Candy Cane Cookie Bars

Candy Cane Cookie Bars – a handful of ingredients mixed together & the dough spread onto a cookie sheet, then sliced into bars. So easy yet so delicious!

When I was about 12, I got a new mountain bike for Christmas. The bike was great, but the story of how I got it is even greater.

You see, when you gift a kid a bike for Christmas – you really have no way to wrap it. Unless you’re some kind of uber talented individual when it comes to wrapping large & unusually shaped presents. Usually parents just stick a big bow on it & put it under the tree.  Well, not my mama. 

This year, my Grandma Millie was visiting.  We were all in the living room unwrapping presents – and all of a sudden, Mama turns to me and says, ‘Crystal, go brush your teeth!’

Wait, what?  Brush my teeth?  But we’re in the middle of opening presents!  I don’t wanna go brush my teeth!

But Mama insisted.  ‘Go brush your teeth, now! And brush them good!’.

I thought she was so unfair.  So, I grumbled & muttered all the way to the bathroom.  I made sure I took enough time to properly brush my teeth.  I finally emerged from the bathroom, where I had properly cleaned my teeth in the middle of present opening, & walked back in the living room.  There – right in the middle of the living room stood a beautiful new mountain bike!

In that one instant – my mom went from being the unfair go-brush-your-teeth-right-now mom into the best mother EVER!  And in case you’re wondering, she’s still the very best mother ever.

Now, by sharing one of my favorite Christmas memories – I’m now instantly in the mood for some Christmas cookies.  Good thing I just made up a batch of these delicious Candy Cane Cookie Bars.

I actually created these from my White Chocolate Cookie Bars which are already on the blog.  I just knew that a Christmas version of them would be delicious, and boy was I right. They’re SO delicious, & pretty darn easy too.  I’m actually eating one right now – and enjoying it quite a bit.  Be jealous, be very jealous…. or just make up your own batch.

Here’s what you need:

Cream 1 cup of softened butter together with 1 cup of brown sugar.

Beat in one egg.

Mix in 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, & 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Stir in 4 crushed candy canes.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread the cookie dough over the baking sheet.  I like to use my hands for this to make the whole thing easier & faster.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with 2 cups of white chocolate chips.  Place back into the oven for 60-90 seconds.

Spread the warm chocolate chips across the entire cookie.

Sprinkle on the 4 remaining crushed candy canes – along with some holiday sprinkles if you desire.

Let the cookie cool until the white chocolate has cooled enough to set.  Slice with a knife or a pizza slicer.  I’m a huge fan of the pizza slicer 🙂

Let me tell you – these cookie bars are so good!  Good luck eating just one! 😉

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4 from 1 vote

Candy Cane Cookie Bars

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter 1 cup, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 candy canes crushed - divided
• 1 bag of white chocolate chips about 2 cups(or even more if you're feeling adventurous!)
• sprinkles

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter & brown sugar. Mix in 1 egg. Add in the flour, salt, & vanilla extract; mix until just combined. Stir in 4 of the crushed candy canes.
• Spread your cookie dough on a large baking sheet until the thickness reaches ¼-1/2 of an inch. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges of your dough begin to brown slightly. Remove from the oven, & dump your white chocolate chips on top. Place it back into the oven for 60-90 seconds to melt the chocolate chips slightly. Be careful to not leave it in there for too long as you don't want your chocolate to seize up.
• Using a spatula, spread the melty white chocolate all over your cookie until covered. Sprinkle on the remaining 4 crushed candy canes & the sprinkles (if using). Let the cookie cool for a few minutes so that the chocolate sets. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, slice the cookie into cookie squares.