One thing I love about spring is being able to stock up on Cadbury mini eggs! They're a popular Easter treat--so fair warning, most grocery stores run out of them long before Easter, so make sure to get yours before it's too late!
I love incorporating candy into cookies, and this recipe is by far one of my favorites. These Cadbury mini egg cookies have a delicious trio of three kinds of chocolate, along with brown butter adding a heavenly caramel-like flavor to the dough.
How to Brown Butter
If you haven't browned butter before, doing it for the first time may seem intimidating. Don't worry, it's much easier than it sounds!
Take your unsalted butter and melt it over medium heat in a small saucepan. Make sure to use unsalted butter, as the salt can sometimes become concentrated in the milk solids during the browning process.
Keeping the heat on medium, continue to stir the butter as it begins to bubble. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn! And don't rush it--if you turn up the heat to speed up the process, the butter will burn fast. As it simmers, dark flecks will form at the bottom of the pan. The butter will turn from yellow to amber in color, and you'll start to smell a nutty aroma--these are your signals that it's time to remove it from the heat.
Immediately pour the butter into a heatproof bowl. Make sure to scrape all the brown flecks into the bowl--they add all the flavor! For this recipe, I put the brown butter back in the refrigerator or freezer so that it can re-solidify. Using cold butter in this recipe helps the cookies hold their shape while also staying moist.
How to Make Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
Make the Dough
First, preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. You can use cooking spray instead of parchment paper, but I prefer the latter. Plus, you won't have to clean the pan after!
Make the brown butter as instructed above, only using ⅔ cup of the unsalted butter. After it has re-solidified in the refrigerator or freezer, add it to a standing mixer along with the other ⅓ cup of unsalted butter (sliced in ¼ inch cubes), light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix everything together on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes. You're looking for a smooth, lump-free texture here.
While that's mixing, whisk together your dry ingredients in a separate bowl: all-purpose flour, sea salt, cornstarch, and baking soda. Set it aside.
Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract to your butter-sugar mixture, and mix on medium speed until everything becomes creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
Take a second to crush up ½ cup of your Cadbury mini eggs into smaller pieces. I like to do this by placing them in a Ziploc bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.
Stirring on the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients to the standing mixer. While mixing in, add the chocolate chips (both semi-sweet and white), crushed mini eggs, and the whole Cadbury mini eggs. Mix until everything is barely incorporated--don't overmix the dough! Mixing dough too much (after dry ingredients are added in) can overdevelop gluten in the flour which will make a denser, less-fluffy cookie.
Bake and Shape the Cookies
Use your hands to form the dough into fifteen balls of dough, and evenly place them on the three baking sheets. Feel free to press in a few extra chocolate chips and mini eggs on top for a more decorative look.
Bake one baking sheet at a time for about 8-11 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are golden brown. Mine usually take about 9 minutes, so be sure to check yours a bit earlier, just in case.
Here's an optional tip: as soon as they come out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter (or the back of a large spoon) and gently press it around the edges of the cookies while they're still soft. This gives them that perfect, bakery-style round shape.
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes to continue baking on the hot pan. They'll firm up and have a perfect soft and chewy texture.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Using high quality ingredients is the key to these Cadbury egg cookies, so here are a few of suggestions of my favorite brands (not sponsored) and some items that can be substituted.
- Chocolate chips: I prefer to use Ghirardelli for both the white chocolate chips and the semi-sweet chocolate chips. They are rich and high quality.
- Cadbury mini eggs: This one is a no-brainer, these mini eggs are the main ingredient of this recipe. Cadbury mini eggs don't last long on store shelves during spring, so be sure to stock up early! I've also heard great things about Lindt mini eggs as well, so those could be a great substitute.
- Vanilla extract: Although more expensive, vanilla extract is always superior to imitation vanilla, so don't skimp here! I've found that Costco sells great vanilla extract at a reasonable price.
Similar Recipes
If you're looking for other fun cookie recipes, I have lots more on my website! Here are some favorites:
Reese's Stuffed Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you try out these Cadbury mini egg cookies, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe. Or if you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.
Now get baking, and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter divided
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cup Cadbury mini eggs plus extra for topping
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus extra for topping
- ½ cup white chocolate chips plus extra for topping
Instructions
Brown the Butter
- You will only brown ⅔ cup of the unsalted butter--leave the other ⅓ cup in the refrigerator to use later. In a small sauce pan, melt the ⅔ cup of unsalted butter on medium heat. Stir frequently.1 cup unsalted butter
- Continue stirring as the butter starts to bubble. There is a fine line between browning and burning butter, so keep a close eye on it and don't stop stirring! Don't turn the heat above medium heat. Dark flecks will start to form on the bottom of the pan, and the butter will quickly turn to an amber color. You'll know it's done when you can smell a nutty aroma. Immediately remove from heat and move to a heat-resistant bowl. Scrape all of the brown flecks into the bowl as well! That's where all flavor is. Place the brown butter in the refrigerator or freezer so that it can re-solidify. (This takes about 20 minutes in my freezer).
Make the Dough
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice the remaining cold butter (⅓ cup) into ¼ inch cubes and add them to the standing mixer. Add the brown sugar and cane sugar as well. Once the brown butter has re-solidified (90% is close enough), add it to the standing mixer. Mix on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes, until there aren't any chunks of butter left.1 cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar, 1 cup cane sugar
- While the butter and sugar are mixing, whisk together the flour, sea salt, cornstarch and baking soda in a separate bowl. Set aside.2 ½ cup all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the standing mixer and mix on medium speed until creamy (2-3 minutes).2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Crush ½ cup of Cadbury mini eggs into smaller pieces. I prefer to do this by putting them in a bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.2 cup Cadbury mini eggs
- Add the whisked dry ingredients to the standing mixer, and stir on lowest speed. As it mixes, add the semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, crushed Cadbury eggs, and 1 cup of whole Cadbury eggs. Only mix until the dry ingredients are just barely incorporated to avoid over-mixing.¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 2 cup Cadbury mini eggs, ½ cup white chocolate chips
Bake the Cookies
- Form the dough into 15 cookies and evenly distribute them on the baking sheets. Press in additional chocolate chips and Cadbury eggs if you'd like.
- Bake one baking sheet at a time for 8-11 minutes, until they start browning on the top. In my oven they are done by 9 minutes, so make sure to check them at 8 and add more time if necessary.
- Immediately out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter or the back of a large spoon to round out the edges while the cookies are still soft. This will give the cookies that round, bakery-style look (optional).
- Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes, as they will continue to bake on the hot pan. Enjoy!
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