Indulge in the sweet delight of Mars Bar Cookies, a treat that combines the beloved nougat and caramel flavours of Mars bars with a chewy texture that will leave you craving for more. These chunky cookies are loaded with irresistible Mars bar pieces, ensuring every bite is packed with the rich caramel flavour you adore. Whether you’re a fan of Mars bars and their caramel filled chocolate flavours, or you simply love chewy, gooey cookies, this recipe is sure to become a favourite in your household.
These Mars Bar Cookies are not only incredibly delicious but also surprisingly easy to make. With simple ingredients and straightforward instructions, you can whip up bakery-grade cookies in no time. The best part is that the cookie dough can be prepared in advance and frozen, allowing you to have freshly baked cookies whenever the craving strikes.
Filled with Mars Bar chunks, the chewy texture and luscious caramel flavour of these chocolate bar cookies make them an irresistible treat for any occasion just like these Mars Bar slices. They are perfect for packing in lunch boxes as a delightful surprise, bringing to parties to impress your friends and family, or even as thoughtful homemade gifts for special occasions. Once you taste these delightful Caramel Cookies, you’ll understand why they disappear so quickly from the cookie jar!
Tasty stuffed cookies like these Molten Biscoff Cookies or these Peanut Butter Cookies require a freezing time before baking. This ensures the end result provides you with chunky, New York-Style cookies that have a gooey chewy texture in the centre and are soft baked. Being able to freeze the cookie dough, also has its benefits, you don’t have to cook the whole batch at once! The frozen cookie dough can be stored in the freezer and you can bake as many as you like at a time for the freshest cookie whenever the cookie craving strikes.
Why You’ll Love This Mars Bar Cookies Recipe
- Quick and Easy: These Chunky Mars Cookies are simple and quick to make, perfect for busy schedules or last-minute baking.
- Deliciously Versatile: With their chewy texture and caramel flavour, these cookies are loved by all. Ideal for parties, lunch boxes, or thoughtful gifts.
- Freezable Dough: Prepare the dough in advance and freeze. Enjoy fresh, bakery-grade cookies whenever you want, hassle-free.
Equipment Needed
- Mixing Bowl: Use a large bowl to combine all the ingredients for the cookie dough easily.
- Electric Mixer (optional): An electric mixer makes the process even smoother, but you can also mix the ingredients by hand.
- Baking Sheet: A baking tray or cookie tray is essential for evenly baking the Mars Bar Cookies.
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Mat: Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat to prevent sticking and ensure easy clean-up.
- Knife or Scissors: Use a knife or scissors to cut the Mars Bars into small pieces for the cookie dough.
- Oven: You’ll need an oven to bake the cookies to perfection.
- Cooling Rack: A cooling rack allows the cookies to cool evenly and helps maintain their chewy texture.
- Airtight Container: Store the baked cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh and maintain their delicious taste.
- Freezer-Safe Container (optional): If you plan to freeze the cookie dough for later, use a freezer-safe container to store it properly.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: The main fat in the cookie dough, providing richness and flavour to the cookies. It adds moisture and helps create a soft and chewy texture.
- Caster Sugar: Provides sweetness and helps give the cookies a light texture.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds a rich caramel flavour and moistness to the cookies, contributing to their chewy texture.
- Mars Bars: These iconic chocolate and caramel bars are chopped into pieces and folded into the cookie dough, providing gooey caramel pockets and delightful chocolatey bites.
- Plain Flour: The base dry ingredient that forms the structure of the cookies when combined with the other ingredients.
- Sea Salt (optional): Enhances the flavours of the cookies, balancing the sweetness and adding a hint of complexity to the taste.
- Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda): Acts as a leavening agent, helping the cookies rise slightly and creating a tender texture.
- Baking Powder: Another leavening agent that contributes to the cookies’ light and airy texture.
- Large Egg: Provide moisture and act as a binder, helping to hold the cookie dough together during baking. Use the whole egg for this recipe.
- Vanilla Essence: Adds a delicious vanilla flavour to the cookies, complementing the caramel and chocolate notes for a well-rounded taste.
Additions and Substitutions
- Milk Chocolate Chips: Add a generous handful of milk chocolate chips to the Mars Bar cookie dough along with the Mars Bar pieces. The extra milk chocolate will add creaminess and sweetness to the cookies.
- Dark Chocolate: For intense chocolate flavour, chop dark chocolate into small chunks and mix them into the dough. The dark chocolate will provide a bolder contrast to the sweetness of the Mars Bars and provide you with a double chocolate experience.
- Rolos: Unwrap some Rolos and press them gently into the top of each cookie dough ball before baking. Rolo and Mars Bars are very similar in taste. As they melt during baking, they will create a gooey caramel centre that complements the Mars Bar pieces.
- Different Chocolate Bars: Get creative and experiment with you favourite chocolate bar! Chop up your favourite chocolates, such as Kit Kat, Twix, Snickers, or Milky Way, and incorporate them into the dough for unique and exciting cookie combinations.
- Cocoa Powder: Substitute 50g Plain All Purpose Flour with Cocoa Powder to enhance the chocolate flavour and give the cookie base a rich, dark colour.
Step-By-Step How To Make Mars Bar Cookies
Step 1: Prepare the Cookie Dough
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and place them in a large bowl or stand mixer.
- Add the sugars to the butter and mix until the texture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Chop the Mars Bars into chunks and add them to the butter-sugar mixture.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Ingredients
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and baking powder.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
Step 3: Mix the Wet Ingredients
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs along with the vanilla essence.
- Add the whisked eggs to the rest of the ingredients and mix briefly to bind everything together.
Step 4: Shape and Freeze the Cookie Dough
- Take approximately 100g of cookie dough and roll it into a ball with your hands.
- Place the cookie dough balls into an airtight freezer-proof container or onto a lined baking tray.
- Freeze the balls of cookie dough for at least a couple of hours.
Step 5: Preheat and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and place a lined baking tray in the oven to heat up.
- Remove the unbaked cookies from the freezer and quickly place them on the hot baking tray, leaving space between each one.
- Immediately put the tray back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Step 6: Cool and Serve
- Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking tray to firm up.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool further before serving. Enjoy your delicious homemade cookies!
FAQ
Absolutely! You can experiment with different chocolate bars like Snickers, Milky Way, or even Twix to create unique variations of the cookies.
Yes, if you want to make the cookies egg-free, you can use a suitable vegan egg replacement.
To achieve a chewy texture, avoid overmixing the dough and slightly under-bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. This will keep them soft and chewy after cooling.
Yes, you can adjust the size of the cookies to your preference. Just keep in mind that the baking time may vary depending on the size of the cookies.
Of course! Adding chocolate chips will enhance the chocolate flavour and add extra texture to the cookies.
Pro Tips and Guidance
- Chill the Butter: Use chilled unsalted butter when making the cookie dough. Cold butter helps create a chewier texture and prevents the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
- Cut Mars Bars into Chunks: Before adding Mars Bar pieces to the dough, chop them into small chunks. Chilling the Mars Bars beforehand can make this process easier.
- Avoid Overmixing: When adding the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, mix until just combined. Overmixing can develop too much gluten, resulting in tough cookies.
- Leave Space Between Cookies: When placing cookie dough balls on the baking tray, leave enough space between them to allow for spreading during baking.
- Let Them Cool on the Tray: After baking, allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking tray before transferring them to a cooling rack. This helps them firm up and hold their shape.
Storing Mars Bar Cookies
- Room Temperature: Once the Mars Bar cookies have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh and delicious for up to 5 days.
- Freezing the Cookie Dough: If you want to have freshly baked cookies on demand, you can leave the frozen cookie dough in the freezer until you are ready to bake them. Frozen cookie dough can be stored for up to 2 months.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: If you’ve baked more cookies than you can consume within a few days, you can freeze the baked cookies. Place the cooled cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag with layers of parchment paper in between to prevent sticking. Frozen baked cookies can be stored for up to 2 months.
- Defrosting Baked Cookies: When you’re ready to enjoy the frozen baked cookies, simply let them thaw at room temperature. For frozen cookie dough, you can bake them directly from frozen but may need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
- Reheating: To restore the freshly baked taste and texture of frozen cookies, you can reheat them in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for a few minutes until warm and slightly crispy.
Remember, while cookies are best enjoyed fresh, freezing is an excellent way to preserve their flavour and texture for later enjoyment. Whether you freeze the dough or the baked cookies, make sure to keep them well-sealed to prevent freezer burn and maintain their deliciousness.
Check Out These Cookie Recipes
A delicious alternative to Easter Eggs, a chunky chocolate cookies filled with a surprise.
Easy Chunky Stuffed Chocolate Mars Bar Cookies
Ingredients
- 185 g Unsalted Butter, chilled
- 130 g Caster Sugar
- 130 g Light Brown Soft Sugar
- 180 g Mars Bars
- 420 g Plain Flour
- 0.5 tsp Salt, optional
- 0.5 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda, (baking soda)
- 10 g Baking Powder
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Instructions
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and place them in a large bowl or stand mixer.
- Add the sugars to the butter and mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Chop the Mars Bars into chunks and add them to the butter-sugar mixture.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and baking powder.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs along with the vanilla essence.
- Add the whisked eggs to the rest of the ingredients and mix briefly to bind everything together.
- Take approximately 100g of cookie dough and roll it into a ball with your hands.
- Place the cookie dough balls into an airtight freezer-proof container or onto a lined baking tray.
- Freeze the balls of cookie dough for at least a couple of hours.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and place a lined baking tray in the oven to heat up.
- Remove the unbaked cookies from the freezer and quickly place them on the hot baking tray, leaving space between each one.
- Immediately put the tray back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking tray to firm up.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool further before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Chill Butter: Use chilled unsalted butter for a chewier texture and less spreading.
- Cut Mars Bars: Before chopping into small chunks chill the Mars Bars for ease.
- Avoid Overmixing: Mix dry ingredients until just combined to avoid tough cookies.
- Space Cookies: Leave enough room for spreading on the baking tray.
- Cool on Tray: Let cookies cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a rack.
Leave a Reply