Cookie Nachos Recipe
These Cookie Nachos are the ultimate party dessert! Crispy, sugar cookie “chips” are drizzled with white and semi-sweet chocolate, then showered with colorful toppings like mini M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, and colorful sprinkles. Make a huge tray or invite everyone to craft their own plate. You can even set up a toppings bar with a variety of sweet treats to sprinkle on top!
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If you are digging this recipe, you should also try my delicious gourmet copycat recipes, including Banana Split Cookies and my Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie recipe!
Nachos, but make it cookies! This recipe has you roll out sugar cookie quite thin and bake it in triangle “chip” shapes. Once the cookies are cool, it’s time to decorate. You can pile on drizzles of chocolate, sprinkle the nachos with candy, and even add sprinkles.
If desired, you can also add perishable toppings such as whipped cream or buttercream frosting. Just make sure to store leftovers in the fridge!
These cute cookies are everything you love about nachos—but dessert style! I love this recipe for birthday parties, movie nights, or anytime you want a crowd-pleasing dessert!
If you want to add whipped cream, I suggest my stabilized vanilla whipped cream recipe and/or my chocolate whipped cream recipe. Just be sure to refrigerate any leftovers!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Cookie Nachos
There’s so much to love about these sweet nachos:
- One-bowl recipe: The cookies use just one bowl and no mixer. So easy!
- Customizable toppings—swap in your favorite candies or even holiday colors!
- Three decorating options so you can make them your way: single layer, stacked, or DIY-style for parties.
- Kid-friendly and party-perfect. Great for birthday parties, movie nights, and more!
- Make-ahead friendly. You can bake the cookies in advance and decorate when ready.
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In the age of AI-generated content, I like to share that I personally create and test my recipes. My recipes have been hypothesized, baked, taste-tested, and refined by a real human (me!). I only publish recipes I think are awesome.
Ingredients You’ll Need
A few notes on some of the ingredients used in the cookies:
For the cookies: unsalted butter, granulated sugar, one large egg, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
For the toppings: you can choose anything you like really! I used both drizzles of semi-sweet chocolate (melted chocolate chips) and white chocolate (white candy melts), as well mini chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, and sprinkles.
A Quick Tip for Light and Crisp Cookies
One of the most important elements of baking is getting measurements just right. Flour particularly can cause all sorts of problems when it is not measured correctly. For light and crisp cookies you want to accurately measure the flour.
I use all-purpose flour in my baking. Never pack flour into a measuring cup. Use a good food scale for best results.
Tips for Rolling Cookie Dough
The colder the better! Work in a cool kitchen and chill the dough completely. Butter warms up quickly, so you can (and should) roll the dough straight from the fridge (it will be a little hard to work with at first, but softens quickly).
Use powdered sugar to reduce any sticking. If the dough becomes sticky, move it to the fridge. You can place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes before continuing to work with it.
For this recipe you will roll the dough pretty thin–about 1/8″. It might break as you roll, but you can repair the cracks with your fingertips and keep going.
The dough is then cut with a pastry wheel (the scalloped edges are so cute!) or a paring knife if you don’t have a pastry wheel. This Norpro pastry wheel is what I use–it’s affordable and handy! It’s also sharp, so be careful.
Three Different Ways to Assemble the Nachos
These cookie nachos can be served in a variety of fun ways. Here’s how to drizzle and decorate:
Prep the Drizzles:
Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then spoon into a sandwich bag, twist to seal, and snip a tiny hole in one corner.
Melt white candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl using short intervals and stirring between each one. Cool for 5 minutes, then spoon into a sandwich bag, twist to seal, and snip a small corner.
Option 1: Single Layer
Arrange sugar cookie chips in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle generously with both chocolates. Add toppings (mini M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, and sprinkles). Let the chocolate set before serving.
Option 2: Double Layer
On a plate or platter, layer half the cookie chips and decorate with drizzle and toppings. Add the second layer and repeat. Let the chocolate set for at least 15 minutes so toppings stick. After 30 minutes, the chocolate will harden—you’ll snap apart your “nachos” to serve.
Option 3: Single Servings
Perfect for parties! Everyone gets their own plate of cookies to decorate however they like. Set out the bags with the chocolate drizzles and topping bowls for a dessert nacho bar experience.
Note: if you are serving this treat as a “make your own”, I prefer using food-grade squeeze bottles or small pastry bags for the drizzles for a better presentation. You should also consider doubling the quantities of chocolate drizzles so there is plenty for indulgence!
How to Store or Make Ahead
- Cookies only: Store baked sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Fully decorated nachos: If you use the toppings that are safe to store at room temperature (as I have here) there is no need to refrigerate the cookies. If using any perishable toppings like whipped cream or buttercream then you will need to refrigerate. Note that frostings and whipped creams will also soften the cookies over time.
- Make ahead tip: Bake the cookies a day or two in advance and decorate the day of your event!
How to Freeze
Freeze sugar cookies: Once baked and cooled, you can freeze the sugar cookies for 1-2 months. Thaw at room temperature and decorate as desired.
Freezing decorated nachos: You can freeze leftovers for 1-2 months. Depending on the containers you use the chocolate and toppings might look a little messy after a trip in and out of the freezer, so bear that in mind if you will be serving these for a party.
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Cookie Nachos
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 5.25 ounces
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 8.35 ounces
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Toppings:
- 6 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white candy melts
- ¼ cup mini M&Ms
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Make the Cookies:
- In a large bowl, add sugar to melted and cooled butter and stir until the mixture is totally combined. It should be thick and shiny. Stir in egg and vanilla until combined and smooth, about 60 seconds.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl and use a spatula or spoon to stir together until combined. Dough will be very soft.
- Chill dough for 2 hours (or up to overnight).
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- After chilling, sprinkle a clean countertop with powdered sugar. Sprinkle the dough as well and roll out using a rolling pin. Roll into a large rectangle of about 1/8” thickness. Cut into small triangle “chips” using a scalloped wheel cutter (preferred method!), a knife, or a triangle cookie cutter. Keep dough cold and use powdered sugar to reduce stickiness.Note: Don’t toss the scraps! Bake these as well and snack on them while you decorate.
- Move triangles to parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on the edges. Alternate baking trays from top to bottom racks (and vice versa) halfway through baking time. For softer cookies, bake 1 minute less. Cool cookies completely before decorating.
Decorate the Nachos:
- Chocolate drizzle: Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir every 20 seconds until combined. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then fill a corner of a sandwich bag, twist to secure, and cut a tiny hole in the end.White chocolate drizzle: Melt the candy bark pieces in a microwave-safe dish in the microwave until melted (use short intervals and stir in-between). Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then fill a corner of a sandwich bag, twist to secure, and cut a tiny hole in the end.
- Use any of these decorating/assembly methods that you prefer!Single Layer: Arrange cookies in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and drizzle with generous amounts of chocolate and white chocolate drizzle. Sprinkle with as many mini m&ms, mini chocolate chips, and sprinkles as desired. Allow chocolate to harden a bit (so the candies stick!) before digging in.Double Layer: Arrange 1 layer of cookies on a plate or platter. Drizzle with generous amounts of chocolate and white chocolate drizzle. Sprinkle with as many mini m&ms, mini chocolate chips, and sprinkles as desired. Add a second layer and repeat. Allow the chocolate to set before eating (so that the candies stick to the chocolate). The chocolate does set completely after a while, so you'll have to "snap" the cookies apart to select one to munch. Single Servings: This is fun for parties. Everyone gets a plate and can fill it with as many cookies as they wish and decorate to their heart’s content! You can provide extra candies and toppings to make it more creative!
Notes
Nutrition
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