These Peppermint Brownies are quick and easy and include coffee for a peppermint mocha flavor perfect for the holidays!
I think I must be Target’s #1 fan. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I visited Target no less than five of the past seven days. It is my go-to store for shopping because I love being able to get everything I need in one place. New pajama pants, a laundry basket, a prescription pickup, and groceries for dinner? Done and done.
While it can be hard to drag my 3-year-old out of the toy or card section (do your kids love looking at cards too??), it’s still easier than taking him to four different stores with four different checkout lines.
Our hot spot for browsing right now is the Target Christmas section. The kids and I love looking at all the decorations, stocking stuffer doodads, and the holiday baking goodies. This week I found these White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’S, and I had to grab a bag!
I love Starbucks almost as much as Target, so of course these candies made me think of peppermint mochas. I incorporated these M&M’S and coffee into this recipe for peppermint mocha brownies. It only takes a few minutes to stir up a batch of these quick and easy brownies, and your family and friends will LOVE them!
Since I baked in the M&M’S® instead of decorating the finished brownies with them, some of them did crack a bit during baking. #1 – They still tasted just as good, and #2 – That’s what powdered sugar is for.
My oldest saw this dusting of sugar and said, “Oh how pretty! It looks like snow!” He did not say, “Oh, I see that you’re trying to cover up some cracked candies!” and neither will anyone else who is treated to these luscious mint chocolate brownies.
Now, go make a Target run and get cooking! Maybe I’ll see you there ;)
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Peppermint Mocha Brownies
These Peppermint Brownies are quick and easy and include coffee for a peppermint mocha flavor perfect for the holidays!
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
- 1 box brownie mix I used gluten-free
- 1 egg (or as directed on mix)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or as directed on mix)
- 1/3 cup strong black coffee (if mix calls for more than 1/3 cup liquid, add more as needed)
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 bag White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s
- powdered sugar for dusting if desired
Instructions
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Preheat oven to temperature listed on brownie mix (325 degrees F in my case). Spray an 8″ square baking dish with cooking spray.
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Stir together egg, oil, coffee, and peppermint extract. Add brownie mix, and stir until well mixed. Stir in white chocolate chips, and pour brownie batter into prepared pan.
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Generously sprinkle M&M’s over the top of the batter. Bake in preheated oven as directed on the brownie mix. Allow to cool in pan before cutting.
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To dust with sugar, hold a mesh strainer over the brownies, and sprinkle about two tablespoons of powdered sugar into the strainer, moving the strainer around as you sprinkle to cover the brownies evenly. The sugar will hide any cracked M&M’s and also looks festive for the holidays.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Dessert
More holiday dessert recipes:
Ashlyn @ Belle of the Kitchen says
LOVE these, Andi! I bought those same M&Ms last year and gobbled them up. I’m definitely going to need to make these brownies with them this year! And oh my gosh, my son LOVES the card section, too! He picks out all kinds of random cards. One time I got home and found a Happy Bosses Day card with all of my stuff! He had snuck it onto the conveyor belt and I hadn’t even noticed. ;)
Andi says
Thanks, Ashlyn! That is hilarious that you ended up with a Boss’s Day card! How random! Once I had to buy a card I didn’t even want because my boys wrinkled it so much fighting over it. I wasn’t happy about that one! I hope you get a bag of these M&M’s while they still have them. They are so good!!
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy says
I LOVE Target! (or Tar-jay, as we call it, haha!) I love these peppermint brownies and cake mix cookies! Perfect for handing out to neighbors, teachers and friends for the holidays. Those little containers are so cute, too! Pinned!
★★★★★
Andi says
Thanks so much, Jen! I wish we could do our Target runs together. Imagine the scene we would make with all these boys! :D
Beth @ The First Year says
Andi! I love love LOVE that you added coffee to these brownies! It’s my favorite thing to add to brownies :) And if there were a target in my city… I’d probably be there a few times a week too!
Andi says
Thanks, Beth! I think I might have to move if I didn’t have a Target ;) We don’t have a Wal-Mart near me, which I can live with, but Target is a must!
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
Yep, my kids love to look at the greeting cards at the store, too! These brownies look fantastic. I think we agree about how good the peppermint mocha combo is! These brownies are just so pretty, cracked M&Ms and all. :)
Andi says
Thank you, Kristine! I don’t mind cracked M&M’s. I’d prefer that than falling-off-all-over-the-place M&M’s! ;)
Annie @Maebells says
I am Target obsessed too! Everything is just better there, it is more organized, the store is cleaner, I love it! I haven’t seen these peppermint chips yet, I bet they are gluten free! I spent HOURS last weekend driving to different stores to find freaking candy canes that were gluten free and didn’t say “prepared on shared equipment!” :) These brownies look fabulous! Perfect for the holidays!
★★★★★
Andi says
Oh, Annie that is so hard that you have to be so careful about gluten! I just have to generally avoid it, but trace amounts don’t seem to bother me. I know it’s so much harder with true celiac disease. You are a good wife for searching for GF candy canes! I hope they were worth all that driving!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
I love this recipe! So festive and delicious!!
Andi says
Thanks, Sheena! The red and white M&M’s look so Christmasy!
Melanie | Melanie Makes says
Target and brownies in a single post? I swoon! These brownies looks so rich and decadent, Andi!
Andi says
Thank you, Melanie!
Sara @ Bitz & Giggles says
Andi, who DOESN’T love Target?! It’s definitely my favorite one-stop-shop as well! Love these little baking M&Ms! Your brownies look delish! I’m running to get my glass of milk now!
Andi says
I was there yesterday and plan to go tomorrow for Christmas shopping while the kids are at school. I’m a serious Target addict! Thank you, Sara! xo