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Candy Cane Brownies

Name: Candy Cane Brownies Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter (, melted); 1 cup sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1/2 cup flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1 cup chocolate chips; 1 cup white chocolate chips; 1 cup peppermint candy bits (, or crushed candy canes)

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update: January 12, 2026

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servings

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

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Candy Cane Brownies are rich, minty holiday treats with a festive crunch. The perfect cozy winter bite cookies for your next Holiday party!

These Christmasy Chocolate Brownies are so easy to make with just the right amount of peppermint flavor for the holidays! Be sure to check out all of our fun, new Brownies Recipes!

Sabrina’s Candy Cane Brownies Recipe

Candy Cane Brownies are one of the best brownie recipes for holidays! They have it all! Broken candy canes are almost unavoidable, there’s always at least one or two in every box. Instead of throwing them out or snacking on them, put those candy canes to use in your holiday baking. Crushed candy canes are great for everything from Peppermint Bark to festive chocolate brownies!

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About this Recipe

Liven up your holiday dessert platter with these fun, easy Candy Cane Brownies. Chewy, fudgy brownie center with bursts of melted semisweet chocolate and creamy white chocolate. Plus a minty sweet crunch from the crushed candy cane topping for chocolate peppermint in every bite. Made in just about 30 minutes, the hardest part of these brownies is waiting for them to cool down to cut and eat. Everything is mixed in one bowl with no melting chocolate or microwaves so prep and clean up is lightening quick.

Can this be made ahead of time?

You can also make these peppermint brownies ahead of time and freeze to make holiday baking a breeze or when you need a last minute dessert.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

Perfect Bake: These brownies are done when the edges are set and start to pull away from the sides. Test with a toothpick after about 18-20 minutes. Insert and if it comes out with several moist crumbs pull them from the oven. If there is wet batter when you insert the toothpick, cook 3-5 minutes more.
Enjoy Them Year Round: Use crushed peppermint candies when candy canes disappear from the shelves.

What to Pair With

Make this fudgy dessert an even more special holiday dessert by making a peppermint frosting with Buttercream Frosting or Chocolate Frosting and 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. You can also drizzle them with Chocolate Ganache or serve warm with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

How to Store

Serve: Brownies are best served at room temperature and be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 4 days. Keep in an airtight container.
Store: Keep Brownies fresh longer in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature or warm in the microwave to serve.
Freeze: To keep cut brownies from sticking, freeze on a baking sheet for 1 hour before storing. Place in a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months, thawing in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

Variations

Mix-Ins: Instead of chocolate chips, you can use Andies mints (chopped or baking chips) for more pepperminty goodness. For crunch, add chopped walnuts or pecans.
Dark Chocolate: For Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies, use special dark unsweetened cocoa powder plus bittersweet chocolate. Melt 6 tablespoons butter and 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate and stir into wet ingredients.
Candy Canes: Add more peppermint flavor by mixing ¼ cup ground candy canes (about 5-6 candy canes) into brownie batter with dry ingredients. You could also add 1-1 ½ teaspoons pure peppermint extract.
Brown Sugar: For chewier, fudgier brownies, swap ½ cup brown sugar for ½ cup granulated sugar. Melted chocolate-butter mixture, instead of cocoa powder, will also make these brownies fudgier.
Brownie Mix: For better brownie mix brownies, ditch the box ingredients. Use the 2 eggs and ½ cup butter in this recipe, plus ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and ⅓ cup milk or sour cream. Add chips and peppermints per the recipe.
Brownie Cookies: Turn brownies into cookies by adding 1 teaspoon baking powder and increasing to 1 cup flour. Spoon dough onto a baking tray, top with candy canes, and bake for 12-14 minutes, until tops are shiny and cracked.

More Delicious Brownie Recipes

Brownies and Bars

Pecan Pie Brownies

These photos were in a previous version of this post

Candy Cane Brownies with white chocolate and chocolate chips on board around it

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

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