These peppermint bark brownies are what I bake when the holiday season has me one candy cane away from a complete meltdown. Fudgy, white-chocolate-drenched, peppermint-crusted slabs of seasonal therapy. Make a pan, barricade yourself in the pantry, and let the sugar hush the chaos.
Table of Contents
🎄Why this peppermint bark brownie recipe will be a new holiday tradition
- Thick, fudgy brownie base that tastes like you melted down every childhood Christmas memory and baked it into a square.
- Creamy white chocolate topping that sets shiny and smooth - no chalky fake stuff, just real cocoa-butter magic.
- Crushed candy cane crunch gives every bite that festive snap without overpowering the chocolate.
- Foolproof method that works whether you're a holiday baking warrior or running purely on caffeine and spite.
- Perfect for gifting, cookie trays, or midnight pantry therapy, because December takes no prisoners.
Grab this free peppermint bark brownie cheat sheet before the holiday chaos takes over your brain. All the FAQs, tips, and swaps in one tidy little guide so you can bake fudgy, festive magic without scrolling through your own decision fatigue.
📖 Recipe
Peppermint Bark Brownies
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
Brownies
- 1-¼ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1-½ cups flour
- 1 cup dark cocoa powder , do not substitute baking chocolate
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, optional
Peppermint bark
- 2 cups white chocolate , broken in pieces
- 1 tablespoon Crisco
- ⅔ cup peppermint candy, coarsely crushed
Instructions
Brownies
- Stir together the butter, oil, and both sugars in a big ol' bowl until the mixture looks glossy and slightly sinful.
- Crack in the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition so the batter stays silky and attitude-free.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt so everything gets cozy and evenly mixed.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet, working slowly so you don't end up wearing a cocoa cloud. Stir just until no streaks remain-don't bully the batter.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. No judgment if you double them; I'd applaud, honestly.
- Pour the batter into a lined or greased 13x9 pan, smoothing the top like you're tucking it in for a long winter's nap.
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes. Start peeking at the 30-minute mark. You want the toothpick to come out with fudgy smudges, not squeaky-clean crumbs. Overbaked brownies are a crime in at least 12 states.
- Cool completely. If you want sharp, bakery-style cuts, pop the pan in the freezer for 15-20 minutes first.
Peppermint bark
- Warm the white chocolate and Crisco in a microwave-safe bowl, zapping it at 50% power in 30-second bursts. Give it a good stir between rounds with a bone-dry spoon-white chocolate gets fussy if there's even a hint of moisture.
- When it's silky and smooth, pour that molten winter magic right over the cooled brownies. Gently nudge it outward with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, letting it glide toward the edges.
- Shower the top with crushed peppermint, as light or heavy-handed as your holiday spirit desires.
- Chill the pan for 30-45 minutes, just long enough for the chocolate to firm up and behave. Then slice, serve, and enjoy the gasp your guests make when they see them.
Notes
- Don't overbake the brownies. Fudgy is the whole point. Start checking at 30 minutes. If that toothpick comes out with sticky smudges and soft crumbs, you're golden.
- White baking chocolate will melt better and easier than white chocolate chips but either can be used.
- White chocolate is a dramatic little diva. If even a single rogue droplet of water hits that bowl, it'll seize up like your Aunt Liz when someone mentions politics. Dry bowl, dry spoon, dry everything.
- Cool completely! Pouring white chocolate onto warm brownies melts it into a streaky tragedy. Let the brownies cool all the way, then add the peppermint bark layer and chill to set.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Love this recipe?
Subscribe to the free membership group and never miss another recipe!
🧾 Ingredients for these easy Christmas brownies
Everything you need for brownies that hit like holiday magic - simple pantry staples, real white chocolate, and enough peppermint crunch to make you feel festive even when your to-do list says otherwise.
- Flour - the dusty chaos agent that gets everywhere except the bowl.
- Dark cocoa - because regular cocoa wasn't dramatic enough.
- Salt - a tiny pinch of balance in an otherwise unhinged dessert.
- Brown sugar - sticky, clumpy, and judging you… just like family.
- Sugar - because the holidays run on delusion and sucrose.
- Butter - emotional support fat.
- Chocolate chips - the little melty pockets of joy we all need right now.
- Eggs - the only things holding it together around here. Literally.
- Oil - keeps the brownies fudgy instead of Sahara-dry.
- White chocolate - sweet, dramatic, melts down at the slightest provocation. A relatable queen.
- Crisco - the secret ingredient your grandmother trusted more than her own marriage.
- Peppermint candy - festive crunch that screams "Santa, I've been good!" even if we both know that's a bald-faced lie.
🔪 How to make this easy Christmas brownie recipe
These steps turn basic ingredients into something that makes people think you "love holiday baking." Let them believe the lie. You and I know it's about competitive survival. May the odds be ever in your favor.
- Mix the batter: Beat the butter and sugars together like they personally offended you, then toss in the eggs and oil. Dump in the dry stuff and chocolate chips and stir until you've got thick brownie sludge that could fix your mood or start a small rebellion.
- Bake the brownie base: Spoon that batter into the pan and bake it until the top looks set and vaguely respectable. The middle should still be a little gooey - if it's firm, you've gone too far and the brownie gods are side-eyeing you.
- Pour on the melted white chocolate: Let the brownies cool, then unleash a molten river of white chocolate over the top. Try not to eat it straight from the bowl like a gremlin in the dark (no judgment if you can't resist).
- Add the peppermint: Before the chocolate sets, hurl a snowstorm of crushed candy canes across the top. More is more. Let it harden into a festive sugar armor that crunches like holiday stress but tastes way better.
➡️ FAQs about peppermint bark brownies answered here
Got questions? Of course you do - it's December and nothing makes sense. These FAQs tackle the big ones so your brownies turn out fudgy, festive, and not at all "why is this happening to me." And if you want the quick, no-nonsense version, grab the cheat sheet too - it'll save your sanity faster than hiding in the pantry with a brownie square, although that's a valid alternative.
Yes, absolutely - and honestly, you should. The brownies get even fudgier after resting overnight. Just keep them covered at room temp and add the peppermint topping the same day you serve for max crunch.
Because white chocolate is a fickle little drama queen.
Use real white chocolate (with cocoa butter), melt low and slow, and keep all moisture away. If it seizes, add a teaspoon of warm coconut oil to coax it back from the brink. White baking chocolate will melt better than chocolate chips.
❤️ More holiday bar cookies you'll love
If these peppermint bark brownies lit up your Christmas spirit like a Griswold power grid, you're gonna fall headfirst into the rest of my holiday tray favorites. When you need something cinnamon-sugary and wildly comforting, the snickerdoodle bars come in hot-soft, chewy, and dusted in enough cinnamon to make you feel like you've done something wholesome.
And if you want a dessert that looks like it should be served on a porcelain platter at some fancy North Pole brunch, the vanilla Christmas brownies are the ones-sweet, blond, festive, and dangerously easy to inhale. Feeling like you need a coffee shop moment without putting on pants? The copycat cranberry bliss bars taste like you marched straight into Starbucks, stole their recipe, and made it better.
Basically, if you're building a holiday dessert lineup with attitude, these three are ready to sashay right onto your cookie tray. Perfect holiday potluck dessert!
At the end of the day, these peppermint bark brownies are the kind of holiday treat that makes people think you're some kind of magical combination of Mrs. Claus and Martha Stewart-even if you absolutely are not and are currently wrapping presents with duct tape.
They're thick, fudgy, festive, and just dramatic enough to keep December interesting.
Bake a batch for parties, gift boxes, or your own private stash. And if anyone asks how you made them so perfect, just smile mysteriously and say, "Holiday magic," while knowing full well it was chocolate, chaos, and this recipe saving your sanity.
Comments
No Comments