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Santa's Trash Cookie Bars

Santa’s Trash Cookie Bars


  • Author: Lorenzo Devereaux
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 24 bars
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

Santa’s Trash Cookie Bars are the kind of festive dessert that instantly makes a holiday table feel more fun. These chewy cookie bars are loaded with chocolate chips, holiday candies, pretzels, white chocolate, and gooey marshmallows for the perfect sweet-and-salty bite. They are an easy recipe for Christmas baking, dessert trays, party treats, and holiday food ideas when you want something simple, colorful, and crowd-pleasing.


Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

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 semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup holiday M&M’s

1 cup mini pretzels, roughly crushed

1 cup mini marshmallows

2 tablespoons holiday sprinkles or snowflake decorations


Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease it lightly.

2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract until smooth.

4. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt just until the dough comes together.

5. Fold in the semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, most of the M&M’s, crushed pretzels, and mini marshmallows.

6. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.

7. Sprinkle the remaining M&M’s, a few extra pretzel pieces, and the holiday sprinkles over the top, pressing them in lightly.

8. Bake for 26 to 32 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center is just set.

9. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before slicing into squares.

Notes

For extra clean slices, let the bars cool fully before cutting and wipe the knife between cuts.

Do not overbake them. The center should still look slightly soft when you pull the pan out so the bars stay chewy.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bar
  • Calories: 258
  • Sugar: 21g
  • Sodium: 152mg
  • Fat: 13g
  • Saturated Fat: 7g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 5g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 34g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 3g
  • Cholesterol: 34mg

Keywords: Santa's Trash Cookie Bars, Christmas cookie bars, holiday dessert, easy recipe, cookie bar recipe, Christmas baking, dessert bars, party treats, easy dessert, food ideas