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There is nothing more nostalgic than the thrill of grabbing snacks before the movie starts! It’s somewhat nostalgic and indulgent and hits all the right marks.
Whether you enjoy your movies at the theater or in the comfort of your home, the excitement of picking out your favorite snack never gets old. We’re bringing back the nostalgia of Blockbuster movie rental nights and wrapping it into a cookie. Each cookie is nutty, chocolatey, and popping with buttery bites of popcorn throughout. The dough is packed with some of your favorite movie snacks: Butterfinger, Kit Kat pieces, peanuts, popcorn, and Reese’s pieces to add the most fun texture to each bite.
These cookies feel nostalgic, indulgent, and a little over the top in the best way – kind of like the snack counter of your favorite movie night memories. They’re ideal for movie nights but perfect for parties or whenever you have a craving for something salty-sweet.
Why You’ll Love these Movie Candy Cookies
- They’re super soft and chewy! If you love cookies with crisp edges and a soft, chewy center, you’ll love these.
- Nutty, sweet, and salty. The blend of peanuts, Reese’s pieces, and butter finger bring a nutty, caramel flavor to these cookies, and when mixed with crispy, chocolaty Kit Kats and salty popcorn, it’s a movie-watch match made in heaven.
- Perfect for a movie night! We can’t think of a better way to combine our favorite movie snacks than wrapped in a warm cookie dough. Once you’ve had these blockbuster cookies, you won’t want a movie night without them!
What You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Buttered popcorn
- Kit Kat candybars
- Butterfinger candybar
- Reese’s pieces
- Salted peanuts
- Flakey sea salt
How to Make Blockbuster Movie Candy Cookies, Step by Step
Step 1. Prep your movie snacks!
We recommend prepping your movie snack mix-ins ahead of time, so that way you have everything measured, chopped, and ready to add into the cookie dough.
Make sure you have….
- Chopped Kit Kat and Butterfinger candybars
- Popped popcorn
- Measured out peanuts and Reese’s pieces
Set everything to the side while you make your cookie dough.
Step 2. Cream butter and sugar.
These cookies start with a basic vanilla and brown sugar dough before all the treats are mixed in.
Start by creaming butter and sugar together. This step is very important because it whips air into the cookies, making them fluffy, so you don’t end up with a flat cookie. You will whip the butter and sugar together until it is smooth and creamy. After your butter is creamy, mix in eggs and vanilla until you have a smooth mixture.
Tip: Scrape the sides of the bowl to get any butter or egg that hasn’t been mixed in. Mix again to incorporate any of the scrapings and blend until smooth.
Step 3. Mix in the flour mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour mixture – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This will allow each ingredient to blend more evenly into the creamed butter.
Pour the flour mixture into the creamed butter and mix until incorporated. If you see any loose flour, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to mix it into the dough.
Step 4. Mix in movie snacks.
Lastly, pour the chopped candy bars, peanuts, Reese’s pieces and popcorn into the mixing bowl. Turn the electric mixer on low to gently blend the candy and popcorn the batter. Blend until everything is just blended into the batter.
Be careful that you do not overmix the batter because it could over work the gluten and break down the candy chunks into fine pieces. You still want some chunks, so be gentle when mixing the candy into the batter.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough balls and place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 5. Chill the dough and bake cookies until the edges are slightly golden brown.
Once all the cookies have been scooped and rolled, chill for at least 10-15 minutes. Chilling the dough will help the dough solidify so it doesn’t spread too much while baking.
After the dough balls have chilled, place 4-6 cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF for 12-15 minutes. When the cookies are nice and golden on the edges, they are done!
Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before enjoying. Repeat this step for the rest of the cookies and enjoy!
Tips for Making Perfect Cookies Every Time
We mention these tips in all of our cookie recipes, but they are essential steps for getting the perfect cookie each time!
- Cold butter! This is essential. If your butter is too warm, the cookies can spread too much when baking.
- Room temperature eggs. Make sure to set your eggs out ahead of time to get to room temperature. They will blend more easily into your batter.
- Chill the cookie dough. A little extra chill of the cookie dough is an extra step we never skip! Chilled dough helps solidify the fats to reduce the spread of the cookies. If your dough is too warm, the butter will melt, and your cookies will spread.
- For good aesthetics, press pieces of popcorn, peanuts, and candy into the tops of the dough balls before you bake them. As they bake, you will still have pieces of candy clearly poking out.
More Fun Movie Snack Mix-Ins
We chose a combo of candy and popcorn whose flavors blended well together. And the nutty, caramel, chocolatey-salty-sweet mixture is irresistible. Since we don’t recommend blending in sour candies, here are some other good mix-ins:
- Potato chips
- Twix candybars
- M&M’s
- Caramel popcorn
- Pretzels
- Whoppers
- Teddy Grahams
How to store cookie dough and baked cookies
- Freeze uncooked cookie dough: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill the dough for about 15-20 minutes to harden a bit before you store the dough in freezer-safe storage bags or an airtight container. Uncooked frozen dough is good for up to 3 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to cook, bake as directed in the recipe.
- Storing baked cookies: Let cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container or plastic bag in a cool, dry place. They will be good for 3-4 days.
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More yummy dessert recipes:
Blockbuster Movie Candy Cookies
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24–26 cookies 1x
Description
We’re bringing back the nostalgia of blockbuster movie rental nights and wrapping it into a cookie. Each cookie is nutty, chocolatey, and popping with buttery bites of popcorn throughout. The dough is packed with some of your favorite movie snacks: Butterfinger, Kit Kat pieces, peanuts, popcorn, and Reese’s pieces to add the most fun texture to each bite.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 sticks cold butter, cubed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup buttered popcorn
- 2 KitKat candybars, chopped
- 1 Butterfinger candybar, chopped
- 1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces
- 1/4 cup salted, roasted peanuts
- Flakey sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prep two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set to the side.
- You can use a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer. In a medium bowl or bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream cold butter until soft and whipped. Add in sugars, mixing until combined and fluffy. Next, add in eggs and vanilla, and once again mix until combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix in until just combined.
- Mix in popcorn, candy bar pieces, Reeces pieces, and peanuts on the lowest setting. Be careful not to overmix the batter because it could overwork the gluten and make a tougher cookie. It could also break the candy into fine pieces.
- Scoop large cookie dough balls onto one of the cookie sheets.Top each cookie with pieces of popcorn, candy, Reese’s pieces. Freeze the doughballs in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Transfer cookie sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Best if eaten warm!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
