Malted Milk Cookies

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Malted milk cookies are special desserts. These chewy chocolate chip cookies are packed with Whoppers malted milk balls. For more irresistible flavor, we add malted milk powder to the cookie dough. Enjoy the nostalgic taste of malted milkshakes in this hand-held treat.

📌 Pin Malted Milk Cookies

These snackable favorites are everything we love about chewy chocolate chip cookies, but so much more! With chocolate chunks and crisp crunchy malt balls, these Whopper cookies deliver the best textures for a perfect bite.

Want to enhance their chocolaty flavor? Garnish the warm desserts with a pinch of flaky salt. Serve and enjoy them with a tall glass of ice-cold milk. Or indulge your taste buds by pairing malted milk cookies with rounded scoop of vanilla ice cream. So delicious!

If you’re craving malted milk cookies when out and about, look for them at old-time sweet shops along the beachside boardwalk. Or find them at historic downtown bakeries that sell a wide variety of nostalgic treats.

Here at my house these cookies don’t last long. I often double the recipe to save some for later. And to mix things up, I tear a few cookies into small chunks and store them in an airtight container. As desired, I’ll use them as a topping for oatmeal, yogurt, vanilla pudding, and ice cream sundaes.

🛒 Ingredients

• Butter: This ingredient is the base of the malted milk cookies. It gives this batch of treats a rich buttery flavor and a chewy texture. Use a good-quality butter like Tillamook or Costco’s Kirkland brand.
• Light Brown Sugar: This ingredient provides moisture and a slightly caramel or toffee-like flavor. It helps the cookies brown along the bottom and sides but stay soft and chewy in the center. But if you don’t have light brown sugar, use dark brown or granulated sugar instead.
• Large Egg: Binds the ingredients together providing structure and volume. It also adds to the flavor and golden color of the cookies.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: I prefer Mexican vanilla extract. This flavor enhancer is prized for its delicious buttery flavor and bakery aroma.
• All-Purpose Flour: Provides these Whopper cookies with structure. It’s important to use the spoon-and-level method when measuring flour.
• Malted Milk Powder: Provides the malted milk ball cookies with additional malted milk flavor. I prefer the Nestle Carnation brand, original. In a pinch, you can leave out this ingredient or use chocolate malted milk powder instead in a 1:1 swap.
• Baking Soda: Helps keep the malt cookies soft and chewy.
• Sea Salt: In the cookie dough, this seasoning enhances the flavor of chocolate. As a finishing touch, you can garnish the cookies with a pinch of flaky salt. It’ll take these homemade treats to bakery status.
• Malted Milk Balls: Here in the US, it’s easy to find Whoppers malted milk balls (candy). If you’re in the UK, look for Whoppers or Maltesers.
• Chocolate Bar: For visual and textural interest in your cookies, use a bar of baking chocolate (like Guittard) and roughly chop it up. Or just pull a bag of chocolate chips out of the pantry. Either product will work.

📖 Recipe Steps

RECIPE PREP: Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking mats. Set them aside.

1. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and light brown sugar.
2. Add large egg and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
3. Add flour, malted milk powder, baking powder and sea salt. Stir until all ingredients are fully incorporated, and no large lumps remain.
4. Add malted milk balls and chocolate chunks to the bowl. With a wooden spoon, fold the pieces into the cookie dough.

1. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Once the cookie dough has chilled, scoop round (1.5-tablespoon) balls with a metal scoop. Drop the pucks of dough directly onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave at least 2 1/2-inches between pieces. To help reduce spread in the oven, chill the trays of dough in the freezer for 10 minutes or in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or a bit longer if needed – until the edges are golden blonde. As soon as the treats come out of the oven, press additional pieces of chocolate or malt balls into the cookies, if desired. Sprinkle the tops with a pinch of flaky salt (optional).
4. Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature on the baking tray. Then transfer them to a metal rack to finish shedding heat.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQ

These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST malted milk cookies, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

🍪 More Yummy Cookies

Excited about these malted milk cookies? Well, hold onto your hat! I have whole variety of crowd-pleasing treats to bake and eat. If you see a recipe here you want to save, print it out ASAP or pin it to Pinterest.

• Chocolate M&M Cookies
• Lemon Curd Cookies
• Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
• White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Vanilla Creme Sandwich Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flavor testers rated this the BEST recipe for malted milk cookies. They loved the unique flavor and crispy crunch of malt balls within these chewy chocolate chip cookies. They enjoyed the crisp edges and soft centers.

If you agree these Whopper cookies are spectacular, give them a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero! Share it with a friend.

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