Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars

In what should be my last day of 12 Days of Sweet Treats, I offer to the universe Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars. Picture your very favorite chocolate chip cookie dough without chocolate chips or chunks. Work with me here… We press 3/4s of the dough into an 8X10 baking dish and then cover it in chocolate peppermint ganache and then drizzles of white chocolate ganache. The whole lot gets showered in crushed peppermint candies, we throw the remaining bits of dough randomly over the top and then scrape any last drizzle-y bits of both ganaches over the top.

We bake.

Then we wait because she’s a lava-hot cauldron of goodness. We continue to wait because sometimes the world makes us wait for the good stuff. It’s hard, but we’re strong. Our patience is rewarded with big bites of caramel-y, buttery cookie dough dripping with a duo of ganaches and just the right hit of peppermint crunchies. Are you in? Are you running to the store to grab your supplies?

The universe gives us gifts, such as these cookies, but we wouldn’t have such gifts if I hadn’t received Shauna Sever’s latest cookbook Midwest Made. Another gift…are you catching the theme here? As soon as I thumbed through her beautiful cookbook I landed on Chocolate-Espresso Revel Bars and immediately knew I had to make them. Stat. They’re really delicious oatmeal-espresso cookie dough that sandwiches a heady layer of chocolate-espresso ganache. Dreams are made of such bars. You can see my pic of them here. They are as wonderful as you might imagine and they spurred a million and one ideas about stuffing cookies with ganache.

And then the holiday season came.

And here we are. Thank you Shauna for your beautiful book baby and it’s amazing inspiration.

I hope you’ll make these gorgeous baked gems. I’m on a real chocolate-peppermint bender this season and I’m not sad about it. I’m also very into dulce de leche this season. Which leads me to how I’m not done with the 12 Days of Sweet Treats just yet… When I made the Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cups I whipped up some holiday spiced dulce de leche and made them into Holiday Spiced Dulce de Leche Cups…as one does. I must share that recipe. And then there are the Five-Spice Snickerdoodles I made and yep, I’m gonna have to share those too. Sunday I’ll share the full roundup of 2019 holiday sweet treats, offer gifting tips and more than likely share some OG holiday cookie recipes that I love.

12 Days of Sweet Treats with the lovely Amisha (@thejamlab / thejamlab.co)

1. Five-Spice Snickerdoodles
2. Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars
3. Spiced Butterscotch Walnut Fudge
4. Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cups
5. Rose Marshmallow Chai Marsala Cookies
6. Chocolate Peppermint Olive Oil Skillet Cookie
7. Woodland Deer Macarons with a Spiced Amaretto Salted Caramel Buttercream
8. Burnt Sugar Muscovado Truffles
9. Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies with Bailey’s Buttercream
10. Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
11. Raspberry Hazelnut Linzer Cookie With A Cocoa Hazelnut Praline Buttercream
12. Dulce De Leche Baci Kisses
13. Thandai Thumbprint Cookies with Pear and Spice Jam Buttercream

See my full Holiday Cookie Box and Amisha’s here!!! Have fun!! xo

Before We Get Started

• CHOCOLATE. As always, you get to pick your ride with the chocolate. I like a darker chocolate, but you can go anywhere between semi-sweet and bittersweet for the ganache.
• WHITE WHITE CHOCOLATE. When you bake white chocolate it often gets a yellow-ish hue to it. Which isn’t desirable. We deal with it but I’m here to tell you: WE DON’T HAVE TO. I stumbled across AmeriColor’s Bright White which you can add to vanilla buttercream to brighten it up a bit. And I thought, this might be just what white chocolate needs. I added a generous amount…if you’re hesitant to add that much food coloring to your chocolate then just ignore me and embrace that yellow-hued wonder. Or gingerly add several drops at a time, stir and move on with it. You won’t notice a jaw-dropping whiteness pre-bake but when it doesn’t turn yellow in the oven, you’ll be dazzled. Prepare yourself.
• PEPPERMINT CANDY. Again I used Hammonds Candy Canes. Any old peppermint-y candy cane will do.
• VESSLE. At first I tried a 9×9 and the whole thing was too gooey and too chocolate-y (if you can imagine)…there needed to be more landscape for the chocolate to lounge about. So I up’d it to my favorite 8×10…you could do 9×11. Pick a dish somewhere close to that size. If you go too much bigger or smaller you’re going to have to adjust your bake time accordingly and I worry it won’t be as fab.
• BAKE TIME. I’m an under-baker with bar cookies. I like them ooey gooey. Think blondies and brownies. That’s my jam. Nothing cakey here. So I recommend 30 minutes. HOWEVER, if you like something that’s baked through more, you may want to bake them in the 35 range. Regardless, in either zone, they should be lightly bronzed over the top (think George Hamilton in dead winter) with some jiggle throughout. If you bake them until the jiggle is gone, they will be over-baked, cakey, dry perhaps? Not what we’re looking for.

Let’s make some spine-tingling Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars, ok?

Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars

Picture your very favorite chocolate chip cookie dough without chocolate chips or chunks. Work with me here… We press 3/4s of the dough into an 8X10 baking dish and then cover it in chocolate peppermint ganache and then drizzles of white chocolate ganache. The whole lot gets showered in crushed peppermint candies, we throw the remaining bits of dough randomly over the top and then scrape any last drizzle-y bits of both ganaches over the top. Delicious.

4.50 from 2 reviews

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cookies

Keyword: Bar Cookies, Peppermint Bar, Chocolate, Dessert

Servings: 15 Bar Cookies

Author: Rebecca Firth

Ingredients

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup (120 g) dark chocolate (finely chopped)
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

White Chocolate Ganache

• ½ cup (60 g) white chocolate (finely chopped)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon AmeriColor Bright White (optional; see note above)

For The Cookie Dough

• 10 tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup (210 g) brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 cup (96 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs ( room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) sunflower seed oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) real vanilla extract
• 2 cups (272 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (136 g) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) sea salt

To Garnish

• ¾ cup (115 g or 4 oz) crushed peppermint candies

Instructions

For the Ganache

• To make the dark chocolate ganache, in a medium, heat-safe bowl add the dark chocolate, cream and peppermint extract and set over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water or let the water boil. Stir frequently until almost melted. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Take off of the heat and stir every couple of minutes to help it cool, stay fluid and thicken.
• In another medium, heat-safe bowl add the white chocolate and cream and set over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water or let the water boil. Stir frequently until almost melted. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Take off of the heat and stir every couple of minutes to help it cool, stay fluid and thicken. As it cools, stir in the Bright White (if using).

For the Cookie

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 8X10 baking dish and line with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the sides.
• In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix on medium for 4 minutes, or until light and well blended. With the mixer on low, add in the eggs, one at a time, completely mixing the first before adding the second. Take care to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so that everything is incorporated. Add the oil, milk and vanilla and mix for 1 minute more.
• In another medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined.

To Assemble

• Put 3/4s of the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan. Pour the cooled dark chocolate ganache over the dough, then drizzle the white chocolate over the top; reserve a small bit of dark chocolate and white chocolate. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint over the top. Drop clumps of the remaining 1/4 of dough over the top. Drizzle the remaining dark and white chocolate over the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting. To get really clean cuts, place in the fridge for an hour or so before cutting, cleaning the knife between cuts.

Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo