Our peppermint Grasshopper Bars are the yummiest minty goodies you’ll encounter this season!
If you love mint candies, then our Grasshopper Bars are for you! Overstuffed with butter, peppermint, and brown sugar, Grasshopper Bars are made for gorging and satisfying your sweet tooth. I personally enjoy the freshness of these bars. The minty filling paired with the chocolatey base reminds me of eating a large peppermint party-minus the stuff powdered sugar.
Why You Will Love These Grasshopper Bars
- Easy-to-find ingredients
- Peppermint infused
- On-the-go snacking
- Refrigerator safe
Grasshopper Cookie Bars are a breeze to put together and only take an hour to prepare. This is great if you have unannounced visitors on the way-which usually happens when the family is in town for the holidays.
The bars consist of a cake base, a peppermint filling, and a buttery chocolate chip topping. The cocoa cake base can be prepared ahead of time and cooled in the refrigerator to stiffen slightly. This will give the Grasshopper Squares a somewhat thicker texture- and a chewier consistency.
As for the peppermint filling, its cool and crisp undertones don’t need special prep work but would have an even crisper taste if you allow it to chill a bit longer than the recommended timeframe.
How to Make Grasshopper Bars
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
On top of a baking dish and small saucepan, you will need:
- Medium-sized bowls
- Electric mixer
- Spatula
- Toothpick
- Cooling rack
Grasshopper Bar desserts are great for after-dinner treats or during holiday programs, and to be honest; I even snack on these during lunch breaks. Although the bars have a chocolatey base and topping, they are not overly sweet. In fact, I enjoy these Grasshopper Bars because they are a toned version of regular peppermint brownies and make a great second option to peppermint fudge or candy canes.
Grasshopper Bar Tips
Be careful not to overbake the crust. Because the cake base is made with little flour, it’s easy to scorch in the oven. I strongly recommend baking for no longer than 25 minutes, and if you can swing it, cut the baking down to 20 minutes, allowing it to continue baking on the cooling rack. This will help keep the cake base moist and chewy.
The food coloring is optional but it does give them the traditional grasshopper bar look! And if you love grasshopper bars, why not try this grasshopper drink?
If you want to turn these bars into Grasshopper Cookies, just combine both the cake and filling ingredients together, scoop into cookies, and bake for 25-minutes. You can even toss in the semi-sweet chocolate chips and have a more decadent mint dessert worth drooling over.
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Grasshopper Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
For the Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Filling
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 6–7 drops green food coloring (optional)
Topping
- 1 cup chopped Andes mints
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease bottom and sides of an 8×8 baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, mix together butter and brown sugar until light and creamy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Mix in vanilla.
- Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat on low until just mixed.
- Spread into baking dish and bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean in centre.
- Cool thoroughly before adding the filling layer.
- Make filling by creamin butter and then adding in the icing sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Add peppermint extract, food coloring, and milk, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached (should be spreadable and not runny).
- Once cake is completely cooled, spread icing layer evenly on top. Place in refrigerator while making the topping.
- Make topping by melting chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan on low heat until melted and smooth.
- Sprinkle with chopped Andes mints.
- Place back into refrigerator until set.
- Cut into squares or rectangles and serve.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This recipe looks delicious, but what are the measurements used for the topping ingredients (chocolate chips and butter)? I can only see “one chopped Andes mints” under the toppings section.