These Milky Way cookies are fully loaded with melty Milky Way chocolate bars, and extra thick and chewy. The secret? Bake your cookies deep-dish-style, in a muffin-top pan!
I chose nougat-and-caramel-filled Milky Way bars, but you can make these cookies with any mix-ins you’d like. And if you love an uber-thick cookie recipe, check out my cookie cups stuffed with Reese’s Cups, next!
The secret to these “deep-dish” Milky Way cookies is a muffin top pan, also known as a whoopie pan (because you can also use it to bake whoopie pies). This type of pan has shallow wells rather than a flat sheet, resulting in the thickest, soft-baked, chocolate-filled cookies ever. You’ve never had a cookie like this before!
*This recipe was originally published in 2011. The images and helpful tips have been updated in 2025. The recipe remains the same!
Double the thickness. Even the thickest cookie baked on a baking sheet could only dream of being as thick and gooey as these Milky Way cookies baked in a muffin top pan.
Soft and moist. I make these cookies with more brown sugar than white sugar, so they’re extra moist and chewy. Even more so since we leave them slightly underbaked, for the perfect soft-baked texture.
Loaded with chocolate. In case you’re unfamiliar, Milky Way is a type of candy bar with nougat smothered with caramel and a layer of milk chocolate. Yes, it’s as indulgent as it sounds. And, yes, it’s the perfect choice for an extra-thick cookie!
Ingredients You’ll Need
These Milky Way cookies call for a few easy ingredients that, together, give the cookies the ultimate chewy texture. Check out my notes here, and scroll down to the printable recipe card after the post for the full list with amounts.
Butter – I always bake with salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. Bring the butter to room temperature before you start.
Sugar – Just like my chewy chocolate chip cookies, these Milky Way cookies use both brown sugar and white sugar.
Eggs and Vanilla –The eggs can also be at room temperature.
Dry Ingredients – Baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour.
Milky Way Bars – I use the fun-sized bars and chop them roughly. You can do the same with full-size bars. Feel free to substitute your choice of candy bars or chocolate chips if needed.
How to Make Milky Way Cookies
Even though we’re baking these Milky Way cookies in a different kind of pan, the method to mix the dough is the same as any of my favorite cookie recipes. And if you don’t have a muffin top pan, I have you covered with baking sheet instructions below. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable instructions.
Prep. While the oven preheats to 350ºF, coat your muffin top pan with baking spray. Then, place a parchment round into the bottom of each well, and spray again.
Mix the wet ingredients.Add the dry ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients. Start by creaming the butter and sugars together, then slowly mix in the eggs and vanilla until combined.
Add dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients. Lastly, fold in the Milky Way pieces just as the dough comes together.
Fold in the Milky Way bars.Fill the pan and bake!
Fill the pan and bake. Press about ¼ cup of cookie dough into each lined well. Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 13-15 minutes until they’re set at the edges, and still slightly underbaked in the middle.
Cool. Let these Milky Way cookies rest in the pan for a few minutes, then carefully loosen the edges and pop them out onto a wire rack.
Can I Make These as Drop Cookies Instead?
Yes! If you don’t have a muffin top pan, you can bake these Milky Way cookies as regular drop cookies on a lined baking sheet. You’ll need to scoop less dough in this case, about 1 rounded tablespoon per cookie. Bake them for 8-9 minutes at 350ºF, or until the cookies are golden at the edges.
Baking Tips and Variations
Don’t overbake the cookies. The key to soft-baked, thick, and chewy cookies is making sure that you don’t overbake them! Leaving cookies in the oven too long causes them to dry out. Pull these Milky Way cookies from the oven when they’re JUST set in the center. They’ll continue to set up in the pan afterward.
Different ovens bake differently. I give a range for the baking time in this recipe. Since some ovens run hotter than others, I recommend checking the cookies at the earliest suggested time (13 minutes for deep-dish cookies, 8 minutes for regular cookies). This avoids overbaking.
Brown the butter. For an even richer flavor in these Milky Way cookies, brown the butter beforehand. You can follow the instructions in my brown butter chocolate chip cookies recipe.
These Milky Way cookies are extra thick and chewy, baked deep-dish-style in a muffin top pan! They’re loaded with melty Milky Way candy bars and are seriously irresistible.
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (11.24 ounces) bag of fun-sized Milky Way bars, chopped
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare your muffin pan by first spraying with cooking spray, next lining each tin with a parchment round. (Cut the parchment to fit in the bottom of the pan) and then spraying the parchment again lightly. Set aside.
Mix the butter and sugars together in your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and sea salt and mix for 30 seconds, or until combined and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour. When just mixed together, fold in your chopped Milky Way.
Press 1/4 cup the cookie dough into each muffin top and bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is JUST set.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and flip the cookies onto a wire cooling rack.
Notes
If you make these without using a muffin top pan, line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Space the cookies out 2 inches apart and drop by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes until edges are golden.
This recipe makes approximately 12-15 “deep-dish” cookies, or 24 regular drop cookies (large-size).
