Giant Bakery-Style Butterfinger Cookies
These Giant Bakery-Style Butterfinger Cookies are thick, craggy, and packed with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and roasted peanuts. Each 7-ounce dough ball is wrapped around a chopped fun-size Butterfinger bar, which melts into chewy pockets at the center. A final sprinkle of flaky sea salt amplifies all the flavors and adds a delicate crunch. This dough is high yield, so I recommend using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment for mixing. Yields 14 cookies.
Equipment
- large baking sheets (2)
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 lb. unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups peanut butter chips such as Reese’s
- 1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts
- 14 whole fun size Butterfinger candy bars
- extra chips and peanuts, for topping optional
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt such as Maldon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover your largest baking sheet with parchment paper. I used 12×18 sheet cake pans.
- In an extra-large mixing bowl, combine the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk together until combined.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix together on medium speed until fluffy. Scrape down bowl and return to medium speed; add eggs one at a time while the mixer runs. Add the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together. Add semisweet chips, peanut butter chips, and peanuts to the batter. Mix again until the ingredients are well dispersed. The finished dough should not be sticky.
- Scoop cookie dough by the level 3/4 cups, or using a kitchen scale weigh dough into 7 oz. portions.
- Working one at a time, chop a fun-size Butterfinger candy bar into rough chunks. Flatten one cookie dough ball and place it on top of the chopped candy bar. The dough will easily pick up most of the candy bar pieces. Turn it upright and form into a ball with the Butterfinger candy bar pieces in the center. Pick up any stray candy pieces and push them into the dough.
- Place 6 cookies well-spaced on 12×18 baking sheets, or 4 cookies on 10×15 sheets. Top each dough mound with extra chips and peanuts if desired. (This is optional, but makes the cookies look profesh.)
- Bake cookies for 20-22 minutes, or until they are fragrant and lightly golden around the edges. The centers should look shiny and underdone with pools of melty candy bar. Let cool on pans 5 minutes or until the centers are firm enough to move.
- Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky sea salt while the candy centers are still melty. Transfer to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before packaging.
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
Make-Ahead Instructions
To chill the dough:Once the dough balls are formed with the Butterfinger center, you can cover them and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. The chill time actually deepens the flavor! (A practiced cookie baker's secret!) If you refrigerate them, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before baking so they spread properly. To freeze the dough:
Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the portioned dough balls on top. Freeze until firm, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. They keep beautifully for up to 8 weeks. For the best bake, place frozen dough balls on a prepared sheet pan, let them thaw for about 30 minutes, and then bake as directed. The edges will brown while the centers stay soft and craggy, just as they should. Freezing baked cookies:
If you prefer to bake everything at once, the cooled cookies freeze well too. Wrap each individually, then store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks. The Butterfinger candy pockets may become sticky with the moisture from being frozen. Warm in a low oven for a few minutes to revive their texture and coax the Butterfinger pockets back to life.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!