuff inside the cookies?
Sure! If Mars Bars aren’t your thing, try chopping up pieces of your favourite chocolate bar. Snickers or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups would taste amazing! For even more variations on the Mars Bar cookies, check out some suggestions from my friends over at Chefworx.
Storage
Counter instructions: I recommend enjoying the cookies on the day they are made for the best flavour. Fresh out of the oven is even better! If you want to store them, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 or 2 days. You can also warm them in the microwave for 20 seconds to refresh them.
Freezer instructions: When I know I’m not going to eat all of the cookies in a day or two, I’ll freeze some of the cookie dough to bake at a later time. Put your dough into a zip top freezer bag and press the dough flat before freezing. (This saves room in your freezer!)
To bake, thaw in the fridge for 2 hours and bake according to the recipe.
I hope you enjoy making this Mars Bar Cookies recipe as much as I do!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it! Share it on Instagram: #bakersbookshelf
Mars Bar Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Cookie Sheet
- parchment paper to line the sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (227g)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (156g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 large egg, plus 1 additional egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (300g)
- 1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (170g)
- 2 Mars Bar chocolate bars, chopped into small pieces (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375F (190C). Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop the Mars Bars into small pieces and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer), cream room temperature butter and brown and granulated sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg and egg yolk, vanilla, baking soda and salt and continue to cream for 1 minute.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold in the flour until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap for 15 minutes to make it easier to stuff.
- Remove the bowl from the fridge and scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough. Flatten it in the palm of your hand. Drop a few pieces of Mars Bar onto the dough then scoop out another tablespoon of dough and cover the Mars Bar pieces. Press into a ball taking care to cover all of the chocolate bar pieces.
- Bake on the parchment lined cooking sheet on the centre rack of the oven. Start checking the cookies at 12 minutes. They can take anywhere from 12 – 17 minutes to bake depending on your oven. Look for smooth golden tops.
Notes
- Ingredients at room temperature. Before you start creaming the butter, sugar, and eggs, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. It makes it so much easier to achieve a smooth cookie dough.
- As tempting as it may be, don’t overload the cookies with Mars Bar pieces. If you stuff them too full, the chocolate bar pieces may ooze out of the middle.
- If your cookies come out of the oven in an unusual shape, gently press the sides with an offset spatula to encourage them back into a neat round shape. This is totally optional!
- Top with chocolate chips. While the cookies are still warm, drop a few chocolate chips onto the tops to give them some extra chocolatey flavour.
Destiny says
Can’t wait to try these! I always have Mars Bars stashed in my freezer. 🙂
Julianne says
Haha this speaks to me, Destiny! I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Molly Bradbury says
Made these today after 2 months of not baking, my god what a brill result!! gooey in the middle and perfectly firm outsides. so good and will be sharing with many friends tomorrow!
Julianne says
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Molly! I love the gooeyness in the middle too 🙂