Mars Bar Cookies take an all time favourite chocolate bar and make delicious biscuits with them! This quick and easy recipe will tick all of your chocolate, caramel, nougat, cookie needs. Chocolate topped Mars Bars Cookies need to get baking in your oven right now!
Recipes like my Milky Way Biscuits, Kit Kat Biscuits and Malteser Biscuits are all about sweet cookie deliciousness!
My Smarties Cookies and Cornflake Biscuits have crunchy textures involved! My cookies recipes are all in the one (yummy spot!).
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
These are the reasons why you will love this recipe and make the cookies again and again!
- Quick and easy: they bake in less than 15 mins!
- Everyday ingredients: the ingredient list is short and to the point, no eggs, no milk and no baking powder!
- Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies are delicious for sure, but chocolate cookies, topped with melted chocolate and chopped Mars Bar pieces are out of this world yum!
- One Bowl: we only need 1 bowl for this recipe which saves cleaning up pots and pans everywhere!
- Kid Friendly: this is the kindof recipe that the kids can help you with. Get them to chop the Mars Bars or sift the flour, they will love to be little sous chefs with this one!
- Lunch Box friendly: be it your lunch box or the kids one, there is a delight in popping one of these in a lunch box for later discovery or something to look forward to!
- Crunchy and Delicious: these cookies taste amazing! They are like chocolate shortbread with chocolate and Mars Bars on top, ermagawd....so good!!
🥗 Ingredients
Everything you need to make this recipe is shown in the ingredients photo below. For exact quantities and detailed step by step guide, scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
As you can see, the recipe calls for:
- Mars Bar Chocolate Bars: I use a 12 mini share packet of these. Simply remove the wrappers and use a knife and chopping board to cut into pieces.
- Butter: I recommend using regular, unsalted butter. Chop it into small pieces and start creaming it when it is at room temperature.
- Icing sugar: this is a soft white non granulated powdered sugar. It is also known as confectioner's sugar. We will get the best results if we sift this ingredient.
- Vanilla Extract: we only need a small amount of this. You can use imitation vanilla if you have it and not vanilla extract.
- Plain flour: as above with the icing sugar, I recommend sifting the flour. This will get out any lumps and bumps and make the powder smooth and the biscuits with a consistent mix to them.
- Milk Chocolate: As I developed this recipe, I realised that we couldn't simply push the Mars Bar pieces into the top of the biscuits and bake them. Doing this results in melted Mars Bar bits that go every which way. So instead, we use melted chocolate to decorate the top of the biscuits, plus we use it to stick the Mars Bar pieces to the top of the biscuits.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. You will need either electric hand held beaters or a mix master.
- Cream butter and sugar (Photo 1)
- Add vanilla extract (Photo 2)
- Add sifted icing sugar (Photo 3)
- Beat till combined (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Mars Bar Cookies
If you start with room temperature butter and chop it into pieces, it will make creaming it so much faster and easier as it will be soft.
The firmer the butter, the more likely it is that small flecks of it will fly up and out of your bowl as you use the mixers to beat it.
Sift the icing sugar as you go and mix it into the butter.
- Add the flour and cocoa powder (Photo 5)
- Beat to combine (Photo 6)
- Use a spatula to push the mixture into a firm batch (Photo 7)
- Chop Mars Bars into pieces (Photo 8)
Sift the flour and cocoa powder as you beat it in with the other ingredients.
The mixture will be consistently brought together at this stage, but you need to use a spatula to push/stir it so that it firms into a dough.
I then use a knife and chopping board and cut each mini Mars Bar into 6 pieces.
Top Tip: If you find the Mars Bars are smushing down too much as you cut them, use the blade not tip of the knife, or turn them upside down and cut from bottom to top.
- Portion the cookie dough into individual amounts (Photo 9)
- Push the biscuits down a little to flatten (Photo 10)
- Bake for 12 to 15 mins (Photo 11)
- Decorate the biscuits (Photo 12)
I use a mini cookie scoop to portion the biscuit mixture as it allows for consistent sizes of the biscuits.
If you don't have 1 you can use 2 teaspoons and roll the mix into balls, it will produce much the same results.
Then I use 2 finger tips to gently press each portion down so that the biscuits are flatter.
They will cook within 12 to 15 mins. Use an oven mit to remove the tray after this time but leave the cookies on there so that they can cool down. If you try to remove them too quickly, they will crumble and break.
Once they are cool, you can use a flat silicon utensil, slide it under them and transfer them to a wire rack.
When it comes to decorate the cookies, melt the chocolate in the microwave and stir to ensure it is smooth. Then use a teaspoon and dollop a little on top of each cookie. Place the chopped Mars Bar pieces on top of the melted chocolate. Then let set.
The combination of gooey caramel, soft malt nougat, creamy milk chocolate and chocolate biscuits is just too good to resist!!
That 1st bite is simply heavenly!
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Once cool, store the cookies in an air tight container, seperated with layers of baking paper.
How to Freeze
Freezing the cookie dough can lead to mix results due to the amount of butter in recipe.
For this reason, if you want to make the dough in advance and freeze, ensure you allow it to thaw and defrost on the bench prior to cooking. It will stay too firm in the fridge.
How to Reheat
If you want a hot cookie, heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds or better yet dunk in your cup of tea or coffee!
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub in and outs you may want to consider as you make the recipe:
- You can use dark or white chocolate instead of milk for the top of the cookies.
- Cut the Mars Bars in halves (length ways) and use those halves for decoration instead of pieces.
- Add chocolate chips to the cookie dough before baking the biscuits.
- Use caramilk chocolate on top of the biscuits instead of the melted milk chocolate.
- Leave the cocoa powder out and make the recipe as vanilla biscuits with chocolate and mars bars on top!
Expert Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks for you to enjoy so that you get the recipe spot on each time you make it!
- Ensure that the oven is preheated so that the cookies start baking as soon as you place them into the oven.
- I prefer using silicon baking mats to baking paper or tin foil (you might too!)
- A mini cookie scoop is not essential but it is super handy to achieve uniform sized cookies.
- Use the middle and lower shelves of the oven, not the top rack.
- The cookies will spread as they bake, so give them space and use 2 x baking trays as opposed to 1 with them all crammed on it. (Or do 2 x batches if you only have 1 tray).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make Mars Bar cookies?
To make the cookies, start by preparing the cookie dough using electric beaters. Then place individual portions of the biscuit mixture across 2 baking trays. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 mins in a moderate oven.
Can Mars bars be melted?
Mars Bars can be melted and are great to use in baking!
I found through developing this recipe that I wanted to keep the mars bars somewhat whole to recreate that experience of biting into the chocolate bars. When I baked the recipe with the mars bar pieces on top of the cookies they melted into a big puddle of chocolate, loosing their form.
The solution to this was to melt chocolate and decorate the top of the cookies with this chocolate and the chopped mars bar pieces.
What are Mars bars made of?
Mars Bars have a layer of nougat, topped with a layer of caramel and covered in milk chocolate. Some versions in different parts of the world also have nuts, which is like an Australian snickers bar.
Is Mars bar and Milky Way the same?
In Australia Mars Bars and Milky Ways are different chocolate bars.
Both have a malt nougat layer and are covered in milk chocolate, however Mars Bars have a caramel layer on top of the nougat layer which Milky Ways do not.
What is the world's most popular cookie?
Research indicates that Oreo cookies are the world's most popular cookie!
Not only are they super tasty but they are massively enjoyed throughout many parts of the world.
😍 Related Recipes
Get your bake on and be inspired by my recipes that allow you to indulge with your favourite past time in the kitchen.
- Nutella Biscuits
- Coffee Slice (no bake!)
- Macadamia Caramel Slice
- Snickers Cookies
- Malteser Biscuits
- Snickers Fudge
- Malteser Fudge
- Air Fryer Biscuits
A Mars a Day is said to help you work, rest and play my friends, we could all use some more of that time...except the work bit, right?
Adrianne xx
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📖 Recipe
Mars Bar Cookies
Equipment
- 2 Baking Trays
- 2 Silicon Baking Mats Note 1
- 1 Mini Cookie Scoop Note 2
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Spatula Note 3
Ingredients
- 250 grams butter Note 4
- 1 cup icing sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain flour sifted
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder sifted
- 1 cuo milk chocolate melts
- 12 mini Mars Bar Chocolate Bars
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5. Line 2 baking trays with silicon baking mats or baking paper.
- Cream Butter: Use electric beaters to beat butter till pale and creamy. Add vanilla extract and mix in.
- Add sugar: sift and add the icing sugar, mix until combined.
- Add flour and cocoa powder: add sifted flour and cocoa powder to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Firm up the dough: remove beaters then use a spatula to stir and push mixture together to firm into cookie dough.
- Portion: use a mini cookie scoop to portion the mixture across the 2 baking trays (12 cookies per 1 tray) Note 5
- Bake: place the baking racks into the oven and bake the cookies for 12 to 15 mins. Use an oven mit to remove and rest on heat proof surface.
- Cooling Rack: leave the biscuits on the baking tray as they will firm up as they cool down. Then use a flat silicon utensil slid under each cookie to transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Decorate: add milk chocolate to a heatproof jug and micrwoave for 2 mins, stirring at the 1 minute mark. Use a teaspoon to spoon the chocolate on top of each cookie and place the Mars Bar pieces on top. Note 6
- Serve: let the chocolate set and then serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Note 1 Baking mats: you can use baking paper or alfoil, however, my preference these days is to use silicon baking mats. They are resuseable and make things easy.
- Note 2 Mini Cookie Scoop: this is not essential. If you don't have one, you can use 2 small spoons. Spoon into portions, roll, then press semi- flat.
- Note 3 Cookie Dough: The biscuit mixture will be mixed together after using electric beaters, but then you need to use a spatula to somewhat knead it together.
- Note 4 Butter: room temperature butter will be easiest to work with as it will be softer. Grab it out as a starting point to allow it to soften.
- Note 5 Spacing: give the cookies space from each other on the baking mat so they have space to spread as they go.
- Note 6 Decorating: I find it easier to decorate about 6 cookies at a time. This ensures that the chocolate will still be wet and allow you to stick the Mars Bar pieces on top of the cookies. If you spoon the chocolate over all 24 cookies and then come back to put the Mars Bar pieces on top, there is a risk that the chocolate will have set and you won't be able to use it to 'stick' the pieces on top.
Penny Millers says
Made these with my kids yesterday. They are fun and easy and everything a cookie is meant to be!
Adrianne says
Excellent thanks Penny! I appreciate your feedback and am happy to hear you and the kids enjoyed the recipe!