Easy Christmas Cookie Bars
These Christmas Cookie Bars come together quickly and are a very festive addition to a holiday dessert table. No one has to know they start with a cake mix!
Pin Easy Christmas Cookie Bars to make later.
Ingredients for Christmas Cookie Bars
- Yellow Cake Mix – You need a mix that is 15.25 ounces.
- Butter – I use unsalted but if you use salted omit the salt.
- Milk – Whole or 2% works best.
- Salt – I like to use sea salt.
- Eggs – Large eggs are required.
- Christmas Sprinkles – Also known as jimmies.
- M&Ms – The Christmas mix is all red and green M&Ms.
- White Chocolate Chips – My favorite brand is Ghirardelli but use your favorite.
You’ll also need a cooking spray with flour to coat the 9 x 13-inch pan.
Tips and Substitutions
There are so many ways you can make these Christmas M&M cookie bars your own. Plus, by adapting the mix-ins you can serve these for any holiday, any time of year.
- Use a white cake mix with a red, white, and blue theme for July 4th.
- A chocolate cake mix with the traditional M&Ms, white chocolate chips, and rainbow sprinkles are perfect for a birthday party.
- Use a spice cake mix with butterscotch chips and pecans or walnuts.
- Make this Christmas cookie bars recipe with milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips.
- Try a white cake mix with pastel candies, pastel sprinkles, and white chocolate chips.
- For peanut butter lovers a chocolate cake mix with peanut butter chips and peanut butter candies mixed in will be a satisfying treat.
- A brownie mix with white chocolate chips, sprinkles, and nuts would be rich and chocolatey.
These cookie bars are jam-packed, loaded if you will, with delicious goodness. The side view shows off the candies, sprinkles, and festive nature of this Christmas treat.
Because this cookie bar recipe starts with a cake mix you save a bit of money on ingredients making it a bit more economical than starting from scratch. Who doesn’t love saving money?
Plus, they come together quickly for a last-minute party or bake sale.
How do you store cake mix bars?
No need to refrigerate these cookie bars. Store extras in an airtight container at room temperature.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It starts with a cake mix.
- There’s candy in the bars.
- There are sprinkles in the bars.
- The bars also have white chocolate.
- Kids can easily help make the Christmas M&M cookie bars.
- They are festive for the Christmas holidays.
More tasty recipes that start with a cake mix
- Elvis Presley Cake – Moist and delicious and perfect for any occasion.
- Coconut Cake – An impressive cake for a special occasion.
- Chocolate Overload Cookies – For the true chocolate lover.
More easy bar recipes
- Frosted Eggnog Cookie Bars – A great way to use up any leftover eggnog.
- Tropical Cheesecake Bars – A taste of the tropics any time of year.
- No-Bake Orange Creamsicle Bars – Reminiscent of a childhood treat.
- Pumpkin Spice Bars – A holiday treat for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.
Easy Christmas M&M Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- One 15.25-ounce package yellow cake mix
- ¾ cup 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/8â…› teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Christmas mix sprinkles
- ½ cup red and green candy-coated chocolate candies I used M&Ms
- ½ cup white chocolate morsels
- Nonstick baking spray for the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, butter, milk, salt, and eggs until the consistency of a batter.
- In a second bowl, mix the sprinkles, chocolate candies, and vanilla morsels. Fold two-thirds of the candy mix into the batter.
- Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan with baking spray. Add the batter to the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle over the remaining candy mix and bake until golden and set in the middle, 25 to 27 minutes. Allow to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Cut into 16 bars.
My kids love anything with sprinkles, so we had to make these! Needless to say they didn’t last long.
I made these to put in my cookie boxes this year. They are so colorful and pretty, not to mention delicious! I think they might have to make an appearance every year from now on…
Cookie bars are the best- so easy and festive!
I adore cake mix cookies; they are ready so quickly and these were even better being bar cookies! Great recipe!
I ran out of time and needed a quick cookie for a party, so I tried your recipe and it was amazing! Everyone gobbled them up and insisted I share the recipe! Win!
These are so festive! Would be perfect on a cookie tray.
I made these for a cookie exchange and absolutely love them. So easy to make. They helped to make the table bright with the spirit of Christmas. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Pat! Thank you so much for coming back to comment and let me know how much you enjoyed the Christmas cookie bars. You made my day!
It’s always nice to grab a cake mix and bake something other than a cake with it! Especially during the busy holiday season!