Peppermint Bark Brownies

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

10 Comments

4.60 from 5 votes
16 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
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Peppermint Bark Brownies are perfectly gooey with melty chocolate chips and white chocolate peppermint topping. Perfect for Christmas parties and exchanges!

This festive Dessert Recipe is the perfect combinations of Classic Chocolate Brownies and Peppermint Bark. The white candy coating makes for a beautiful presentation and peppermint flavor that’s perfect for a holiday party. 

Peppermint Bark Brownies in stack

PEPPERMINT BARK BROWNIES

Fudgy, chocolatey, buttery, and covered in candy cane bark, it’s hard to beat these Peppermint Brownies. Nothing says “holiday baking” like some pepperminty chocolate desserts. These Peppermint Brownies are wonderfully rich and topped with a white chocolate candy cane bark that makes them look and taste extra special.

Whether it’s normal Peppermint Bark, Peppermint Bark Dip, or Oreo Peppermint Bark Bread, there’s just something about candy canes and chocolate. They’re a match made in baking heaven, and this recipe gives that pairing the center stage. It’s sweet, chocolatey, and the mint adds a refreshing, cool taste. 

top-down view of Peppermint Bark Brownies brownie layer in baking dish before baking

These are sure to become a go-to recipe during December. You can serve them on Christmas, put them out on a tray during a holiday party, or just have them as a festive treat around the house. The peppermint bark adds a lot of sweet flavor, without overcomplicating the recipe.

All you have to do is make a simple brownie recipe, then melt together some white chocolate, shortening and peppermint extract for the topping. Once they’ve had some time to cool in the fridge you’ll have the most delicious peppermint and chocolate brownies around. 

top-down view of Peppermint Bark Brownies brownie layer in baking dish

MORE BROWNIES RECIPES

TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT FUDGY BROWNIES

  • Be sure to prepare your baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. That way your Peppermint Brownies won’t stick to the pan. 
  • Don’t over-mix the egg mixture and dry ingredients. Just fold in the eggs until combined. Whisking the batter too much makes the brownies more cakey and less fudgy. 
  • If you’re worried about the edges of your brownies getting overcooked loosely tent the pan with tin foil for the last few minutes. 
  • There’s nothing worse than burnt Brownies, so be careful how long you bake them. Before you take the brownies out of the oven, put a toothpick in the center. If it comes out with batter on it, bake the Peppermint Brownies a few minutes longer. 
  • Be sure to let your brownies cool before adding the peppermint bark over the top. 
  • Put the brownies in the fridge to let the peppermint bark cool and harden before cutting them. 

top-down view of Peppermint Bark Brownies in baking dish

VARIATIONS ON PEPPERMINT BARK BROWNIES

  • Chocolate Chips: You can exchange the semi-sweet chocolate chips for milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate or peppermint. Because of the candy coating white chocolate or peppermint chocolate chips will pair great with these brownies. 
  • Bark Toppings: Instead of making a chocolate peppermint bark topping, you can use the same concept to make all different kinds of candy barks. Try making an Oreo Bark, Fruit Cake Bark, or Chunky Monkey Bark. 
  • Nuts: To add some more crunch to your Chocolate Peppermint Brownies throw in some chopped nuts. Pecans, walnuts, or almonds would all be good choices. 
  • More add-ins: For more festive mix-ins try some dried cranberries, dried cherries, or crushed Oreos. You could also mix crushed peppermint candies or crushed candy canes into the actual brownie batter instead of just on top. 
  • Other toppings: Try making the same brownie recipe, but with frosting instead of the bark topping. You could make regular Chocolate Frosting, easy Mint Frosting, or make a peppermint frosting. For peppermint frosting combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 tablespoon milk, and 1 ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract. Adjust the milk to get the right consistency, and sprinkle on crushed candy canes for decoration.

MORE HOLIDAY DESSERT RECIPES

HOW TO STORE PEPPERMINT BARK BROWNIES

  • Serve: Kept in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap, you can keep these Peppermint Brownies at room temperature for up to 4 days. Make sure they’re kept in a cool or the peppermint topping will begin to melt. 
  • Store: Let the brownies cool before keeping them in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll be good for up to a week. 
  • Freeze: If you want to do your holiday baking ahead of time and store these brownies in the freezer, they’ll keep well for up to 3 months. 

top-down view of Peppermint Bark Brownies in stack

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Dinner, then Dessert

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Peppermint Bark Brownies are perfectly gooey with melty chocolate chips and white chocolate peppermint topping. Perfect for Christmas parties and exchanges!
Yield 16 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Peppermint Bark Brownies in stack
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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 semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons shortening
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 cup peppermint bits

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray an 9x13 inch baking pan with baking spray.
  • Whisk together melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
  • Whisk in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder.
  • Spread batter evenly into greased baking pan and top with semi-sweet chocolate chips.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Melt white chocolate and shortening 30 seconds at a time in the microwave until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract.
  • Pour white chocolate mixture over cooled brownies and spread evenly.
  • Sprinkle with peppermint bits. Cool until set and cut into bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 240IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg

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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

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. These are always a hit!! Peppermint & brownie is the ultimate combination!! Love the crushed candies on top!

    Reply

  3. I couldn’t resist – I made this recipe today to *try it* for the holidays. Yep, it’s a keeper. Love it.

    Reply

  4. the recipe calls for chocolate chips but doesn’t tell you where to add them in. I realized too late that I had a cup of unused chocolate chips when the brownies were already in the oven. It was only after that I saw the photo of the chips baked into the batter. Just FYI

    Reply

    1. I will update that recipe to reflect it better, I apologize so much for the error in the directions.

      Reply

  5. Experienced baker here. Loved the holiday look of these, but two suggestions:
    1. Make twice the icing for a 9 x 13 pan. Even after making 50% more icing and using an offset spatula with a lot of care, there were still brown patches showing through the icing and sprinkles.
    2. Use white chocolate bars not chips. Chocolate chips are made to hold their shape in cookies. They require a lot of care not to seize and resist melting smoothly even with the addition of the shortening. I’ll try again over the holidays. Thanks for the great idea!

    Reply