Description
Santa’s Trash Cookie Bars are a quick dessert packed with chocolate, pretzels, candy pieces, and buttery cookie dough in every bite. This easy recipe is perfect for holiday dessert trays, Christmas party treats, easy dessert ideas, festive baking days, and fun food ideas when you want a sweet and salty bar everyone gets excited about.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 cup red and green candy-coated chocolates
1 cup mini pretzels, roughly broken
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons holiday sprinkles or sugar snowflakes
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and creamy.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract.
4. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined.
5. Fold in the chocolate chunks, candy-coated chocolates, pretzel pieces, chopped peanuts, and white chocolate chips, saving a little of each for the top.
6. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
7. Sprinkle the reserved mix-ins and holiday sprinkles over the top.
8. Bake for 28 to 34 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center is just set.
9. Cool completely before lifting from the pan and slicing into bars.
Notes
Do not overbake these bars or they will lose that soft, chewy center that makes them so good.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 342
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 176mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 41mg
Keywords: Santa's Trash Cookie Bars, holiday dessert, Christmas cookie bars, easy dessert, festive baking, sweet and salty bars, dessert ideas, food ideas