With Christmas right around the corner, there is nothing I love more than playing holiday music and baking yummy treats. Because of that, I have a couple of go-to cookie recipes but I wanted to get a little creative this year and try something new.
I love peppermint bark and I LOVE brownies so combining the two to make these ooey, gooey Peppermint Bark Brownies was an easy decision.
My favorite part about this dessert is how the crushed candy canes provide a refreshing, crunchy complement to the otherwise chewy and rich brownies.
If you’re looking for a festive dessert to bring to your next holiday party, these Peppermint Bark Brownies are the perfect treat.
Peppermint Bark Brownies
Ingredients:
- 1 Package of brownie mix (prepared per instructions)
- 2 oz. White chocolate
- 4 Candy canes
- Holiday cookie cutters (optional)
Directions:
- Prepare brownies per instructions on box.
- If you prefer making brownies from scratch, GO FOR IT!
- Personally, I consider Ghirardelli’s Double Chocolate Brownie mix the holy grail of brownies and have zero intention of attempting to top their recipe on my own.
- Set aside brownies to cool completely.
- I have tried this recipe a few times and handling warm brownies is messy and not worth the aggravation.
- Carefully remove your brownie from the baking dish and place on wax paper or a silicone mat (basically something that the brownies won’t easily stick to).
- Use cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes.
- Because the brownies are deliciously gooey be gentle to keep them from breaking.
- Place the candy canes in a plastic bag and crush with something hard like a rolling pin. Set the crushed candy canes aside in a small bowl for later.
- Because it doesn’t take a lot of force, this is a perfect opportunity to get your little ones involved. I had my son help me break the candy canes with his toy hammer.
- If you like the signature red and white stripes of the candy cane, be careful not to crush them into a powder.
- Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler
- You can microwave the chocolate but do so in small increments of 10-15 second at a time so as to not burn it.
Now it’s time to top your brownies!
- Use a teaspoon to drizzle the melted white chocolate over your brownies.
- Quickly sprinkle the peppermint bits over the melted chocolate before it sets.
- Once the white chocolate sets, your delicious Peppermint Bark Brownies are ready to enjoy!
Short on time? Try this alternative option!
If you don’t have time to wait for the brownies to cool, simply drizzle the white chocolate and peppermint bark on your uncut brownies. They can be sliced into classic squares just before serving at your party!
This is also a good option if you want to maximize the number of brownies you will have since there won’t be any scraps from the cookie cutters. But let’s be honest, those scraps are a little treat for the baker… 😉
