It's finally Christmas season! This season would not be complete without Peppermint Bark... and when paired with brownies - I mean, need I say more? It's freaking delicious!! Chewy brownies with a minty white chocolate drizzle, and topped with crushed candy canes. Do you need these in your life? YES, immediately.
Need more festive recipes? Don't miss this Gingerbread Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and this decadent Eggnog!
So, I start celebrating Christmas on November 1st. The Christmas wreath goes up on my door, the christmas tunes are being blasted in the car, and my christmas tree candles are burning. In short, I love this time of the year. It IS the most wonderful time of the year.
Now that w've got that out of the way, back to the food. Peppermint bark. It come around every year. And every year, I love it. I could OD on it in fact. In true Britney Breaks Bread fashion, I had to use my cravings to make something cool for my blog. So, I made these chewy and delicious Peppermint Bark Brownies.
Think thin mints meets christmas. It's a chocolate-y minty flavor topped with crushed candy canes. If you've never had a thin mint, think of a peppermint patty made into a cake that's topped with candy canes. If you've never had a peppermint patty ... well, just know that peppermint bark is really good (so imagine how good peppermint bark brownies are!) if you like chocolate, white chocolate, and crushed candy canes mixed together.
It's smooth, crunchy, and fun to eat - just like these peppermint bark brownies. So fun that I made it into a cake and baked at Williams-Sonoma's Peppermint Bark-Off last year! (The cake recipe can be found in my Holiday e-CookBook that can be purchased HERE).
In short, no one really knows where Peppermint Bark came from. The long story is it's believed to be modeled after mendiants which are a French Christmas dessert.
Read more here, I'm certainly no expert in the history of peppermint bark. However, I do know that these Peppermint Bark Brownies are AMAZING and you need to make them as soon as possible. lol
Butter, oil, and brown sugar - in that order! These peppermint bark brownies have all of the above. Brown sugar helps with gluten formation which gives the brownies that "chew" that we all love.
Then the oil and butter come together to give the brownies not just an awesome taste (butter) but also that chewy/cakey texture (oil).
Mix together the melted butter, oil, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the vanilla extract, peppermint extract, a little coffee (or water if you don't have coffee), and then add the eggs - one at a time.
In a separate bowl, combine and whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. Add these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and then add to a parchment lined 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes and then allow the brownies to cool completely. COMPLETELY.
Once the brownies have cooled COMPLETELY, melt the white chocolate. Swirl it together and pour (or drizzle on top like in the pictures) on top of the brownies (hence as to why they need to be cool. If they were hot, the white chocolate will not set and it'll be a melty mess lol).
Top with crushed peppermints and refrigerate for about 15 minutes, then eat up!
Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
The brownie is moist and rich and the peppermint bark on top takes it to the next level.