Easter Trash Cookies (Printable)

Festive cookies packed with candy-coated chocolates, pretzels, cereal, and colorful sprinkles for a sweet-salty Easter dessert.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 tsp baking soda
03 - ½ tsp salt

→ Wet Ingredients

04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar
06 - ½ cup granulated sugar
07 - 2 large eggs
08 - 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

→ Mix-ins

09 - 1¼ cups pastel-colored candy-coated chocolates
10 - 1 cup mini pretzels, roughly broken
11 - ¾ cup crispy rice cereal
12 - ½ cup white chocolate chips
13 - ½ cup mini marshmallows
14 - ⅓ cup sprinkles
15 - ½ cup roasted salted peanuts or chopped pecans (optional)

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt until well blended.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
04 - Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated, then stir in vanilla extract.
05 - Gradually mix in dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
06 - Gently fold in candy-coated chocolates, pretzel pieces, rice cereal, white chocolate chips, marshmallows, sprinkles, and nuts if using.
07 - Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until edges are lightly golden. Centers will appear slightly underbaked.
09 - Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The salty-sweet combo of pretzels and white chocolate hits every craving at once
  • They look like confetti exploded in the best possible way
  • Perfect for using up half-empty bags of Easter candy
02 -
  • Underbaking slightly is the secret to chewy cookies that don't turn rock hard overnight
  • If your dough feels too sticky, chill it for 15 minutes before scooping
  • The marshmallows will puff up dramatically in the oven, that's completely normal
03 -
  • Break pretzels into different sizes so you get both small salty bits and bigger crunches
  • Press a few extra candies on top of each dough ball before baking for maximum visual appeal

Go Back