Peppermint Bark Brownies

5 from 73 votes

These Peppermint Bark Brownies are a fantastic holiday dessert to make for a cookie exchange or to bring to parties, with their gooey delicious brownie, sweet cream cheese layer, chocolate ganache topping, and crunchy peppermint sprinkles.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocolate, peppermint

Servings: Servings

Calories: 265kcal

Author: Laura Lynch

Ingredients

For packaged brownie mix:

1 box brownie mix
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs

For homemade brownies:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

For peppermint cream cheese layer:

3 oz cream cheese room temperature
1/4 cup butter softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 drops peppermint extract
1/2 tablespoon milk if needed
pinch salt

For ganache:

1/4 cup butter softened
6 ounces dark chocolate chopped
1/3 cup crushed candy canes

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F(176°C). Line an 8×8 baking pan with two pieces of parchment paper, cut to fit with a little overhang.

For packaged brownie mix:

If using a box of brownies, mix and bake the brownies according to the package instructions.

For homemade brownies:

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil, water, vanilla, and sugar. Beat them together with a whisk or hand blender.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and stir together until everything is fully incorporated.
Pour mixture into the baking dish and spread it out with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the brownies to cool completely.

For peppermint cream cheese layer:

In a large bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, and peppermint extract. Beat again for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Add the milk only if it’s too thick to spread.
Spoon the mixture evenly onto the cooled brownies. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes, while making the chocolate ganache.

For the ganache:

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth.
Pour the ganache onto the top of the brownies and spread it evenly with a knife. Quickly sprinkle on the crushed candy canes, before the chocolate hardens.

Notes

For the dark chocolate ganache layer, I use Ghirardelli 60% to 72% chocolate chips.
Peppermint is a great combination with chocolate, but you need to be very careful with the peppermint extract because it's incredibly strong. I suggest starting with just a few drops and seeing how you feel before adding more.
Be careful when microwaving the chocolate because it does burn fairly quickly. Microwave for just 20 seconds at a time and stop when most of the chips are melted. Stirring rapidly will help the rest melt.
The ganache layer will harden pretty quickly, so be sure to sprinkle on the peppermint crunch quickly after spreading the chocolate.
You can crush up candy canes in a plastic bag, or buy a bag of candy cane crunch. I always find that I use a lot of this during the holidays for things like these brownies, or peppermint bark cookies, or peppermint espresso martinis. Might as well have a bag!

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