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These Peppermint Gooey Bars are like brownies but better! They have the best chocolate taste with peppermint flavor and they are perfect for the holidays.
The Best Peppermint Gooey Bars
Not only are these classic gooey bars, but they are gooey bars made with chocolate cake mix with gives them such a chocolatey, and fudgy flavor. These are seriously so easy to make; they take 10 minutes from bowl to oven and they simple, easy ingredients! They have crushed peppermint on top to really make them true to their peppermint name and the peppermint adds so much to this recipe, texture and taste wise! They would be prefect on any holiday dessert board with other peppermint recipes!
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate Cake Mix – Use any brand that is approximately 15 ounces.
- Butter – unsalted or salted, make sure it’s softened.
- Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips: Adds the perfect peppermint flavor – if you can’t find these you can chop up some peppermint bark.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – regular or fat-free is fine.
- Crushed Candy Canes: Gives these bars a bit of a crunch and another layer of flavor!
How to make Peppermint Bars
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9” 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.
Expert Tips
- The crushed peppermint will not totally stick to the top, the smaller pieces will though because you will add them right out of the oven! We cannot add them before the oven because they will melt.
- The dough is thick and can take awhile to mix together, especially if you’re using a hand mixer. If you have a stand mixer, use that fitted with the paddle attachment.
- This recipe works with any flavor cake mix! I love making gooey bars in tons of flavors, like chocolate chip gooey bars or even pumpkin gooey bars!
FAQs
Can you freeze these bars?
You can! Freeze them in an airtight container for up to 2 months!
Peppermint Gooey Bars
These are easy semi-homemade cake mix bars with tons of peppermint flavor.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 approximately 15 ounce box chocolate cake mix
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (85g) chocolate chips semi-sweet or milk
- 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
- ½ cup (118ml) sweetened condensed milk
- ⅓ cup coarsely crushed candy canes about 10 minis, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9” 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.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- The dough is stiff – it’s helpful to use a stand mixer.
- If you can’t find the Andes chips, you can chop up some peppermint bark or use peppermint baking chips (like chocolate chips; often in the baking aisle).
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 72mg | Potassium: 58mg | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Other Peppermint Recipes
Last Updated on December 14, 2023
You know me all too well. I will, indeed, swoon over these bars the moment they hit my mouth. Pinned.
I’m living in a hotel right now, so just holding on to recipes of awesome (like this one) until I have a kitchen again. Love love love peppermint desserts!
I hope you have a kitchen again soon!! 🙂
I just made and posted a peppermint and chocolate recipe as well! It’s never too early, right? These brownies look so fudgey and minty… Swoon!!
Never Veronica! 🙂
I am not ready for Christmas but I am loving the peppermint recipes!!
I am so not even close to being ready for November, let alone Christmas!
These look great! I think I will love these so you psychic abilities are right on 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Laura!
You have the best gooey bars, I can only imagine these are the perfect fudgey chocolate recipe.
Thanks Julianne!
Peppermint and chocolate – swoon! This is the best gooey bar I’ve seen (and you have half a dozen incredible versions!)and since it’s so easy, I have absolutely no excuses for my jeans 🙂 … pinning and baking!
Thanks Mary Frances!
Hello! These look DELISH. Want them. Please tell me you can see them in my future?? 😉
I can! 🙂
I love your gooey bars and I knew a holiday gooey bar had to be coming soon! I love that these are chocolate!
Thanks Tieghan!
¥ou are so right! I know I’ll love these. What a great holiday treat 🙂
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