Thanks to Betty Crocker, I have gotten to try a few fun “Christmas Cookies with Kids” recipes this holiday season – and I am sharing my favorites with you!
This time we tried the Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bark! I think it’s called “bark” because it’s like broken-up cookies, but regardless, the recipe is yummy and we had a great time making it.
I like finding recipes that kids enjoy making … and this one was a hit. There’s nothing better than getting to mash stuff — like the peppermint candies — as part of the cookie-making process!
In fact, we used this recipe to take to friends and neighbors for a little treat, and I liked how it is a unique-looking cookie. Or unique bark. Or both :).
Here’s the recipe, but you can visit Betty Crocker’s original recipe to check out all the details! (I’ve made a few changes to match my experience making the cookie bark.)
Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bark (based on Betty Crocker’s recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 pouch Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips (2 cups) (note these are white vanilla, not white chocolate — but we tried some with milk chocolate chips melted on top, too!)
- 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy (the original recipe calls for crushing 14 miniature candy canes – you can use any peppermint candy, but the mini candy canes seem to have more red in them, so they’re prettier on the cookies.)
Directions
- Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheet with foil. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough into 12-inch square on cookie sheet.
- Assign kids to crush candy canes. We used a marble rolling pin, and the kids crushed way more than we needed. Keep a close watch on the crushing process; you want them to be actual chunks of peppermint candy, not peppermint candy powder. This may take a lighter touch.
- Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown; let cool.
- In microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips uncovered on high 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until chips can be stirred smooth.
- Pour and spread over cooled cookie base.
- Immediately sprinkle with candy. (You want to move quickly so the peppermint candy embeds in the melted baking chips. We gently pressed the candy chunks into the melted baking chips to make sure they “stuck.”)
- Let stand until set, about 30 minutes.
- Gently break up cookie bark. (We used a butter knife in a few strategic places to assist our breaking up to avoid crumbling.)
- Store tightly covered.
- Enjoy!
You can see from the pictures that we tried a batch with melted milk chocolate on top. Since we like chocolate, we loved this variation. Although the original recipe doesn’t call for it, I think that white chocolate would be good, too. And one suggestion in the original recipe is to try it with chocolate chip cookie mix and melted chocolate on top — we’re going to try that next!
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For more awesome cookie recipes that are fun to make with kids, check out Betty Crocker’s “Christmas Cookies with Kids” recipes and get ready to #GetYourBettyOn!
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xoxo
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Betty Crocker via Burst Media. The opinions and text are all mine. See my disclosures.
- 1 pouch Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips (2 cups) (note these are white vanilla, not white chocolate — but we tried some with milk chocolate chips melted on top, too!)
- 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy (the original recipe calls for crushing 14 miniature candy canes – you can use any peppermint candy, but the mini candy canes seem to have more red in them, so they’re prettier on the cookies.)
- Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheet with foil. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough into 12-inch square on cookie sheet.
- Assign kids to crush candy canes. We used a marble rolling pin, and the kids crushed way more than we needed. Keep a close watch on the crushing process; you want them to be actual chunks of peppermint candy, not peppermint candy powder. This may take a lighter touch.
- Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown; let cool.
- In microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips uncovered on high 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until chips can be stirred smooth.
- Pour and spread over cooled cookie base.
- Immediately sprinkle with candy. (You want to move quickly so the peppermint candy embeds in the melted baking chips. We gently pressed the candy chunks into the melted baking chips to make sure they “stuck.”)
- Let stand until set, about 30 minutes.
- Gently break up cookie bark. (We used a butter knife in a few strategic places to assist our breaking up to avoid crumbling.)
- Store tightly covered.
- Enjoy!
