Fudgy peppermint brownies made in one bowl, with crushed candy canes through the batter and more on top.
Thirty-five minutes including the bake, and the only equipment beyond the bowl is a pan and a sieve.
Why This Recipe Works
- Melted butter rather than creamed butter is what makes these fudgy rather than cakey. There is no air beaten into fat here, so the crumb stays dense.
- Half a teaspoon of peppermint extract is a small quantity doing a lot — peppermint is powerful, and more would tip the brownies from festive into toothpaste.
- Only half a cup of flour against half a cup of cocoa is a very low flour ratio, which is the other half of the fudginess.
- Reserving some candy canes for the top rather than folding them all in matters, because the ones inside dissolve into the batter as it bakes and the ones on top stay crunchy.
Why One Bowl Matters
Plenty of recipes call themselves one-bowl to save washing up. Here it changes the brownie: the butter is melted in the mixing bowl, and each of the next three steps needs that bowl to still be warm.
Melt the butter in the bowl itselfMelted and slightly cooled
A large microwave-safe bowl, and the butter melted in it rather than in a pan and poured over. Everything that follows happens in residual heat, which is what makes the sequence work.
Sugar into WARM butterGlossy, about 30 seconds
Whisked for about 30 seconds until glossy. Warm butter dissolves the sugar rather than suspending it, and dissolved sugar is what produces the thin, papery crust on top of a good brownie. Into cool butter it stays gritty and no crust forms.
Whisk the eggs hard, brieflyThick and slightly lighter
Eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract whisked 30 to 45 seconds until the mixture looks thick and slightly lighter. That colour change is air being beaten in, and it is the second half of the crust.
Then stop working itNo dry streaks, and no more
Cocoa, flour and salt sifted in and folded GENTLY just until no dry streaks remain, then the chips and candy canes. Everything up to here was about working the mixture; from here on any extra stirring develops gluten and makes a cakey brownie.
Ingredient Notes
- Peppermint extract
- Half a teaspoon, alongside a full teaspoon of vanilla. The ratio is deliberate — peppermint at the same strength as the vanilla would dominate everything.
- Natural cocoa powder
- Half a cup, unsweetened and natural rather than Dutch-processed. Natural cocoa is more acidic and gives a sharper chocolate flavour, which stands up better to peppermint.
- Crushed candy canes
- A third of a cup plus more for topping. Two uses from one ingredient, and the ones on top are the only ones that stay crunchy.
- Flour, spooned and levelled
- Half a cup, and the measuring method is in the ingredient line. Scooping straight from the bag packs in significantly more flour, which is enough to turn these cakey.
How to Make It
Heat the oven and line the pan
350°F (175°C). Line an 8-inch square metal pan with parchment, leaving an overhang for lifting.
Melt the butter and add the sugar
Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. While it is still warm, whisk in the sugar until glossy, about 30 seconds.
Whisk in the eggs and extracts
Whisk in the eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract for 30 to 45 seconds, until the mixture looks thick and slightly lighter.
Sift in the dry ingredients
Sift in the cocoa, flour and salt, and fold gently with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain.
Fold in the extras
Fold in the chocolate chips and most of the crushed candy canes, reserving a little for the top.
Bake
Spread the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 22 to 26 minutes, until the edges are set and a toothpick shows moist crumbs.
Cool and finish
Cool in the pan at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with melted dark chocolate if you like and sprinkle over the remaining candy canes.
Cut
Lift out by the parchment and slice into 16 squares.
Success Tips
- Add the sugar while the butter is still warm. This is the whole reason for the one-bowl method.
- Whisk the eggs for the full 30 to 45 seconds — the colour change is the cue.
- Then fold gently and stop early.
- Take them out at moist crumbs. Brownies set as they cool and a clean toothpick means overbaked.
Serving Ideas
The optional dark chocolate drizzle and the reserved candy canes turn them into a proper holiday plate. Without either they are still very good and much easier to stack in a tin.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Airtight at room temperature up to 4 days. The candy canes on top soften and begin to dissolve after the first day, so they look best fresh.
Freeze
Freeze the uncut slab, undrizzled, up to 3 months. Thaw, then drizzle and top with fresh candy canes — crushed candy that has been frozen goes sticky.
Reheat
Not needed. Ten seconds in a microwave softens the chocolate chips again if you want one warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mine came out cakey rather than fudgy.
Usually overmixing after the flour went in, or too much flour from scooping rather than spooning. Both add structure to a recipe that is deliberately low on it. Fold only until the dry streaks disappear and measure the flour spooned and levelled.
Can I use a glass pan?
Use a metal pan. Glass insulates rather than conducts, so the edges overbake while the centre stays wet, and brownies are a bake where that difference is very visible. If glass is all you have, drop the oven by 25°F and expect a longer bake.
Can I make them without candy canes?
Yes — the peppermint extract carries the flavour on its own and the brownies are structurally unaffected. You lose the crunch and the look, which for a holiday brownie is most of the appeal, so a peppermint-flavoured chip is a reasonable substitute.
