These peppermint bark dark chocolate brownies are the best of both worlds with a decadent, fudgy dark chocolate base, sweet, buttery white chocolate topping, and a crunchy candy cane finish! Make them for your holiday season with just a handful of ingredients and no fancy tools.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my chocolate gingerbread cookies, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - The most difficult part of this easy peppermint bark brownies recipe is letting it chill out in the fridge without sneaking a bite! Just mix up and bake the brownies, melt the peppermint bark chocolate, decorate, then let it set.
Flavorful and Festive - You'll taste rich and complex dark chocolate, sweet white chocolate, and cooling peppermint. It's the perfect holiday bite, and you can add as much flair to the topping as you like.
My family loves candy cane flavor around Christmas time, so I have plenty of options to share: my most popular candy cane cookies, peppermint chocolate chip cookies, candy cane sugar cookie bars, and peppermint hot chocolate made in the crockpot!
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What You'll Need for this Recipe
Cocoa Powder and Dark Chocolate give the brownies a bittersweet chocolatey flavor that is decadent and sophisticated, so you don't get overloaded with sweetness from the other elements. I recommend using chocolate in the 50 to 80% cacao range for the best flavor.
Crushed Peppermint gives these bars that signature peppermint bark look. You can use peppermint crunch sprinkles or crush whole peppermints or candy canes into lil' pieces.
Peppermint Extract is a must to create minty fresh flavor throughout the bark rather than just in the candy pieces. Don't skip it!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Chocolate - I've tested this recipe with different brands of chocolate, including store brands and name brands like Ghirardelli, and noticed no difference in the results.
Decorations - Feel free to go bananas with the toppings. Crushed candy cane, red and green sprinkles, snowflake sprinkles, and gold or silver sprinkles are all fair game.
Vanilla - I like the strong, true taste that vanilla bean paste adds to this recipe, but have also tried it with vanilla extract and even vanilla powder. Both work just fine, but I recommend increasing the amount by half to get the same effect.
How to Make Peppermint Bark Brownie Bars
- Step One: Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, and salt. (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Melt the dark chocolate and mix it with the remaining batter ingredients. (Photo 2)
- Step Three: Combine the wet and dry mixtures, then spread the brownie batter into a lined baking pan, and bake until cooked through. You'll know the brownies are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no runny batter streaks. (Photos 3 and 4)
Pro Tip #1
Lining the baking pan with parchment paper is an important step because it allows us to bake, cool, decorate, and set the brownies in one pan.
- Step Four: Melt the remaining dark chocolate and white chocolate. (Photo 5)
- Step Five: Spread the white chocolate evenly over the cooled brownie, then drop spoonfuls of the dark chocolate over top and swirl to create a marble pattern. (Photos 6 and 7)
- Step Six: Sprinkle crushed peppermint and any other decorations you want on top. (Photo 8)
Pro Tip #2
The chocolate swirling step is not traditional, but the marbled effect really sets these brownies apart and makes them look SO appetizing on a serving platter or in a cookie box.
Step Eight: Place the brownie into the fridge to set the peppermint bark layer, then cut into pieces before serving. (Photos 9 and 10)
Frequently Asked Questions
These brownies will stay fresh for up to five days at room temperature, but if you want more of a "snap" to your white chocolate bark layer, store them in the refrigerator for the same amount of time.
To freeze the brownies, place them in an airtight, freezer-safe container with slips of parchment paper in between so that they don't stick together. Once frozen, they'll last for up to three months.
How to Serve
Temperature: Brownies with peppermint bark are best served at room temperature or cold. When warm, the top layer will melt and make a mess.
Pairings: Pair your brownies with coffee or an ice-cold glass of milk!
Occasions: Of course, these are perfect desserts for a Christmas party, cookie plate for Santa, or holiday treat boxes. For a year-round version of these bars, try my nutty dark chocolate brownies.
More Favorite Christmas Baking Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy these peppermint bark fudge brownies soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 6 ounces dark chocolate 50 to 80% cacao (see notes)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Peppermint Bark Topping
- 8 ounces white chocolate
- 1 ounce dark chocolate
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 3 tablespoons crushed peppermint candy or crushed candy cane or peppermint crunch sprinkles
- 2 tablespoons Christmas sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the baking pan with parchment paper so that at least one inch of parchment paper hangs over the edge of the pan. Set aside.
- Make the Brownie Batter: Roughly chop chocolate bar and cut butter into chunks then place both into a heat-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until melted (typically takes between one minute and 90 seconds total). Stir together until uniform.6 ounces dark chocolate, ½ cup unsalted butter
- Mix eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla into chocolate and butter mixture until combined.3 eggs, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and fine sea salt, then dredge the walnuts and pecans in this mixture until coated.½ cup all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until just combined, then pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly across the pan.
- Bake the Brownies: Place pan into preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until baked through. You can lift the parchment paper to remove the brownies from the pan in one solid piece for faster cooling, but return them to the pan before adding the peppermint bark topping in step eight.When fully baked, a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie will come out with moist fudgy brownie crumbs clinging to it but not wet, runny streaks of batter. If it comes out completely clean, the brownies are overbaked.
- Make the Peppermint Bark Topping: While brownies cool, add white chocolate and dark chocolate to separate bowls and microwave in 10-second ingredients until melted. Stir the peppermint extract into the melted white chocolate.8 ounces white chocolate, 1 ounce dark chocolate, ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Set and Serve the Brownies: Spread the melted white chocolate over top of the cooled brownies, then drop the melted dark chocolate over it in about six spoonfuls. Use a toothpick to swirl the dark chocolate throughout the white chocolate to create a marble effect. Sprinkle crushed peppermint and sprinkles (optional) over top, then lightly tap them into the surface of the chocolate so they stick. Place pan in refrigerator to set for about 35 minutes or freezer for about 15 minutes.The white chocolate layer won't perfectly cover the brownie, but the dark chocolate and decorations will fill in any gaps. If you want a thicker bark layer, double the amount of white chocolate and add 15 minutes to the setting time.3 tablespoons crushed peppermint candy, 2 tablespoons Christmas sprinkles
- Use parchment paper to lift brownie out of pan, then cut into 16 equal pieces. To get perfect cuts without any of the bark cracking, let the brownies come to room temperature.
Maria says
I got your Christmas treat email early this morning and literally had the ingredients already so I made these brownies for my daughter’s ballet holiday party this evening. Of course, I had to taste one and WOW. So good. Thank you!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Wow, that's amazing. So glad you enjoyed, Maria!