Snickers are easily a top 5 candy bar for me. Top 3, even! Chewy, nutty, that perfect sweet and salty combo, what more could you ask for in a commercially produced chocolate bar? They’re also one of my favorite candies to throw into different desserts, third only to Reeses cups and M&Ms. Pies, cheesecakes, trifles, brownies, concoctions trying to disguise themselves as salads, Snickers bars are beautiful in them all.
With that in mind, I set to work crafting my Thicker than a Snicker recipe. Crisp outer shell, soft doughy insides with bits of chewy Snickers bars, sweet morsels of chocolate, and crunchy peanuts all throughout. My personal favorite bit is where Snickers bars on the bottom have caramelized; it tastes reminiscent of street cart honey roasted peanuts. Absolutely delightful. If you’re just as much of a Snickers lover as I am and you’re looking for a make-ahead recipe, this is the perfect choice.
FAQs and Science
Why freeze the chopped up Snickers bars before adding them to the dough?
Freezing the chopped up Snickers allows them to hold their shape when you’re folding them into the dough at the end. This is particularly important if you’re making these in a warmer environment!
What does the cornstarch do?
The cornstarch supports the desired texture, helping to create a soft, thick cookie.
Does it really matter if the eggs are room temperature? Is there a way to quickly get them there?
Yes, room temperature eggs allow for a better emulsion of the dough. If you place the eggs in a small mixing bowl at the beginning of the recipe and cover them with the hottest water that will come out of your tap. By the time you’re ready to use the eggs, they’ll have come up to the perfect temperature!
Why does the dough have to chill for so long?
Chilling the dough helps to prevent the cookies from spreading in the oven, which makes for that tall, thick cookie that you want from this recipe.
Can the cookies be frozen?
Absolutely! Follow the recipe up until step 10 (skipping step 8), then instead of stopping at 4 cookies and baking, portion out and shape the entire batch of dough. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, right up next to each other, and move the pan to the freezer. Once all of the cookies are frozen solid, transfer them over to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Pull and bake the desired amount at 400F for 9-11 minutes, flipping halfway through.
What You’ll Need
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper or 2 silicone baking mats
- Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
- Medium mixing bowl
- Dry measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Spatula
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Kitchen scale
- Cooling rack
The Process
To begin, take 25 of the fun-sized snickers bars and cut them into thirds. Perfect place to use up leftover Halloween candy! Place the pieces into a small bowl and put them in the freezer until the recipe calls for them again. Freezing them now will help the candy to hold its shape when you mix the pieces into the dough at the end.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. I know you sometimes see people skip this step because they think the dry goods will all mix together when mixing the dough, don’t listen to these people. Skipping this step is how you end up with a weird pocket of salt or uneven rising because the leavening agent isn’t distributed properly. Take the 30 seconds to whisk them all together now. Set the dry goods aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on level 3 for 5 minutes or so. It should go from a beige color to almost white and fluffy. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Beat in the eggs, yolks, and vanilla on level 3 one at a time, making sure the first egg has fully absorbed before adding in the next. The temperature of the eggs will affect how easily they incorporate into the dough. Check the FAQs and Science section for a tip on how to quickly bring them up to room temperature! Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each egg or as needed.
All at once, pour the dry goods into the stand mixer. Mix it together on level one, until the flour is mostly absorbed but still streaky. Leaving the flour a little bit streaky at this point gives leeway to add in the Snickers, chocolate, and peanuts without over-mixing the dough. Over-mixed dough makes tough, bready cookies. Definitely not a texture anyone is looking for in a cookie.
Turn off the mixer and switch over to a rubber spatula or large spoon. Pour the peanuts, milk chocolate chips, and frozen snickers bars into the dough and stir them in until they’re evenly distributed. Mixing them in by hand is better for the longevity of your mixer. You’ll need to put a little elbow grease into it, but when your mixer doesn’t suddenly break down, you’ll be happy you put in the effort.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or for up to 2 days. This long chill helps the cookies to hold their tall, thick shape after baking. 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Lining the pans ensures that the cookies wont stick to the pan after baking. You can actually save the parchment paper sheets for multiple bakes, to help conserve the planet and your stash!
If the dough has been chilling for longer than 5 hours, take it out of the fridge when you set the oven temp. That way, it will have time to thaw enough to be scoopable. While the dough chills, take the remaining 6 snickers bars and cut them all in half lengthwise. These are going to garnish the cookies after they come out of the oven.
On a kitchen scale, measure out 6-oz worth of dough. If you don’t own a kitchen scale, you can measure out 3/4 cup of dough as a substitute. Compress it as much as you can, making sure it has a flat bottom to place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat 3 more times, so the first pan has 4 cookies total, spaced out as shown below.
Place the cookies in the oven for 9-11 minutes or until the outside is a light golden brown, flipping the pan halfway through baking. When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately top each one with half a Snickers bar, cut side facing outward. Topping them with the garnish right away helps them stick better in the end. The heat from the cookie melts the chocolate, so as it cools, the snickers will stay put.
Allow them to rest on the pan for 3-4 minutes, then transfer them over to a cooling rack.
Repeat steps 10-12, using the cooler of the two pans, until all of the cookies have baked. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container or gallon-sized zip-top bag for up to 3 days, and enjoy!
Thicker Than a Snicker Cookies
Bake Time: 400F for 9-11 minutes
Servings: 12 Cookies
Total Time: 5 hours
Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 31 fun-size snickers bars, divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 16 Tablespoons (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs + 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups salted roasted peanuts
- 1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
Directions:
- Take 25 of the fun-sized snickers bars and cut them into thirds, as shown above. Place the pieces into a small bowl and place them in the freezer until the recipe calls for them again.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set the dry goods aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on level 3 or 4 for 5 minutes or so. It should go from a beige color to almost white and fluffy. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Beat in the eggs, yolks, and vanilla on level 3 one at a time, making sure the first egg has fully absorbed before adding in the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each egg or as needed.
- All at once, pour the dry goods into the stand mixer. Mix it together on level one, until the flour is mostly absorbed but still streaky, as shown above.
- Turn off the mixer and switch over to a rubber spatula or large spoon. Pour the peanuts, milk chocolate chips, and frozen snickers bars into the dough and stir them in until they’re evenly distributed.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or for up to 2 days.
- 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has been chilling for longer than 5 hours, take it out of the fridge now to thaw enough to be scoopable.
- While the dough chills, take the remaining 6 snickers bars and cut them all in half lengthwise, as shown above.
- On a kitchen scale, measure out 6-oz worth of dough. Compress it as much as you can, making sure it has a flat bottom to place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat 3 more times, so the first pan has 4 cookies total, spaced out as shown above.
- Place the cookies in the oven for 9-11 minutes or until the outside is a light golden brown, flipping the pan halfway through baking.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately top each one with half a Snickers bar, cut side facing outward. Allow them to rest on the pan for 3-4 minutes, then transfer them over to a cooling rack.
- Repeat steps 10-12, using the cooler of the two pans, until all of the cookies have baked. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container or gallon-sized zip-top bag for up to 3 days, and enjoy!
Tips
- Freeze the cookie dough to pull and bake the amount you want fresh at your discretion! Follow the recipe up until step 10, skipping step 8. Instead of stopping at 4 cookies and baking, portion out and shape the entire batch of dough. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, right up next to each other, and transfer it to the freezer. Once all of the cookies are frozen solid, transfer them over to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Pull and bake the desired amount at 400F for 9-11 minutes, flipping halfway through.
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