Some cookies just take you right back to childhood. And if you’re anything like me, maybe you never completely left it. LOL. These Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies are packed with M&M’s, milk chocolate chips, and creamy milk chocolate Symphony bars. Basically, they’re everything I loved about walking down the candy aisle as a kid, baked into one giant, warm, gooey cookie.
And apparently, that love of chocolate runs in the family.
My son Ethan was only about five years old when I started making these cookies, and all these years later, they’re still the cookie he asks for.
Whenever I ask, “What kind of cookies should I make?” I can pretty much guess what Ethan’s answer is going to be.
These.
And he’s not the only one.
My husband requests them quite a bit too.
You really can’t go wrong with a good candy bar cookie.
These are also a perfect example of the big, over-the-top bakery-style cookie recipes I love creating for the people in my life.
Why We Love These Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies
There is absolutely nothing subtle about these cookies.
They’re loaded with chocolate, and that’s exactly the point.
Each batch has three different kinds:
- Milk chocolate chips
- M&M’s
- Milk chocolate Symphony bars
The chocolate chips melt throughout the cookie, the M&M’s give you those little bites of candy-coated chocolate, and then you get those larger pieces of creamy Symphony chocolate on top.
They’re especially good when they’re still warm and the chocolate is soft and gooey.
That’s my favorite way to eat one.
Give me a warm Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookie and a cold glass of milk, and I’m pretty happy.
Seasonal M&M’s Make These Cookies Even More Fun
One of my favorite things about these Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies is how easy they are to change for different holidays and occasions.
I use seasonal M&M’s all the time.
Red and green at Christmas, pastels for Easter, fall colors around Thanksgiving, red and pink for Valentine’s Day. Whatever M&M’s happen to be available for the season usually find their way into a batch of these cookies.
And yes, I have been known to sit down with a bag of M&M’s and sort out the exact colors I want.
Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. 😂
If I’m making cookies for a birthday party, shower, school event, or another special occasion, I can choose M&M’s that coordinate with the colors.
It’s such a simple little thing, but it makes the cookies look like they were made especially for the occasion.
And they were.
The Symphony Bar Makes Them Extra Special
The ingredient that really takes these Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies over the top is the milk chocolate Symphony bar.
I use the plain creamy milk chocolate Symphony bars rather than the almond and toffee variety. If you’ve never tried one, Hershey describes its original Symphony bar as an extra-creamy milk chocolate, which is exactly why I love using it in these cookies.
After I scoop and shape the cookie dough, I break the Symphony bars into pieces and press them onto the tops of the dough balls before baking.
Sometimes I’ll even add a few more pieces after the cookies come out of the oven.
When the cookie is still hot, those pieces soften and melt just enough to make the top of the cookie extra gooey and delicious.
It also gives the cookies that big bakery-cookie look without doing anything complicated.
Ingredients for Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies
This is a big batch of cookie dough, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows how I bake cookies.
I like BIG cookies.
You’ll Need
- 3 cups packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup margarine, melted
- 5 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour, leveled, plus a little more if needed
- 3 cups milk chocolate chips
- 2 cups seasonal M&M’s
- 2 milk chocolate Symphony bars, broken into pieces
How to Make Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies
1. Make the Cookie Dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, melted margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and well combined.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Gradually add the baking soda, salt, and flour, starting with about 6 cups of flour.
Mix until everything is combined.
The amount of flour you need can vary a little depending on your ingredients, altitude, humidity, and even how you measure your flour.
If the dough is still too sticky, add a little more flour at a time until it reaches a good cookie dough consistency.
Don’t dump in a whole extra cup at once.
A little at a time is the way to go.
2. Add All That Chocolate
Stir in the milk chocolate chips and M&M’s until they’re distributed throughout the dough.
And yes, it’s going to look like a lot of chocolate.
That’s exactly what we want.
3. Make the Cookies BIG
For my extra-large Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies, I use a large 4-tablespoon cookie scoop.
I use two scoops of dough for each cookie, making a dough ball that weighs approximately 5 ounces.
Once the dough balls are shaped, press pieces of milk chocolate Symphony bar into the tops.
4. Bake
Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them.
Bake at 350°F for approximately 15 to 18 minutes. If you’re baking at elevations above 4,000 feet, try 325°F instead. The exact baking time may vary depending on your oven and the size of your cookies.
The edges should look set, but you still want the centers to be soft.
Remember that the cookies continue baking a little while they’re sitting on that hot baking sheet.
For smaller 2-ounce cookies, start checking them around 12 to 14 minutes.
My Best Tip for Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies
If you’ve read some of my other cookie recipes, you probably already know what I’m going to say.
Bake one cookie first.
I’ve been baking cookies for many years, and this is one of the easiest ways I’ve found to avoid ruining an entire batch.
Start with 6 cups of flour and bake one test cookie.
If it spreads too much, add a little more flour to the dough and try again.
If it holds its shape and gives you that slightly crisp outside with a soft, chewy center, you’re good to go.
Your kitchen isn’t exactly like mine.
Your flour may be different. Your oven may bake a little hotter. Your altitude may be different. I’ve even noticed that conditions in my kitchen can change how much flour my dough needs.
One test cookie can tell you a lot.
And let’s be honest, somebody has to eat the test cookie.
It’s a sacrifice I’m usually willing to make.
A Note About Baking at Higher Altitudes
At lower elevations, I recommend starting at 350°F. I bake at just over 4,000 feet, where I’ve found that 325°F usually works well for my extra-large cookies.
For the extra-large 5-ounce cookies, begin checking them around 15 minutes. They may need closer to 18 minutes depending on your oven.
For regular 2-ounce cookies, check them around 12 to 14 minutes.
Don’t wait for the center to look completely baked before taking them out.
I want my cookies slightly crisp around the outside and soft and chewy in the middle.
How I Freeze and Reheat Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies
These cookies freeze really well after they’re baked, which is a very good thing when a recipe makes this many cookies.
Once they’re completely cool, I freeze them.
Then, when I want a warm cookie, I can pull just one Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookie out of the freezer and make it taste almost like it came straight from the oven.
Here’s what I do.
Put the frozen cookie into a cold oven.
Then turn the oven to 350°F.
Let the cookie warm for approximately 8 to 12 minutes, depending on its size.
By the time the oven heats and the cookie warms through, the chocolate gets soft again and the center tastes wonderfully fresh and gooey.
Just keep an eye on it because a smaller cookie won’t need nearly as much time as one of my giant 5-ounce cookies.
Add a cold glass of milk and you’ve got my favorite way to eat one.
Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies by Weight
If you prefer weighing some of your baking ingredients, these are the measurements I use:
- 789 grams brown sugar
- 189 grams granulated sugar
- 253 grams eggs
- 1,272 to 1,412 grams all-purpose flour
I don’t weigh the remaining ingredients because they’re easy enough for me to measure.
Remember that the flour amount is a range for a reason. Start toward the lower end and add more only if the dough needs it.
How Many Cookies Does This Recipe Make?
This recipe makes approximately:
2 dozen extra-large cookies
or
6 dozen regular-sized cookies
I usually make the big ones because there’s something especially fun about handing someone a giant bakery-style cookie covered in M&M’s and melted Symphony chocolate.
You could also make smaller cookies if you’re serving a crowd or putting together cookie trays.
And because you can change the M&M colors, these are an easy cookie to adapt for Christmas, Easter, Halloween, birthdays, baby showers, school parties, or just because it’s Tuesday and you want a cookie.
I fully support that last reason.
Another Over-the-Top Cookie to Try
If you love cookies packed with chocolate and plenty of fun surprises, try my Cookie Monster Cookies next. They’re giant blue cookies stuffed with both an Oreo and a Chips Ahoy cookie, with plenty of chocolate chips mixed in too.
Explore The Cookie Collection
Some of my favorite cookies have become part of our family story simply because someone I love keeps asking me to make them. You can browse all of my bakery-style cookie recipes for more giant cookies, stuffed cookies, family favorites, creative flavor combinations, and the stories behind them.
The Cookie Ethan Still Requests
I’ve been making these Triple Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies since Ethan was about five years old.
I love that after all this time, when I ask him what kind of cookie he’d like me to make, these are still the ones he requests.
There’s something about recipes like that.
They’re more than flour and sugar and chocolate.
They’re tied to people.
Some of my favorite recipes have become favorites because of the people who love them. I make a certain cookie and immediately think of someone in my family.
These will always be Ethan’s cookies to me.
Although, considering how often my husband requests them too, Ethan may have some competition.
And maybe that’s why I still love making them so much.
They’re big. They’re gooey. They’re loaded with three kinds of milk chocolate and colorful M&M’s. They’re a little over the top.
And they remind me of being a kid.
Then again, like I said at the beginning, I’m not entirely sure I ever left childhood behind.
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Every cookie with a name has a story. And this one belongs to Ethan.
