Candy Bar Blondies are a sweet bar cookie, perfect to make when you have way too much leftover Halloween candy in your house! 

Make this easy Blondies Recipe for a post-Halloween Treat! Add your favorite holiday candies for an out-of-this-world dessert!

2 Candy Bar Blondies stacked on a small white plate.

Why You  Must Make

Around the holidays, there is an influx of sweet treats to our house. On Halloween, depending on the weather, we could have 60-100 trick-or-treaters. I like to buy full-size candy bars, but having 40 left over makes for a big dilemma. Thank goodness I have an easy solution. Sampling a few of your favorites is always required, but there’s only so much your pants will stretch! Not like these treats are particularly kind to your waistline, but consider the mixing, spreading, and cutting to be a form of exercise. A batch of blondies is the perfect solution!

  • Chopping leftover candy bars and adding them to blondies makes a yummy treat!
  • Plus, it’s the perfect way to use up leftover Halloween candy bars.
  • They’re wonderful for afternoon snacks!

Make a batch of blondies and load them up with your favorite candies! Voila, Candy Bar Blondies! I’ve taken my favorite blondie recipe and stirred in some frozen chocolate candy bar chunks along with M&M’s. My girlfriends were dying for the recipe when I shared these. They would not lead you astray.

Candy Bar Blondies in a baking pan,

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Flour, Salt, Light or Dark Brown Sugar, Large Eggs
  • Baking Powder – Make sure it hasn’t expired. It’s not used as frequently as baking soda and has a much shorter shelf life. To check its potency, put a spoonful in a cup of very hot water. If it’s still active, it will bubble vigorously. If it doesn’t, buy a new can before proceeding.
  • Butter – I used salted butter. Melt and cool before using.
  • Vanilla Extract – Use real vanilla, never imitation. I like the Nielsen-Massey brand.
  • Chocolate-based candy bars, chopped (Milky Way, Reese’s, 3 Musketeers, Hershey Bars, M&M’s, etc.) – Chop and Freeze before adding to the dough.
  • Chocolate Chips and M&M’s to garnish, optional – Carefully press into the surface of the warm blondies, then let cool to room temperature before cutting and serving.

Recipe Tips

  • Use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar when making blondies. I’ve made this recipe with both, but prefer dark brown sugar as it gives a richer, more caramel-like flavor and extra moisture.
  • Melting the butter makes it easier to mix the dough, plus gives a chewy texture.
  • This basic recipe can be tweaked with different add-ins. Add 1 ½ cups of your favorites, like white or dark chocolate chips or even a combo, nuts, coconut, toffee bits, or all M & M’s.
  • Do not use a mixer to combine the ingredients. Using a mixer will over-activate the gluten and make your blondies less tender and will also add air into the batter. Use a wooden spoon instead.
  • PRO-Tip: Slightly under-baking will make your blondies moist and chewy. 
  • PRO-Tip: Reserve some M&M’s and chocolate chips to carefully press onto the surface of the blondies when they come out of the oven. This will give a more finished, bakery-like appearance! But remember both the pan and the bars will be very hot so use a hot pad or oven mitt to stablize the pan.
2 Candy Bar Blondies on a square white plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Blondies?

Blondies are a dessert baked in a square or rectangular baking pan just like brownies, but without any cocoa or chocolate which gives brownies their distinctive look and flavor. The name came about because blondies resemble brownies in shape when cut but are flavored with vanilla instead of chocolate. They are also called a blonde brownie. It’s interesting to note that blondie recipes appeared in cookbooks before brownie recipes.

How Do You Cut Nice Blondie Slices?

If you chill your pan of blondies first, they will slice more neatly. Make sure to line your pan with non-stick foil so you can lift the uncut blondies from the pan and onto a cutting board. Then slice them into squares using a large, sharp knife. If your knife gets covered with blondie residue while slicing, make sure to clean it frequently. Use a ruler to mark off where you’ll make each slice to provide some guidance.

What Candies Work Best in Blondies?

Go with a chocolate theme and leave the Skittles, Starburst, and gummy candies out. Chopped candy bars like Snickers, Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers, plus M&Ms can go in whole.

Why Do You Freeze The Candy Before Adding to the Dough?

Since the Bars will go right into the oven after mixing and spreading, having the chopped candy frozen minimizes the chance of them melting right into the batter.

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Candy Bar Blondies stacked on a small white plate

Candy Bar Blondies Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Yield 16 bars

Load up your blondies with leftover holiday candies!

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter (1 ½ sticks), melted and cooled
  • 1 ½ cups light or dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1-1 ½ cups chocolate based candy bars, chopped (Milky Way, Reese's, 3 Musketeers, Hershey Bars, M&M's, etc.)*See Notes
  • 2 tablespoons chocolate chips and M&M's to garnish, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil, leaving enough overhang to help you lift the blondies from the pan when they're done. Set aside.
  2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
  3. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in a medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
  4. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not over-mix.
  5. Fold in the candy bar pieces and spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
  6. Push in a few chocolate chips on top of the dough to garnish, if desired.
  7. Bake until the top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 27-30 minutes; do not over-bake. Immediately after removing from the oven, push in a few more chocolate chips and/or M&M's on top of the dough to garnish, if desired.
  8. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove bars from pan using foil and cut to serve.

Notes

Chop candy bars with caramel or nougat and freeze while preparing the batter and preheating the oven to prevent any over-melting.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 bar

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 319Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 169mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 4g

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