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    Home » Recipes » Dessert » Bar Cookies

    Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

    Published by Melissa on December 3, 2017 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 73 Comments

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    Candy cane brownies are super fudgy brownies topped with a layer of sweet peppermint frosting, covered in a layer of soft chocolate ganache, then sprinkled with crushed candy canes to dress them up for the holidays. These Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies are perfect for any party. 

    peppermint candy cane brownies stacked on a serving platter

    I teamed up with Sara and Kate, my friends from Our Best Bites, for a fun, virtual cookie swap. We choose a holiday cookie recipe from the other’s website to bake and post. I decided to bake their “heavenly Christmasy brownies.”

    Fudgy brownies are one of my favorite desserts. They’re easy to make and easy to serve – perfect for the busy holiday season. Their Mint Brownie recipe is in their first cookbook, as well as on Our Best Bites. 

    What makes fudgy brownies?

    To make extra fudgy brownies, you need to use a higher ratio of fat to flour. More flour makes cake-like brownies. Using more butter helps to soften the brownies up, making them fudgier.

    Christmas brownies topped with crushed candy canes

    The cookbook version is slightly different than the online version. My version below is sort of a combination of the two.

    How to Make Fudgy Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

    This is such an easy brownie recipe!

    Photo collage of making Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

    To make it easier to get bar cookies out of the pan, line your pan with foil.

    To make it easy to mold the foil to your pan, turn your pan upside down and cover the pan tightly with foil, shiny side out. Remove the foil, turn the pan right side up and fit the molded foil into it.

    Photo collage showing the cutting and decorating fudgy brownies with chocolate ganache and candy canes

    Once you have the brownies out of the pan, peel off the foil and cut them in to squares. I like to use my watermelon knife to cut them. It’s long enough to cut through the entire row in one slice. I then rinse the knife in hot water, dry it and cut the next row.

    If you really want perfect squares, sometimes I’ll even bring out the ruler and measure the rows.

    a batch of peppermint candy cane brownies

    I loved the brownies. I kept going back to the kitchen for just a little bit more. They remind me of a brownie they make at a local pastry shop, Schmidt’s. Thanks Kate and Sara for sharing the recipe.

    Please stop by Our Best Bites to see their twist on my Chocolate-Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies.

    Also, check out my roundup of Peppermint Desserts recipes.

    a batch of peppermint candy cane brownies
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    4.50 from 118 votes

    Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

    Peppermint candy cane brownies are super fudgy brownies topped with sweet peppermint frosting, chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Bar Cookies
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 16 brownies
    Author: Barbara Schieving
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    Ingredients

    Brownies

    • 1 ¼ cups flour
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
    • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter
    • 4 eggs
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Frosting

    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • ¼ cup 4 tablespoons butter, softened
    • 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract
    • 1 ½ tablespoons milk
    • red food coloring 1 to 2 drops

    Chocolate Glaze

    • 6 ounces about 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
    • 6 tablespoons butter

    Peppermint Topping

    • ½-1 cup crushed candy canes

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil, making sure the foil extends over the edges by at least one inch. Lightly spray foil with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
    • Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
    • Chop the baking squares and butter into chucks and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until just melted and smooth. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.
    • In a stand mixer or with electric beaters, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla for 2 minutes. While the mixer is running, slowly add the melted chocolate and beat to combine. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Pour into prepared 9×13 pan.
    • Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out mostly clean. Don’t over bake! When brownies are done, cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, put in the fridge to chill (makes the frosting spreading easier).

    • Peppermint frostingCombine all frosting ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. Add more milk a teaspoon at a time if needed. Spread evenly over chilled brownies and place back in the fridge to chill again while you do the final step. (I used an offset spatula to spread the frosting.)

    • Chocolate GlazePlace chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until just melted and smooth. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then quickly spread on top of brownies.
    • Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and return to the fridge to cool. When chocolate has hardened, use the edges of the foil to remove the entire sheet of brownies from the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

    Video

    Notes

    slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

    More bar cookies you might like:

    Almond Toffee Bars, Barbara Bakes
    Tropical Magic Bar Cookies, Barbara Bakes
    Triple Chip Blondies, Our Best Bites
    Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Shortbread Bars, Our Best Bites

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    Christmas brownies topped with crushed candy canes
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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Terri Greene

      December 26, 2022 at 10:56 am

      5 stars
      I’ve made this recipe a few times and every time they turn out amazing! My favorite brownie recipe. The prep time is not accurate, it does take a long time (a few hours) but it is so worth it. They melt in your mouth😋

      Reply
      • Melissa Griffiths

        December 30, 2022 at 1:08 pm

        Thank you for the review! I’ll get that prep time updated. The input is helpful!

        Reply
    2. Kathy

      December 06, 2022 at 6:47 am

      I am going to a Christmas party today so I made them last night and left in the fridge overnight. I cheated and used two boxes of brownie mix as my base then followed the recipe for the frosting and topping. Since the brownies were super thick I cut them in about 1.5” squares. I used your advice and used a super long thin knife washing it after each slice. They turned out beautifully. I only cut about half to take to my party today. My question is, can I freeze the remainder until our annual Christmas Eve gathering? I was thinking of freezing the whole half then cutting it into squares after it thaws Christmas Eve.

      Reply
      • Melissa Griffiths

        December 06, 2022 at 9:47 pm

        How fun! And yes, they freeze great.

        Reply
    3. M Daiga

      December 03, 2022 at 3:30 pm

      Plan time accordingly-40 minutes is way too short! That’s obvious just reading the recipe (30 min bake time alone).

      Reply
    4. Anne Niemuec

      January 22, 2022 at 2:34 pm

      Yuck! Recipe calls for two sticks of butter in the batter but it came out a slushy mess. Had to start over. Please correct the recipe. 

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        January 22, 2022 at 4:07 pm

        Sounds like you left out an ingredient or mixed it wrong. 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) is very common in a 9×13 pan of brownies.

        Reply
    5. Ally

      December 23, 2021 at 5:15 pm

      Can I make these the night before? The reason I ask is that I’ve experienced other recipes where the candy canes got kind of gooey in the fridge overnight. Any experience with this related to this recipe? Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 23, 2021 at 6:00 pm

        Hi Ally – I haven’t tried making these beforehand, but I have had the same experience with having candy canes get kind of gooey overnight on desserts. The original recipe says you can make them ahead of time. So I think since the chocolate layer sets up pretty firmly and isn’t soft like a buttercream icing, that they should stay crunchy. Let me know if you try it.

        Reply
    6. Faith

      December 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm

      Hello. My great-great aunt made these for the four of us girls every summer. We leave bed them and I am passing the recipe down to my grand daughter today. That would be her great-great-great Aunt Molly. This is almost her exact recipe. I love that I am passing it on through the generations. 

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 12, 2021 at 3:47 pm

        Hi Faith – recipes are so fun to pass down through the generations. They always bring back fond memories. Thanks for sharing!

        Reply
    7. c

      November 28, 2021 at 12:17 pm

      what are the baking squares?

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        November 28, 2021 at 12:27 pm

        Baker’s is the most common https://www.target.com/p/baker-39-s-100-cacao-unsweetened-chocolate-baking-bar-4oz/-/A-12969397#lnk=sametab and easiest to find at the grocery store in the baking aisle. My local store often has Ghirardelli as well. https://www.ghirardelli.com/unsweetened-chocolate-100-cacao-baking-bar-%2812-ct—4-oz-ea%29-61828cs

        Reply
    8. Nell

      February 14, 2021 at 6:27 pm

      These were so good! I promised my son a Valentines Day treat and he wanted something with crushed peppermint, so who was I to get picky on what holiday these go with? (I had leftover crushed candy canes from actual Christmas baking). I had peppermint flavor, not extract, so I used only 1/3 of the listed amount; I probably could have gone a little lower. FWIW, it took me more than 30 mins to bake the brownies. I would definitely make these again–although I will be more precise in how I cut them and keep them very small–they are very rich. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        February 15, 2021 at 8:50 am

        Glad they were a hit! How fun that he knew exactly what he wanted and that you had leftover candy canes from Christmas. Thanks for sharing your experience subbing peppermint flavor Nell.

        Reply
    9. Mary

      December 23, 2020 at 2:07 pm

      Could I use cocoa powder instead of unsweetened chocolate?

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 23, 2020 at 2:11 pm

        Hi Mary – you could use this brownie recipe as the base https://www.barbarabakes.com/king-arthur-flour-fudge-brownies/ and then the frosting from this recipe.

        Reply
    10. Lindsay

      November 24, 2019 at 10:53 am

      Hello! Ive made these before..and the problem we had is once the brownies were brought to a party and got to room temperature the frosting started to ooze out and the chocolate layer slid around when it was time to serve them. Do you have any suggestions or modifications that could minimize or prevent this?

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        November 24, 2019 at 1:24 pm

        Hi Lindsay – it sounds like you’ll want to keep cut them while they’re cold and put on a serving tray. Then keep them cold until it’s time to serve them.

        Reply
    11. Lina

      November 16, 2018 at 10:02 pm

      I live in Denver and modified the recipe to adjust for the altitude and the brownie dough was super thick and then collapsed after taking it out of the oven. The color is also very off. It’s a very light brown instead of dark brown. Any idea what happened?  To adjust for the altitude i added flour, reduced sugar, increased the temp, and decreased the time (still took 25 min) which is what I’ve typically done for other recipes at altitude. 

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        November 16, 2018 at 10:07 pm

        Hi Lina – what type of unsweetened baking chocolate did you use?

        Reply
    12. Lizzy

      December 12, 2017 at 3:37 pm

      I cheated and used the Gihardeli brownie mix from Costco!  They came out fabulous with the frostings and peppermint sprinkles! 

      Reply
    13. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

      December 09, 2017 at 1:58 am

      These look gorgeous mum! I’m all about peppermint this Christmas too 😀 The texture of these brownies looks perfect!

      Reply
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