Cadbury Egg Cookies

Cadbury Egg Cookies transform the beloved Easter candy into irresistible chewy cookies loaded with pastel-colored chocolate goodness. These Easter cookies combine soft, buttery chocolate chip cookie dough with crushed Cadbury Mini Eggs for pops of crunchy candy shell and creamy milk chocolate throughout.

Perfect for spring celebrations, Easter baskets, or satisfying your Cadbury cravings any time of year, these cookies deliver bakery-quality results with minimal effort and maximum wow factor.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Incredible Texture Combination: Soft, chewy cookies meet crunchy candy shells and smooth melted chocolate in every single bite for amazing textural contrast.
• Eye-Catching Easter Colors: The pastel pink, purple, yellow, and blue Mini Eggs create gorgeous spring-themed cookies perfect for holiday gatherings and celebrations.
• Simple Chocolate Chip Cookie Base: If you can make chocolate chip cookies, you can make these. The recipe uses a tried-and-true dough that’s forgiving and foolproof.
• Make-Ahead Friendly: The dough freezes beautifully, and baked cookies stay fresh for days, making them ideal for busy Easter weekends and spring parties.
• Crowd-Pleasing Appeal: Kids and adults alike go crazy for these festive cookies—they disappear faster than any other cookie at bake sales and potlucks.

Equipment Needed

• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Large mixing bowls
• Baking sheets (2-3)
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
• Cookie scoop (#30 size, about 2 tablespoons)
• Zip-top plastic bag (for crushing candies)
• Meat mallet, rolling pin, or heavy glass (for crushing)
• Wire cooling racks
• Measuring cups and spoons

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Dry Ingredients:

• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix-Ins:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 9 oz (one bag) Cadbury Mini Eggs, crushed (reserve ½ cup for topping)

Ingredient Notes

Cadbury Mini Eggs: These seasonal candies are the star of the show. Buy them in the big bag from Costco if you’re a superfan, or grab the standard 9-ounce bags from any grocery store during Easter season. The candy shell provides satisfying crunch while the milk chocolate center melts into pockets of creamy goodness. Don’t substitute regular M&Ms—the unique shape and thicker candy shell of Mini Eggs make these cookies special.

Butter Temperature: Room temperature butter is crucial for proper creaming. It should be cool enough to hold its shape but soft enough to indent easily with your finger. Too soft (greasy) creates flat, spread-out cookies. Too cold creates dense, cakey cookies. Leave butter on the counter for 30-60 minutes before baking.

Brown Sugar Ratio: This recipe uses more brown sugar than granulated sugar for extra chewiness and deeper molasses flavor. The brown sugar also helps cookies stay soft for days. Make sure to pack the brown sugar firmly when measuring for accurate sweetness.

Flour Measurement: Always spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour and can add 20-30% more than needed, resulting in dry, crumbly cookies. For best results, use a kitchen scale and measure 390 grams.

Vanilla Extract: A full tablespoon of vanilla might seem like a lot, but it provides important depth of flavor that balances the sweetness and enhances the chocolate. Use pure vanilla extract rather than imitation for the best taste.

Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips provide the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor. Feel free to use milk chocolate chips if you prefer sweeter cookies, or dark chocolate chips for more sophisticated, less-sweet cookies. Mini chocolate chips work too and distribute more evenly throughout.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Crush the Cadbury Mini Eggs

Place the Mini Eggs in a large zip-top plastic bag and seal it, pressing out excess air. Use a meat mallet, rolling pin, or the bottom of a heavy glass to gently crush the candies into pieces. Aim for a variety of sizes—some broken in half, some in quarters, some crushed smaller.

Step 2: Prep Your Baking Setup

Preheat your oven to 350°F and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. This prevents sticking and promotes even browning.

Step 3: Mix the Dry Ingredients

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl until evenly combined. Set this aside. Pre-mixing dry ingredients ensures even distribution of leavening and seasoning throughout every cookie.

Step 4: Cream Butter and Sugars

In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes. The mixture should become light, fluffy, and pale in color.

Step 5: Add Eggs and Vanilla

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated. The mixture might look slightly curdled—this is normal and will come together once you add the flour. Scrape the bowl again with a rubber spatula to catch any unmixed bits.

Step 6: Incorporate Dry Ingredients

Add the flour mixture all at once to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute, just until the flour disappears and no white streaks remain. Stop as soon as the dough comes together.

Step 7: Fold in Mix-Ins

Add the chocolate chips and the crushed Mini Eggs (except the ½ cup reserved for topping). Mix on low speed or fold in by hand with a sturdy spatula for about 30 seconds, just until evenly distributed.

Step 8: Scoop and Top

Using a #30 cookie scoop (2 tablespoons), portion the dough into balls and place them on prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart—only 8 cookies per sheet. Gently press the reserved crushed Mini Eggs generously into the tops of each dough ball while maintaining a round shape. Don’t be shy with the topping—you want plenty of colorful candy visible on top.

Step 9: Bake to Perfection

Bake for 10 minutes, just until the edges start to turn lightly golden brown. The centers will look slightly underbaked and puffy—this is exactly what you want. For thicker cookies, immediately after removing from the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or the edge of a spatula to gently swirl and push the edges inward.

Let cookies cool on the pan for 2 minutes (they’ll continue setting), then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Chill or not to chill? These cookies work great baked immediately for medium-thick results. For ultra-thick cookies, chill the dough for 30-60 minutes before baking.
• Space matters: Baking only 8 cookies per standard sheet (rather than 12) gives them room to spread and allows heat to distribute evenly for better texture.
• Don’t overbake: Cookies continue cooking on the hot pan after removal from oven. Underbake slightly for soft, chewy centers.
• Crush candy properly: Too-fine pieces dissolve into the dough and lose their crunch. Leave some larger chunks for the best texture.
• Press toppings firmly: Really press those reserved Mini Eggs into the dough balls before baking so they stay put and create a beautiful top.
• Rotate pans: If baking two sheets at once, swap their positions and rotate them halfway through for even baking.
• Room temp ingredients: Cold eggs and butter don’t cream properly and create dense cookies. Plan ahead and set them out early.

Tips & Variations

Make-Ahead and Freezing: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet and freeze until solid (1-2 hours). Transfer frozen dough balls to a freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time. Baked cookies freeze well too—layer between parchment paper in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Year-Round Version: Can’t find Cadbury Mini Eggs? Use pastel M&Ms for spring, red and green M&Ms for Christmas, or candy corn for fall. The recipe works with any candy-coated chocolate. Regular M&Ms work in a pinch, though the texture differs slightly.

Extra Chocolatey: Add ½ cup of chopped milk chocolate bar along with the chocolate chips for intense chocolate flavor and gooey melted pockets. White chocolate chips are also delicious and create pretty contrast with the pastel candies.

Add a Swirl Effect: After removing from the oven, immediately use a round cookie cutter (slightly larger than the cookies) to swirl around each cookie. This creates perfect round shapes with slightly taller edges—very bakery-style.

Smaller or Larger Cookies: Use a #40 scoop for smaller cookies (reduce baking time to 8-9 minutes) or a #20 scoop for giant bakery-style cookies (increase time to 12-14 minutes). Adjust the amount of candies pressed on top accordingly.

Serving Suggestions

Easter Basket Addition: Wrap individual cookies in clear cellophane bags tied with pastel ribbon for adorable Easter basket stuffers. Stack 2-3 cookies and wrap them together for a more substantial gift. Kids love finding these alongside their chocolate eggs and bunny candies.

Dessert Platter: Arrange cookies on a cake stand or platter with other Easter treats like carrot cake, lemon bars, and coconut macaroons. The colorful pastel candy creates a beautiful spring dessert table. Pair with glasses of cold milk or strawberry lemonade.

Ice Cream Sandwiches: Let cookies cool completely, then sandwich vanilla or strawberry ice cream between two cookies. Roll the edges in extra crushed Mini Eggs for a festive touch. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze for make-ahead treats that kids go crazy for.

Dunking Perfection: These cookies are made for dunking in cold milk or hot coffee. The candy shell provides fun crunch that softens slightly when dunked. Set out a big platter with a pitcher of milk for afternoon snacking or after-dinner dessert.

Common Mistakes

• Butter too soft or melted: Creates flat, greasy cookies that spread too much. Butter should be cool room temperature, not warm or shiny.
• Overbaking: Cookies continue cooking on the hot pan after removal. Take them out when edges are barely golden and centers look slightly underbaked.
• Crushing candies too finely: You need chunks and half-pieces to maintain crunch and visual appeal. Over-crushed candies disappear into the dough.
• Skipping the egg topping: Pressing Mini Eggs into the tops before baking ensures they stick and creates the signature look. Don’t skip this step.
• Crowding the pan: Too many cookies on one sheet creates thin, overbaked cookies. Give them space—8 per standard sheet is ideal.
• Not measuring flour correctly: Scooping from the bag packs in too much flour, creating dry, crumbly cookies. Spoon and level for accuracy.

What to Serve With Cadbury Egg Cookies

Spring Brunch Spread: Add these cookies to a brunch table featuring hot cross buns, fruit salad, quiche, and mimosas. They make a perfect sweet ending to an Easter morning celebration. The pastel colors complement spring flowers and fresh fruit beautifully.

Kids’ Party Favorite: Serve at birthday parties, school celebrations, or play dates alongside other kid-friendly treats. Set up a milk and cookies station with whole milk, chocolate milk, and strawberry milk options. Kids love choosing their cookie based on which candy colors they see.

Coffee Date Companion: Pair with hot coffee, cappuccino, or vanilla lattes for an afternoon pick-me-up. The sweet chocolate and candy balance perfectly with bitter coffee. These also go wonderfully with chai tea or hot chocolate.

Easter Dinner Dessert: Serve warm cookies for dessert after Easter dinner, perhaps with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side. They’re less formal than cake but more special than store-bought cookies, hitting the perfect balance for family celebrations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I buy Cadbury Mini Eggs?

Cadbury Mini Eggs are seasonal Easter candies typically available from January through April in the candy aisle of most grocery stores, Target, Walmart, and drugstores. Buy extra bags and freeze them if you want to make these cookies year-round.

Can I use regular Cadbury eggs instead of mini?

The large Cadbury Creme Eggs won’t work for this recipe—they’re filled with fondant and will melt into a gooey mess. Stick with the solid chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs. If you can’t find those, substitute pastel M&Ms or other candy-coated chocolates.

Why did my cookies spread too much?

The most common cause is butter that was too warm when you started. Make sure butter is cool room temperature, not greasy or shiny. Also check that you measured flour correctly by spooning and leveling rather than scooping from the bag.

Can I make these cookies without a mixer?

Yes, though it requires more arm strength. Use a wooden spoon to cream the butter and sugars vigorously for several minutes until fluffy. Everything else can be stirred by hand. The cookies will turn out great, just with more effort.

How do I store leftover cookies?

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Layer cookies between sheets of parchment paper to prevent sticking. The cookies actually soften and improve slightly on day 2-3 as flavors meld together.

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