These fudgy holiday mint Oreo brownies have a layer of mint Oreo cookies, candy canes in the batter, and crushed candy canes and mint Oreo cookies on top. They’re a great way to use up candy canes and are an IDEAL holiday dessert.
Chocolate and mint is such a killer combination. The richness of the chocolate balanced with the fresh flavor of the mint – it’s just so good. There is a reason Thin Mints are so popular (and why my family would get minimum 10 boxes each year), and it’s cause chocolate and mint WORKS.
These holiday mint Oreo brownies channel Thin Mint energy for the perfect combination of chocolate and mint. These are fudgy brownies thanks to Dutch process cocoa powder and using a hand mixer to really dissolve the sugar into the eggs. And the mint Oreo cookies add the perfect bite of texture to balance out the fudgyness of the mint Oreo brownies.
These holiday mint oreo brownies get their mint flavor from the mint Oreos and your leftover candy canes, so there’s no need to buy peppermint extract. It is truly a great holiday brownie recipe.
This post is all about the best holiday mint oreo brownies.
The Best Holiday Mint Oreo Brownies
Ingredients
This is everything you’ll need for the best holiday mint oreo brownie recipe! Most ingredients are pantry staples, but you might need to hit the grocery store for a few ingredients.
- Unsalted butter. Butter gives these brownies a richer flavor and fugdgier texture than oil.
- Chocolate (chips or bar form). I like 60% cacao for a slightly dark chocolate brownie, but you can do any percent you like.
- Dutch process cocoa powder. This is a really important ingredient, and one you might not have in your pantry. Dutch process cocoa powder has a stronger chocolate flavor and higher fat content than natural cocoa powder, which helps make these brownies rich and tender. You can go with any cocoa powder that says “Dutch process” on the container. I am a big fan of King Arthur.
- Eggs. Eggs give a little bit of lift to the mint oreo brownies (since we don’t use any baking soda or baking powder as leavener). They also keep the brownies super moist and fudgy.
- Granulated sugar. Sugar adds sweetness, and helps us get that crinkly top that we love in brownies.
- Vanilla extract. Duh! Vanilla always adds warmth and an oomph to desserts. I recommend baking with real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- All purpose flour. We use just a little bit of flour to give the brownies structure without making them cakey.
- Kosher salt or another coarse salt. Salt is important for balancing the sweetness in any dessert.
- Mint Oreos. These are available at most major grocery stores or on Amazon, but if you can’t find any mint Oreos, you can use regular Oreos and add in a little peppermint extract (see the FAQ section below).
- Candy canes. This is what really makes these Oreo peppermint brownies feel festive. We’ll crush them up and use them in the batter for peppermint flavor and on top of the brownies for extra holiday flair.
Tips for the best holiday mint oreo brownies
- Use a quality chocolate with whatever cacoa percentage you like. This brownie base has a lot of chocolate in it, so using quality chocolate will really make a difference. I like going with a 60% cacoa bar since the cocoa powder already adds a lot of dark chocolate, but pick whatever percentage you like.
- Make sure to use Dutch process cocoa powder. If you have never used Dutch process cocoa powder, I promise once you use it, you’ll never go back (though you should make sure you can sub it for whatever recipe you’re using). It has a stronger chocolate flavor and higher fat content than natural cocoa powder, which helps make these brownies rich and tender. You can go with any cocoa powder that says “Dutch process” on the container, but my favorite is King Arthur.
- Properly measure your flour. Too much flour in brownies can make them cakey instead of fudgy. And too little flour won’t give them enough structure to leave the pan.
- Measuring by weight: I always use a kitchen scale to measure my ingredients and include the measurements in grams in the recipe so you can, too. You can get a pretty cheap scale on Amazon (I used a $12 scale for years and now use a $28 KitchenAid scale).
- Measuring by volume: If you’re using a cup measure instead of a scale, first fluff the flour in its bag, then use a spoon to place it into your measuring cup. Level the flour off by scraping the flat edge of a knife across the top of the cup and you’re good to go!
- Under-bake your brownies slightly. Make sure to take the brownies out of the oven when the edges and top are set and a knife stuck in the middle comes out with some moist crumbs attached (but not raw batter). The brownies will finish baking outside of the oven from the residual heat of the pan.
Holiday mint oreo brownies FAQs
Mint Oreos are available at most major grocery stores, or on Amazon. If you can’t find them, you can use regular Oreos instead. Just add 1 tsp. of peppermint extract to the batter to replace the mintiness from the mint Oreos.
Yes! Just prepare the boxed brownie mix according to its directions, then fold in the candy cane dust. Assemble according to the recipe below.
These mint Oreo brownies are minty but not TOO minty, thanks to the mint flavor from the Oreos and candy cane dust. But if you REALLY love mint and want an even stronger mint flavor, you can add 1/4 tsp. to 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract to the brownie batter along with the vanilla extract.
To get perfectly square and clean brownies, you should bake them in a parchment paper-lined pan. After the brownies have cooled for 15 minutes, lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper to let them finish cooling. Once they’re at room temperature, score out where you want to cut (you can use a ruler if you want to be really precise on sizing). Then use the sharpest knife you have to make the cuts, wiping down the knife between each slice.
You can keep these mint Oreo brownies in an airtight container on the counter for three days or in the fridge for a week. You can also slice and freeze them to enjoy any time.
Of course! Feel free to add dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or Andes mints. You can also make this recipe for St. Patrick’s Day by replacing the candy canes with Andes mints.
Looking for more delicious recipes?
- If you are in NEED of more brownies, check out salty fudgy brownies (the recipe that these mint Oreo brownies are based off of!), almond frangipane brownies, or single serve raspberry-filled brownie skillet
- If you want to pivot from brownies to blondies (I used to be all in on brownies, and not at all interested in blondies, but I am now OBSESSED), try the TikTok viral birthday cake blondies, almond frangipane blondies or brown butter blondies
- If you want a quick dessert, try the TikTok viral half-baked single serve chocolate chip cookie skillet, edible cookie dough for 2, or campfire banana boats that you can make in the oven
If you make these holiday mint Oreo brownies, please leave a rating and review below and tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @loaves.and.such!
The Best Holiday Mint Oreo Brownies
These fudgy holiday mint Oreo brownies have a layer of mint oreos, candy canes in the batter, and crushed candy canes and mint oreos on top. They’re a great way to use up candy canes and are an IDEAL holiday dessert.
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Ingredients
1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut in cubes
8 ounces (about 1 cup) chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate bar
3 TBS. (17 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup (40 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt or another coarse salt
20 mint Oreo cookies
7 candy canes, crushed to a powder with a few slightly larger pieces
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips (optional if you want them in the batter)
Flaky sea salt to top (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper or grease it with butter or spray.
- Melt your chocolate and butter together, either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
If you’re using the microwave, place the butter and chocolate together in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30-second increments, stirring in between until they are fully combined. They should melt after about 2 minutes.
For the stovetop, place the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently until melted and combined. - Once the butter and chocolate are melted, whisk in the Dutch process cocoa powder, making sure to smush out any lumps. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl with a hand mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. It’s ready when you pinch the mixture and feel that most of the sugar has dissolved (dissolving the sugar helps give brownies their crinkly tissue paper crust). You can also do this by whisking for 5-7 minutes – it’ll just be an arm workout!
- Add the vanilla extract to the eggs. Whisk in a little bit of the melted butter and melted chocolate mixture to gently bring up the temperature of the eggs, so you don’t accidentally cook them. Gently whisk in the rest of the chocolate/butter, making sure to scrape the bowl so all the chocolate/butter makes it in. Fold in the flour, salt, almost all of the candy cane powder and chocolate chips if you’re using them. Reserve some of the candy cane powder and any slightly larger pieces of candy cane to go on top of the brownies.
- Pour half the batter into your prepared pan. Then add one layer of whole (not crushed) mint Oreos. Pour the remaining batter on top, then sprinkle on more crushed mint Oreos and the rest of the candy cane powder.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges and top are set and a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean or with some moist crumbs attached (but not raw batter). Don’t overbake – the brownies will finish baking outside of the oven from the residual heat of the pan and come out perfectly fudgy.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if you’d like, let cool and enjoy! You can keep these mint Oreo brownies in an airtight container on the counter for three days or in the fridge for a week. You can also slice and freeze them.
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