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These gluten free Cadbury egg cookies are the perfect way to celebrate Easter's best candy, the mini egg! Crispy outside and chewy inside, these are more special than just a “regular” chocolate chip cookie.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- The best texture and flavor: Soft and chewy in the very center, super crispy on the edges, and rich and buttery throughout.
- Quick & easy: You don't have to chill the cookie dough (if you don't want), and the butter should be at cool room temperature (about 68/70°F). Chop it up, let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes or less, and it's ready!
- Festive & fun: With their crisp candy shell of pastel blues, yellows, pinks and soft white colors, filled with rich milk chocolate, Cadbury mini eggs only come around once a year. Let's celebrate them!
My Pro Tip
Expert tips
Use butter at cool room temperature
To make sure that your cookies don't bake too flat but get those crisp edges, you need your butter to be at cool room temperature, about 68-70°F. You can chop cold butter and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or let it sit for less time and beat it in your stand mixer for longer. The friction will warm the butter.
Use gentle pressure to crack mini eggs
With the heel of your hand, press down gently on each chocolate egg candy and they'll split mostly in half. Trying to chop the chocolate eggs with a knife, which creates lots more irregular shapes and it's easy to slip and cut yourself (as me how I know that).
Chill the chocolate eggs
After you've broken the mini eggs in half, chill them while you make the cookie dough. That way, if they've begun to melt at all while you're handling them, they'll firm back up.
Make a cakier cookie
For cookies with a somewhat less crispy, more cakey texture, use 1 whole egg instead of 2 egg yolks.
Gluten Free Cadbury Egg Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Handheld mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (245 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ⅜ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it (See Recipe Notes if using Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 blend)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces Cadbury mini eggs candies
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 12 tablespoons (168 g) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
- 2 (50 g) egg yolks, at room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a small bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
- Set aside 14 of the Cadbury mini eggs. Place the remaining candies on a flat surface and apply even pressure with the heel of your palm as gently as possible to break each egg in half. Place the pieces in a small bowl and refrigerate to chill while you make the cookie dough.
- Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer handy), and beat for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. If your butter was on the colder side, beat for longer.
- To the butter and sugars mixture, add the egg yolks and vanilla, and beat until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix on low speed (or by hand) until everything is absorbed, creating a thick but soft cookie dough.
- Add the chilled mini egg pieces. Mix by hand using a mixing spoon or spatula until they’re evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Using a medium-size ice cream scoop or two spoons, place rounded portions of the dough (each about 2 tablespoonsful) on the prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart. Top each with one whole mini egg, pressing the egg down gently to help it adhere to the raw cookie dough. Do not flatten the mounds of dough.
- For thicker cookies, chill the portions in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. This step is totally optional.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges and set in the center, about 15 minutes. They should not glisten or appear wet in the center.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet until firm, about 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
substitutions
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
In place of unsalted butter, I recommend trying Miyoko's Creamery or Melt brand vegan butter. Earth Balance buttery sticks have too much moisture and the cookies will spread too much, so avoid those. You can also try using butter flavored Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening. Your cookies will spread less, though.
If you're dairy free, you'll need to use a different mix-in than the Cadbury mini eggs since they contain dairy. Try dairy free chocolate chips.
Egg free
In place of the 2 egg yolks, you can try adding 2 tablespoons of cashew butter (or peanut butter if you don't mind the added flavor). You can also try using 1 “flax egg” in place of the two egg yolks. Your cookies will be more cakey, though.
Replacing Cadbury mini eggs
If Cadbury eggs aren't in season or you can't find them, you can replace them with chocolate chips, Sixlets candies (a round, gluten-free candy-covered chocolate candy, which come in all different colors), M&Ms, chopped chocolate candy bars and/or chopped nuts. For a more classic cookie with less crispy edges and more brown sugar flavor, try our gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe.
FAQs
Yes, Cadbury brand mini eggs candies are gluten free. The label has a contains statement that indicates that milk and soy allergens are present. Cadbury creme eggs are also gluten free. Always read labels carefully, though, in case your package was processed in a shared facility and you're not comfortable with that. 
If you have a stand mixer, I prefer to use the paddle attachment to beat butter and sugars. It's easier to get a smooth mixture that way. But a handheld mixer works just as well with a little more work on your part at keeping the ingredients from flying out of the bowl.
Cadbury creme eggs have a soft fondant center that would melt pretty quickly during baking. They do sell a mini variety that might work if you cut them in half and freeze them first, but I'm not sure it's worth trying.
You can reduce the size of the cookies by about half and make smaller cookies. They should be done baking in about 10 minutes.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
These cookies will keep their crispy and chewy textures at room temperature for up to 1 week if you seal them in a glass container.
Freezing
For longer storage, place them in a freezer-safe plastic bag, remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn, and freeze. They should keep for up to 3 months frozen. Defrost at room temperature or pop each in the microwave for 15 seconds to give it a head start. Any longer and you'll ruin the texture.
Make ahead
You can portion the raw dough and freeze it in a single layer on a flat surface. Pile the frozen dough portions in a freezer-safe plastic bag (removing as much air as possible) and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost to the dough at room temperature until it's defrosted but slightly cold to the touch, and bake as instructed.
