If you are preparing to gift a bunch of cookies and wondering what to make next, how about these Candy Cane Cookie Bars. Chocolate and peppermint is a duo that should be celebrated anytime of year, but somehow is most popular in the lead up to the Holidays.
A buttery chocolate base between shortbread and a butter cookie is topped with a whipped buttercream and a sprinkle of crushed candy canes.
The thick cookie bars are a great recipe to make at any time of year, however, these are particularly great around the holiday season thanks to the peppermint buttercream.
Why you’ll love these
Quick prep
Because they are cookie bars, you simply need to prepare the cookie dough and bake, no waiting for batch after batch to bake.
Pepperminty buttercream
The buttercream is complimentary to the chocolate butter cookie base and is light and fluffy.
Ingredients and substitutions for Candy Cane Cookie Bars
- Butter: Unsalted butter is used for the cookie, but if all you have on hand is salted, that works as a fine substitute, just leave out any salt suggested in the recipe.
- Sugar: Confectioners or icing sugar dissolves into the buttercream and the superfine or caster sugar adds to the sugar portion of our cookies creating a nice balance without making them overly sweet.
- Eggs: The egg binds and adds structure to our cookies resulting in that soft interior that compliments the sugar and butter.
- Flour: Plain or all purpose flour is best for a nice light cookie crumb.
- Baking powder: This helps our cookies rise so they are not stodgy.
- Cocoa powder: A high quality cocoa powder adds a real deep chocolate flavor here.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to make this
Greaseproof paper: Lining your baking tray will make getting the soft cookies off easy.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the cookie dough and that buttercream, this is best done with a mixer.
Mixing bowl: You’ll need two medium mixing bowls to mix the cookie dough and buttercream.
Offset spatula: A small offset spatula will help you smooth out the buttercream nice and evenly. A butter knife or back of a tablespoon will also do the trick.
Square tin: A 18×18 cm or 7×7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin would also work well.
More chocolate cookie recipes you’ll love
Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies
How to make:
Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
Place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
Add in the egg and vanilla extract and combine until smooth, approximately 1 minute.
Add your flour and baking powder and beat on the lowest setting until the flour has just been combined and no dry portions remain in your bowl.
Pour the mixture into your tin and press firmly with your hand and then even out with an offset spatula into your baking tin.
Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes or until ever so slightly golden.
Remove and allow to cool completely.
To make the buttercream, place the butter into a bowl and beat on medium until light, fluffy and doubled in volume, approximately 4 minutes with a hand beater.
Add all the sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, approximately 1 minute.
Pour in the peppermint extract and salt and combine until smooth.
Spoon the buttercream on top of the cookie and smear to the very edges, swooshing a little.
Slice and then sprinkle over the crushed candy canes (this will keep your buttercream nice and swooshy).
Enjoy!
Candy Cane Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: Makes 15 cookie bars
- Category: Cookies
Description
Buttery chocolate cookie bars are topped with a pepperminut buttercream and bites of candy canes for a seasonally appropriate twist on the classic chocolate and peppermint combo.
Ingredients
Chocolate Butter Cookies
100 grams / 3.5 ounces butter, room temperature
100 grams / ½ cup superfine/caster sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150 grams / 1 cup - 1 tablespoon plain flour
50 grams / ½ cup - 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
6 grams / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Candy Cane Icing
100 grams / 3.5 ounces butter, softened
115 grams / 1 cup confectioner/icing sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract
2 candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
- Place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and combine until smooth, approximately 1 minute.
- Add your flour and baking powder and beat on the lowest setting until the flour has just been combined and no dry portions remain in your bowl.
- Pour the mixture into your tin and press firmly with your hand and then even out with an offset spatula into your baking tin.
- Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes or until ever so slightly golden.
Remove and allow to cool completely. - To make the buttercream, place the butter into a bowl and beat on medium until light, fluffy and doubled in volume, approximately 4 minutes with a hand beater.
- Add all the sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, approximately 1 minute.
- Pour in the peppermint extract and salt and combine until smooth.
- Spoon the buttercream on top of the cookie and smear to the very edges, swooshing a little.
- Slice and then sprinkle over the crushed candy canes (this will keep your buttercream nice and swooshy).
- Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 201 calories per serve
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