Chocolate Chip Cadbury Egg Cookies (Soft & Chewy Easter Cookies)

So I’ve been making these Chocolate Chip Cadbury Egg Cookies for the past few Easter seasons, and let me tell you—they’re basically what happens when you take everything good about spring and shove it into cookie form. The soft, chewy texture with melty chocolate chips plus those gooey Cadbury egg centers? It’s like finding the perfect balance between childhood nostalgia and actual good baking. And honestly, they’re way easier than they look.

My Easter Cookie Evolution

Look, I’m gonna be real with you—the first time I attempted these, I thought I could just chop up some Cadbury eggs and toss them into regular cookie dough. Wrong. So wrong. The eggs melted into this weird, overly sweet mess that made the cookies spread into flat pancakes of disappointment. My kids were polite about it, but I saw them sneaking regular Oreos later.

After that disaster, I spent way too much time researching how to actually make this work. Turns out, you need to adjust your base recipe to handle the extra sweetness and moisture from the eggs. Plus, the timing is everything—too long in the oven and your Cadbury eggs turn into molten lava that burns tongues. Too short and your cookies are raw dough with candy chunks. I’ve finally got it figured out though, and these actually stay soft for days if you store them right.

The secret is keeping them thick and slightly underbaking them so the centers stay gooey while the edges get that perfect chewy texture. Trust me, after three years of Easter cookie experiments, this version actually works.

Ingredients Chocolate Chip Cadbury Egg Cookies

The ingredient list here is pretty straightforward, but there are a few things that really matter for getting the texture right. First, don’t skip the cornstarch—it’s what keeps these cookies soft and thick instead of flat and crispy. Second, room temperature butter is crucial. I know everyone says this, but cold butter will give you dense, tough cookies that don’t spread properly.

I usually buy my Cadbury eggs right after Easter when they go on clearance and freeze them for next year. They actually chop better when they’re cold anyway. And please, for the love of all that’s holy, use real vanilla extract. The fake stuff tastes like chemicals when you’re dealing with this much sweetness.

All-purpose flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)

I use regular all-purpose flour here because it gives the right structure without making the cookies tough. Don’t pack it when you measure—just scoop and level. Bread flour makes them too chewy in a bad way, and cake flour makes them too delicate to hold up to the candy pieces. King Arthur is my go-to brand, but honestly any decent all-purpose works fine.

Cornstarch (1 tablespoon)

This is your secret weapon for soft cookies. It absorbs moisture and creates that perfect chewy-but-not-tough texture. Don’t skip it—I learned this the hard way. Without cornstarch, these spread too much and end up crispy instead of soft. You probably already have some in your pantry from making gravy or whatever.

Baking soda (1 teaspoon)

Just regular baking soda for lift. Make sure yours isn’t ancient—if it’s been sitting in your fridge since 2019, get a new box. Old baking soda means flat cookies, and nobody wants that. I test mine by dropping a pinch in vinegar—it should fizz like crazy if it’s still good.

Salt (1/2 teaspoon)

Regular table salt works fine, though I sometimes use sea salt if I’m feeling fancy. The salt balances out all that sweetness from the Cadbury eggs and chocolate chips. Don’t skip it thinking the cookies are sweet enough—trust me, they need this contrast or they’ll be cloying.

Unsalted butter (3/4 cup, room temperature)

Has to be room temperature—this is non-negotiable. Cold butter won’t cream properly with the sugar, and melted butter changes the texture completely. I take mine out about an hour before baking, or you can cut it into chunks to speed things up. European-style butter works great if you want to splurge, but regular store brand is totally fine.

Brown sugar (3/4 cup, packed)

Light or dark brown sugar both work, but I prefer light because dark can overpower the Cadbury egg flavor. Pack it firmly when measuring—it should hold the shape of the measuring cup when you turn it out. Brown sugar keeps these cookies soft and adds that slight molasses flavor that works really well with chocolate.

Granulated sugar (1/4 cup)

Just a little white sugar for structure and sweetness. The ratio here matters—too much granulated sugar makes them crispy, too little makes them dense. This amount gives you the perfect balance with the brown sugar. Regular white sugar is all you need.

Large egg (1 egg plus 1 yolk)

One whole egg plus an extra yolk makes these incredibly soft and rich. The extra yolk adds fat and helps bind everything together without making the cookies cakey. Use large eggs—medium or extra-large will throw off the ratios. Room temperature eggs mix in better, so take yours out when you take out the butter.

Vanilla extract (2 teaspoons)

Real vanilla extract only—not imitation. With all the sweetness from the candy, fake vanilla tastes awful. I use Nielsen-Massey when I can find it on sale, but any pure vanilla extract works. The 2 teaspoons might seem like a lot, but you need it to compete with all that chocolate and candy flavor.

Mini chocolate chips (1 cup)

Mini chips work better than regular-sized ones because they distribute more evenly and don’t weigh down the dough. Ghirardelli makes good ones, but honestly most brands are fine. Semi-sweet is perfect—milk chocolate gets too sweet with the Cadbury eggs, and dark chocolate fights with the flavors.

Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs or Cadbury Mini Eggs (1 cup, chopped)

This is where the magic happens. I usually use the mini creme eggs because they get all gooey and amazing when baked, but chopped regular-sized ones work too. If you can’t find creme eggs, the chocolate mini eggs work but give a different texture—more crunchy than gooey. Chop them roughly—you want some bigger pieces for bursts of flavor.

Instructions Chocolate Chip Cadbury Egg Cookies

Okay, so the process here is pretty straightforward, but timing matters more than usual because of all the candy pieces. The whole thing takes about 2 hours from start to finish, but most of that is chilling time—the actual hands-on work is maybe 20 minutes. Don’t rush the chilling step, even though I know it’s tempting. Warm cookie dough with candy pieces turns into a spreading disaster in the oven.

These cookies bake at a lower temperature than you might expect, and they’ll look slightly underdone when you pull them out. That’s exactly what you want—they’ll finish cooking on the hot pan and stay soft in the middle. If you wait until they look completely done, you’ve overbaked them and they’ll be crispy instead of chewy.

Preheat your oven and prep your workspace.

Set your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Don’t skip the parchment—these cookies can stick because of all the melting candy. While the oven heats up, chop your Cadbury eggs into roughly quarter-sized pieces. I do this on a cutting board with a sharp knife, and yeah, it’s a little messy. Some pieces will be bigger, some smaller—that’s perfect. Toss the chopped candy with a tablespoon of flour to keep pieces from sinking to the bottom of cookies.

Mix your dry ingredients.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt until everything’s evenly combined. This takes like 30 seconds, but it’s important—you want the cornstarch distributed evenly so all your cookies have the same texture. Set this aside. I usually do this step first so I’m not scrambling for measuring spoons later when my hands are covered in butter and sugar.

Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for about 3-4 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. This is crucial—don’t rush it. The mixture should look pale and airy, not dense and greasy. If your butter was properly softened, this happens easily. If it’s taking forever, your butter was too cold. The sound changes when it’s ready—less dense whirring, more light whipping noise.

Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla.

Beat in the whole egg first, then the extra yolk, then the vanilla. Mix each addition until just combined before adding the next. The mixture might look a little curdled after the eggs—that’s normal, it’ll smooth out when you add the flour. Don’t overmix here, just blend until everything’s incorporated. The dough should smell amazing at this point, all buttery and vanilla-y.

Fold in the dry ingredients gradually.

Add the flour mixture about half at a time, mixing on low speed just until you don’t see any dry flour. Stop as soon as it comes together—overmixing makes tough cookies. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky, which is exactly what you want. If it seems too wet, that’s normal. It’ll firm up during chilling.

Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped Cadbury eggs.

Use a wooden spoon or spatula to gently fold in the mini chocolate chips and chopped candy pieces. Be gentle here—you don’t want to break up the candy pieces more than they already are. The dough will be pretty loaded with mix-ins, which is perfect. Make sure everything’s distributed evenly so each cookie gets a good mix of chocolate and candy.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes minimum. This step is non-negotiable—warm dough spreads too much and you’ll end up with flat cookies instead of thick, chewy ones. I usually chill mine for an hour because I’m impatient and like to get it done in one go. The dough will be much easier to handle when it’s cold.

Scoop and bake the cookies.

Using a cookie scoop or spoons, drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. They’ll spread some, but not too much. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft and underbaked. They’ll be lightly golden around the edges but still pale in the center. The Cadbury egg pieces will be melty and gooey—don’t let them get too brown or they’ll taste burnt.

Cool on the pan before transferring.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. This is important—they’re too soft to move immediately and you’ll break them trying. The melted candy needs time to set slightly. After 5 minutes, they’ll be firm enough to transfer but still warm and perfect for sneaking a taste. They’ll stay soft as they cool completely.

Tips & Variations Chocolate Chip Cadbury Egg Cookies

These keep soft for about a week in an airtight container, though mine never last that long. If they do start to get a little firm, stick a piece of bread in the container overnight—it’ll soften them back up. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to three months, or freeze scoops of the raw dough and bake them straight from frozen (add an extra minute or two to the bake time).

Final Thoughts Chocolate Chip Cadbury Egg Cookies

Look, these aren’t going to win any sophisticated baking awards, but they’re exactly what Easter cookies should be—fun, a little messy, and absolutely loaded with the good stuff. The texture is spot-on soft and chewy, and those little pockets of melted Cadbury egg are pure happiness. My kids’ friends keep asking when I’m making them again, which I take as a win.

Give these a try and let me know how yours turn out—I’m always curious if other people’s ovens behave the same way mine does. And seriously, don’t skip the chilling step, even if you’re in a hurry. Trust me on that one.