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Chocolate Cake Mix Milky Way Cookie Bars – These cookie bars are a super fun and easy to make treat using cake mix! Decadent chocolate cake mix comes together with a simple cheesecake swirl and milky way candy bars to create a cookie bar that’s completely irresistible!
Hi, everyone! Nichole here again from The Salty Marshmallow to share one of my all time favorite baking “hacks!”
I absolutely love to bake. It’s kind of a hobby I picked up as an adult, or should I say, something I didn’t have the patience for until I was an adult! Even though now I enjoy spending the time making dough from scratch, I don’t always actually have the time to do that!
That’s where cake mix comes in handy every single time. It is super easy to take a simple box of cake mix and transform it into something that tastes like you spent hours working on it. Everything from Cake Mix Cookies to Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars can be whipped up in a snap with a few simple ingredients.
Today, I wanted to step it up a bit. Still keep it easy, but make something that I know my kids, their friends, or any company that we have over during the upcoming holiday season will be really excited to sink their teeth into!
I mean, who wouldn’t be thrilled to get a big bite of a super soft cookie bar? Especially when it’s chocolate, full of cheesecake swirl, and gooey melted milky way bars! These treats go quick in my house. I took them to a family gathering recently, and they were actually gone before anyone even had dinner!
TIPS FOR MILKY WAY COOKIE BARS SUCCESS:
- Do allow these bars to cool completely before you remove them from the pan. If not, they may be a little gooey in the center.
- Don’t be afraid to get your hands a little messy! This dough will be very thick, the easiest and fastest way to spread it out in the pan is to use your hands.
- Definitely plan to top these bars with extra Milky Way! I use two large candy bars to top before baking, then two more to top after they come out of the oven and are cool. They look so much prettier this way!
Cake Mix Milky Way Cookie Bars
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIE BARS:
- 1 box chocolate cake mix 15.25 Ounces
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla
- 4 Milky Way bars chopped and divided
FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING:
- 5 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons almond extract divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.
- In a large bowl stir together the cake mix with the butter, eggs, and almond extract until well combined.
- Pour the cake mix batter into the prepared pan. Spon filling by tablespoons onto batter, swirl through the batter with a knife.
- Top batter with half of the chopped Milky Way bars.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Allow bars to cool completely, and top with remaining chopped Milky Way bars before serving.
Notes
- Do allow these bars to cool completely before you remove them from the pan. If not, they may be a little gooey in the center.
- Don’t be afraid to get your hands a little messy! This dough will be very thick, the easiest and fastest way to spread it out in the pan is to use your hands.
- Definitely plan to top these bars with extra Milky Way! I use two large candy bars to top before baking, then two more to top after they come out of the oven and are cool. They look so much prettier this way!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of "Yellow Bliss Road" is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
And for more easy dessert recipes, try these:
- Pumpkin Cookie & Marshmallow Whoopie Pies
- S’Mores Oreo Stuffed Brownies
- Peppermint Cheesecake Brownie Parfaits
Hi Nichole. You have vanilla extract listed as an ingredient with cake mix, then almond extract to mix in under instructions. Just wanted to know which to use. They look fantastic!
Typo – it should be vanilla.