m&m and reese’s swirled sea salt cookies

Happy Halloween! These M&M Reese’s swirled sea salt cookies are just in time for Halloween and are also known as Halloween leftover cookies.

Are you ready for tricks and treats and costumes and candy galore? Our candy bowl is stocked and looks so good! The past two Halloweens have been a slight fail and we are hoping that this year will be better, since we know there are kids in our complex.

Our first Halloween together, Will and I decided last minute to dress up and go to Franklin Street. It was a great decision, but as we opened the door to walk out, two small costume-clad children came up our walkway. We quickly rushed back inside and closed the door so they could ring the doorbell and trick-or-treat. Since we lived in a small condo complex with only one family of children around, we didn’t expect trick-or-treaters and only had a bowl of Dove dark chocolates to offer (whoops). The next year, we bought candy, prepared for that one family of children to come by the door. We waited and waited and no one came. Not a single child. We were left with a lot of leftover candy, and made some delicious brown butter blondie brownie swirl bars to use it up (I definitely recommend them).

M&M and Reese’s swirled sea salt cookies are a mouthful in name and taste. They are amazing and an awesome way to use up leftover candy. I shared some with family, friends, and coworkers, and made another batch to keep in the freezer. We just finished the last few last night, just in time to make room for the leftover Halloween candy from tonight! I may be more excited to make Halloween leftover cookies than I am for the actual festivities tonight.

The combination of the sweet milk chocolate, salty topping, peanut butter pockets and crunch from the candy coated M&M’s is unreal and so addicting. I used Reese’s cups and mini M&M’s, but you can totally use whatever leftover Halloween candy you have, just cut the candy bars into pieces. I love my regular oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but while all of the candy is out this time of year, these have been my new go-to. I can’t get enough of the sweet and salty flavors together, and of the soft, chewy insides with the crunchy cookie edges. You will want to have leftover candy just for these. Or, you can go to the store tomorrow and buy all of the discounted candy to throw in them! Winner! Whichever you decide, you won’t regret it.

Have a happy Halloween!

M&M and Reese’s Swirled Sea Salt Cookies
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
10-12 ounces (1 bag) M&Ms or mini M&Ms*
1½ cups Reese’s cups (or other candy bars), roughly chopped
sea salt or kosher salt, for sprinkling

*I used milk chocolate but you could use whatever variety you have. The candy corn and other super sweet seasonal varieties might make the cookies too sweet, but peanut, peanut butter and pretzel ones would probably be amazing!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the brown sugar, sugar and melted butter. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture until the mixture is almost fully combined but there are still a few streaks of flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold in the candy.

Roll the dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place about 1-2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle sea salt on the tops of the dough balls and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the pans before removing them to completely cool. The cookies will set as they cool on the baking sheets, so don’t worry if the middle doesn’t look as done as the edges. The edges should not be completely brown, but the inside shouldn’t be too dough either.

These will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or frozen (then thawed out when you want to eat them) for up to 3 months, though I doubt they will last that long :).

Slightly adapted from Crepes of Wrath