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I looooove peppermint and chocolate…so you know a Peppermint Gooey Bar had to be on my to-bake list this season!
I think I’m part psychic. Call it women’s intuition, call it reading the future, I think I have a little bit of it in me. For example:
I know that Jordan is going to flip out over doing homework after school.
I know that she’s going to tell me she wants pizza for dinner.
I know that I’m going to try not to have a glass of wine tonight, but that I will fail.
See? I’m psychic.
So when I tell you I know you’re going to love these Peppermint Gooey Bars, I’m right – you will. I can see the future.
You’re going to make them and eat them and swoon with delight. It’s in the cards, I know it. 🙂
Right?
You can probably tell by now that the gooey bar is my new black. I’m totally making a new version every month, because y’all love them so much. So, here is my first holiday version: the Peppermint Gooey Bar, made with a chocolate cake mix.
You know what’s so great about gooey bars? They’re so darn easy. Seriously, 10 minutes bowl to oven. You need cake mix, sweetened condensed milk, and add-ins for flavor. This peppermint version uses chocolate cake mix, chocolate chips, and Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. (You can find those in the holiday and/or baking section right now.)
Once you bake them, you add a little extra peppermint to the top in the form of crushed candy canes. These are optional, but they make the bars look so pretty and festive. A note about the candy canes: they aren’t going to totally stick. The smaller pieces will, because you add them when the bars are piping hot straight from the oven. You can’t add them before baking or they’ll melt. But they look pretty on top, and give a nice crunch to the bar. Add them or not, your choice!
These bars taste like peppermint brownies. Totally rich and fudgey! You’re going to love them, I know it.
And I do know it…because I’m psychic, remember? 🙂
Check out all my gooey bar recipes!
Peppermint Gooey Bars
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix 15-16 ounces, a normal size box
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips semi-sweet or milk
- 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup coarsely crushed candy canes about 10 minis, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9” pan with foil and spray really well with cooking spray.
- Place cake mix, egg, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (You can also use a hand mixer, it will just take longer.) Mix until the dough forms into a ball.
- Place about 2/3 of the dough in the bottom of the pan and press to form the crust.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips and Andes Baking Chips over the top. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the chips.
- Drop pieces of the remaining dough evenly over the top of the pan. Press lightly to adhere.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes until the edges get golden and the cake top is no longer shiny. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Note: the candy canes will slightly melt into the top of the bars. Not all of them will stick. This is optional, and just to make them look pretty. You can omit the candy canes. (You can’t bake the candy canes on top or they will melt.)
- Cool completely, chilling if needed to speed up the process, then cut into bars.
Peppermint Oreo Cheesecake Brownies
Sweets from friends:
Peppermint Crumble Bars by Something Swanky
Peppermint Snowball Cookies by Inside BruCrew Life
Peppermint Mocha Cookie Crisps by Shugary Sweets
Last Updated on May 31, 2020
I was going to make plain brownies (snooze) for my office Christmas party until I saw these! I can’t wait to bring them 🙂 I’ve tried your pumpkin and funfetti gooey bars in the past to rave reviews, so I know these will be amazing too!
Can you tell me if these would work ok in a 11×13 pan??
I think an 11×13 pan would be too big. You can make them in a 9×13 pan, double the sweetened condensed milk (just use the whole can) but they’ll be thinner than pictured (but they’ll still work!)
Can these be made in an 8 by 8 pan. I don’t have a 9 by 9. Planning on making tonight for my Christmas dessert. If not I saw you said a 9 by 13 would work. Use the same amount of everything? Just double the condensed milk? That’s all?
Hi Jenifer! You can make them in an 8×8, but they’ll be really thick. You can also do them in a 9×13, but double the SCM and peppermint chips. They’ll be thinner than shown, and baking time will be affected, but they’ll still be awesome!
I just made these and they’re cooling as I speak. For those that could not find Andes peppermint chips, I used Ghirardelli peppermint chocolate bars in the baking aisle (although it looked suspiciously like their peppermint bark on sale in the candy aisle…). I couldn’t find Andes chips in at my grocer either.
What a bummer you couldn’t find them! The Peppermint chocolate bars are a perfect sub!
When I made these I experimented… I halved the butter but added the same quantity back using canned pumpkin. I had a previous recipe that didn’t use the whole can & I hare wasting it. Of course, all the chocolate and peppermint flavors mask the pumpkin but it kept the cake moist!
Totally! And it makes them healthier! I’ve done that with avocado, same result (you don’t taste it, but it’s better than butter!) Thanks for the comment Laura!
I loved the picture you posted on Instagram with your camera in the middle of this photo shoot! Way too cute Dorothy. 🙂
I love crunchy peppermints. I would love these!
I am not a big fan of candy canes but the gooey chocolate factor is doing me in!
Me either Mallory! But they just complement the flavor on these. The Andes chips in the center make the gooey bar!
You have proved your psychic abilities!!! Peppermint and chocolate have been on my mind 🙂 This is on the “to do” list!
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