Lazy Cookie Bars are chewy, sweet and SIMPLE!
Sometimes you just need a simple, candy loaded sweet treat. And since today happens to be the day after the top candy holiday of the year I’d say timing is perfect!
I actually had a sick little guy on Halloween this year which for him was really a life-disaster. No costume, no candy, no running around in the dark with flashlights with his friends…
And I have to say, while I enjoyed the extra snuggle time, one less kid trick or treating meant one less bag of candy to raid. With less reserves those peanut butter cups are carefully tracked.
BUT if you are in a house with an overflowing candy dish I have the recipe for you…
And we’re calling them lazy bars because they couldn’t take less effort.
Yes, I used M&M’s, but you can absolutely use any candy you would like. All you need are 2 cups of [chopped] candies. Obviously don’t chop the M&M’s, though. Only chop if you’re dealing with larger pieces.
In other words, use your brains.
No mixer required here. All I did was mix a box of cake mix, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup melted butter…
Next stir in your candies…
Spread it all in a 9×13…
And bake it up. You don’t even have to bake this for very long…just 15-20 minutes.
Simple bars that are chewy, soft and loaded with candy! WIN!
You can mix and match this recipe all over the place. Chocolate cake mix + peanut butter cups. Spice cake mix + Pumpkin Spice M&M’s.
Use your imagination!
Print
Lazy Cookie Bars
- Yield: 24 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 cups M&M’s (or any chopped candy you prefer)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C
- Line a 9×13 pan with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the cake mix, eggs and butter. Stir until smooth.
- Stir in the M&M’s and spread the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden at the edges. The center might seem slightly underdone, this is ok.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
Store at room temperature for up to 5 days
These were awesome! I used a chocolate cake mix, 9oz of Reese’s pieces, and topped with rainbow sprinkles. So good!
I’m thinking chocolate cake and chopped up heath bars as well
Made them with caramel M&M’s and they were fantastic! You must slightly under bake and there is something very festive with using colorful M&M’s. This is quick and tasty for church potlucks!
Hi! I’m going to use red, white and blue m&m’s for a patriotic dessert, and think a white cake mix will look better than yellow. Usually you only add egg whites to a white cake mix, so I’m wondering if you’ve experimented with that? I think I will add 3 egg whites instead if two whole eggs? Thanks.
Not sure what happened, but these turned out so dry! I took them out at 15 min, when the toothpick was clean. I think I’ll sub oil for butter next time and hope they work better.
Oh no, sorry you had this experience. I have never had that outcome and my guess would be that they baked too long, but it doesn’t seem like that was the issue. If you try with butter let me know how they turn out for you!
I’m not going to lie…I was skeptical about this recipe but, boy, was I wrong!! I followed as written and the bars came out fantastic! Incredibly easy and delicious! Will absolutely make again and will try some of the combos from other reviews! Thanks for sharing!
Love hearing this, so glad you liked them!
Heather, do I make the cake mix as instructions PLUS the 2 eggs, & butter or cake mix, 2 eggs & butter ??
Nope, you don’t make the cake mix according to the package directions…just use the dry mix and the ingredients in my recipe 🙂
Love this recipe i always have a cake mix on hand and do several different combinations, example: Butter cake mix with dark chocolate chips, devil’s food cake mix with peanut butter chips, strawberry cake mix with white chocolate chips or semi sweet chocolate chips, the combinations are endless. Thank you again for sharing I rate this recipe PLus 5 stars…
I’ve made this twice now – once with a mix of m&ms and reeces piec es and once with just m&ms. They are so easy and a perfect recipe for a toddler to help make. I love hearing other variations from the comments and freezing caramel candies is genius for gooey results.
The second time I made them on a whim and was able to recall what I needed from memory while at grocery so I know I can do that again too!
Thanks for the simple recipe! Everyone loves a delicious cookie bar & these all looked amazing, so why not give it a try. I decided to try & make them they look fantastic. I made these along with some of my own cookie bars. I can not wait to put these in little baggies & share them with the less fortunate, I am sure they will be a hit. I will definitely be letting you know the outcome 🙂 Once again thanks for sharing ..
#valentines?
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#the Lord
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#stayblessed
Your recipe this looks absolutely amazing! Got to add this to my reading list.Thanks for sharing this recipe.