Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars Recipe

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These peppermint bark cookie bars are the perfect combination of rich dark chocolate with a sugary white chocolate mocha. If refreshing, minty, sweet, and rich flavors fit your holiday vibe, then you need to incorporate these cookie bars into your cookie platter.

Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table admits that calling these festive treats "cookie" bars is almost misleading. They are a cross between a brownie, a cookie, and a piece of cake, all wrapped into one shiny, sparkly Christmas package. It starts with the rich brookie-like base, studded with crunchy pieces of high-quality dark chocolate. The second layer is a sweet white chocolate and buttercream topping that is dotted with crackly bits of smashed candy canes. Each bite leaves your mouth tingling with mint and sugar, making you automatically reach for the next piece.

These bars also solve a common holiday baking problem: time shortage. They come together faster than traditional cookies, since there's no need to portion and bake individual pieces. You can make them a day ahead, or even freeze in advance, and they actually taste better after the flavors have time to meld. So that leaves you with more time to do the things you love, like serving the bars to your guests, or bringing a plate to share as you go visiting for the holidays.

For the cookie bar base, you'll need all-purpose flour, Dutch-process cocoa powder (though you can use regular cocoa powder as well, the bars just won't be as dark), baking soda, salt, room temperature unsalted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and a good dark chocolate bar. For the white chocolate peppermint frosting, grab a few good white chocolate bars, more unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, salt, heavy cream, and crushed candy canes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang.

To start the cookie bars, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Beat the eggs into the creamed butter one at a time, followed by the vanilla.

Mix in flour mixture on low speed until just combined.

Fold in the dark chocolate chunks.

Press dough evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is just firm. Let cool completely in the pan.

To start the frosting, microwave the chopped white chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the melted and cooled white chocolate.

Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and salt. Beat on low until combined.

Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until the mixture is spreadable. Add an extra tablespoon of cream if needed to get the proper frosting consistency.

Fold in the crushed candy canes, reserving about 2 tablespoons for garnish.

Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cookie base.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, until set.

Lift bars from the pan using the parchment overhang. Cut into 20 bars with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts if needed.

Finish by sprinkling with remaining crushed candy canes.

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Not that they need it, but there are plenty of creative additions and embellishments you can make to these cookies to make them even glitzier, or adjust them to your liking. One adjustment is that they perfectly convert to gluten-free bars if you use a good gluten-free flour mix with xanthan gum added in.

Another option to make them more festive is to add Christmas-colored chocolate chips and red and green M&Ms to the white chocolate buttercream. This adds extra pops of color and texture. For a more decadent twist, you can make a chocolate ganache by heating equal parts heavy cream and dark chocolate until smooth, then drizzling or spreading it over the white chocolate layer before it sets. You can even spread or pipe the two colors in a pattern for a marbled look.

Finally, you can also experiment with different types of candy canes. Try chocolate mint or fruity varieties for a twist on traditional holiday peppermint. And if you'd like to go the extra mile, add a sprinkle of edible glitter on top for that "wow" factor at holiday parties.

These peppermint bark cookie bars are excellent to make ahead, which is precisely why we think they're our new holiday MVP. You can make them a few days ahead and keep in the fridge, or even freeze in advance of the holidays. Once fully assembled and set, package the peppermint bark cookie bars in an airtight container. Separate the layers with parchment paper, and they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

For longer storage, you can freeze the bars for up to three months. To freeze, cut them into individual portions as you would for the fridge, and layer them between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-safe container. This makes it easy to grab just what you need. When you're ready to serve, thaw them in the refrigerator for a few hours, or at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The buttercream frosting holds up remarkably well to freezing and thawing.

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