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.
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Fudgy brownies are one of my favorite desserts. They’re easy to make and easy to serve – perfect for the busy holiday season.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate baking squares
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 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 frosting
- Combine 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 Glaze
- Place 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
Nutrition
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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Velva
Those are mighty pretty (delicious too!) Christmas bars. No doubt they will be gone in a flash.
Merry Christmas.
Velva-Tomatoes on the Vine
Susan
I found the 11/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract too much. I ended up not using the frosting. Next time I’ll keep the extract at 1/2 teaspoon. The brownies, on the other hand, were fudgy as promised.
Josh
Made these for Christmas. I was a little confused how much unsweetened chocolate to add. The instructions said 4 (1 -ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate. Is that 4 1 oz squares for a total of 4 oz? Or 4 squares for a total of 1 oz? The wording was confusing.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Josh – a total of 4 ounces.
Nicole
I accidentally used 4oz of the bakers chocolate and these came out amazing! Everyone at work loved them. Thank you!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks for sharing Nicole! So glad they were a hit. 🙂
Melanie
Hi! I made these the other day but the brownies were so light and not very chocolatey. I used 1 ounce of chocolate (4 small tiny squares) …it still turned out yummy but maybe I should add more chocolate next time.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Melanie – I wouldn’t say the squares are small tiny squares. What brand of chocolate did you use? I think if you want to up the chocolate flavor, instead of adding more chocolate, I would replace some of the flour with cocoa.
Kelly Anne
Nice recipe. I love a simple brownie recipe which is easy for the kids to help with 🙂
Thanks for sharing,
Kelly
kelly @ kellybakes
These brownies look so fudgy and delicious! Thanks for the tip about the tin foil. I’ve had a few accidents with brownies sticking to the pan, but yours came out perfectly!
Daisy@Nevertoosweet
These look lovely and perfect wrapped up as Christmas gifts 🙂 I’ve been giving friends and colleagues cookies but I think it’s time to give them BROWNIES! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen
I’m in love with all the layers in these! It makes them look so festive and perfect for this time of year….
Nina
These pretty pepermint brownies are perfect for the holiday season. Looks great:)
Simone
These look totally amazing! Chocolate and peppermint is a great combo but one I don’t make often enough to be honest so gotta try these!
sally @ sallys baking addiction
mmm barbara, you are right – these brownies do look incredibly fudgy. And how festive 1I adore… completely ADORE chocolate and peppermint together. That gorgeous pink peppermint layer has to be my favorite. I’m now drooling and need something chocolate/peppermint-y for breakfast!
Donna
I can’t imagine more festive brownies than these!
Mary @ Fit and Fed
Beautiful! And you cut them so precisely! These would make a great holiday project and a lovely gift.
Katherine Martinelli
I love the idea of a virtual cookie swap! And what a perfect recipe to choose – love it!
Megans Cookin
They are absolutely beautiful bars! 🙂
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
Wow these look fantastic! Headed over to see what recipe OBB made of yours! 🙂
Anne@FromMySweetHeart
Such pretty brownies and I love the layers of peppermint and ganache! A great addition to the Chocolate Party this month! : )
Angie@Angie's Recipes
What festive and awesome brownies!
Cheah ~ No-Frills Recipes
Wow, all geard up for the festive season. Can’t hlep drooling over those pictures!