No Bake Christmas Squares

No Bake Christmas Squares have a rich, chocolatey base prepared with crushed cookies, cocoa, and brown sugar. They are topped with melted white chocolate, crushed candy canes, and holiday M&Ms. Only 25 minutes from start to finish!

In our home, sweets and treats that are Christmas-themed are vitally important to a happy and festive holiday.  We all love to have a big selection of cookies to choose from.  We love to package up goody bags and take them to our neighbours.  There’s always a large platter of cookies on the coffee table for our annual Christmas Eve movie marathon! And there must be M&Ms, just like in the case of these No Bake Christmas Squares!

Do you and your family have any Christmas Eve traditions?  We have a few traditions that we stick to.   They are tried and true and it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them.  First, there’s the Christmas Eve movie marathon.  Every Christmas Eve we watch the Elf movie. I will prepare a large charcuterie. That is followed by homemade cookies, squares, and balls.

The Elf movie is a must and is usually the first one we watch.  The second movie must be a Christmas classic.  We have a collection that we bring out every year. And, every year, we add another movie or two to the collection.  Those are movies like It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34^th Street, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol, etc. And, every Christmas season, we try to get our fill of Christmas horror movies as well.  Why? Well, McKenna and I absolutely love horror movies.  John.e is not a huge fan. But, he’s come a long way in the past few years and will sit and watch with us.  Do you watch Christmas horror movies? Anyway, I digress!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the bars and squares recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifle Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. My third series this year is the second volume of my 12 Bars and Squares of Christmas! You can find the first bars and squares series here! Before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 12 BARS AND SQUARES OF CHRISTMAS – Volume 2

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the third of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 12 Bars and Squares of Christmas – Volume 2! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family.

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Bars and Squares of Christmas series! Even though this is the third series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter
• Cocoa Powder – Cocoa powder is an unsweetened chocolate product that adds deep chocolate flavour to desserts and beverages.  Use a good quality cocoa powder, not the kind we used to stir into milk as kids! If you don’t have dark, you can use regular cocoa.
• Brown Sugar
• Peppermint Extract
• Milk – When a baking recipe requires milk, I always use whole milk, unless otherwise stated. 
• Arrowroot Cookies – Here’s a link to what they look like!
• White Chocolate Chips
• Vegetable Oil
• M&Ms
• Candy Canes

HOW TO MAKE NO BAKE CHRISTMAS SQUARES

Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Fold the parchment paper so that it fits snugly in the pan. I use two sheets – one folded to fit the length of the pan and another folded to fit across the pan. Allow the excess parchment paper to hang out over the side of the pan. Once the confection is firm, use the excess parchment to lift the whole block out of the pan to make it easy to cut into squares.

Transfer the arrowroot cookies to a food processor and pulse until you are left with fine crumbs. Set aside. Place the butter, cocoa powder, and brown sugar into a large saucepan. Over medium-low heat, combine the two ingredients, stirring constantly, until the brown sugar has dissolved. Remove the butter mixture from the heat and stir in the peppermint extract and milk. Add the crushed arrowroot cookies to the saucepan and stir well to combine. Transfer the contents of the saucepan to the prepared baking pan and flatten to an even layer. Set aside.

To prepare the topping, place the white chocolate chips, vegetable oil, and peppermint extract into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at half power in 30-second increments, stirring well between each increment until the mixture is melted and smooth. Pour the melted chocolate over the base layer and use an offset spatula to spread it out evenly. Sprinkle over the crushed candy canes and the M&Ms. Refrigerate for 4 hours before cutting into squares. Package in a food-safe container and keep refrigerated.

NO-BAKE RECIPES

I used to think that the term no-bake meant that a recipe was more of an assembly-type recipe. Something like a salad, for example. It sounds simple enough, right? Toss the lettuce and any other veggies you want into a bowl. Top it with cheese, croutons, avocado, hard-boiled egg, etc. Add some dressing and you’re all done! But, no-bake actually just means no baking. There still might be some stove-top cooking needed – or even a microwave, for that matter. To prepare these No Bake Christmas Squares, you will need to use your stovetop!

Some other no-bake-type holiday recipes you might enjoy are these Rudolph’s Red Nose Cookies. Hairy Moose Droppings are delicious and always quite the conversation starter! Just like these Caramel Peanut Slices were a favourite of my mom’s so were these Marshmallow Coconut Balls and so were these Christmas Crunch Cookies. You can find many more no-bake cookie recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen by using the search field at the top of this page.

COCOA POWDER

Cocoa powder is an unsweetened chocolate product that adds deep chocolate flavour to desserts and beverages.  Use a good quality cocoa powder, not the kind we used to stir into milk as kids! I have two types of cocoa that I use when baking. In cookies like these Hot Chocolate Cookies, just a regular, inexpensive cocoa powder will do just fine. Even though I don’t care for Hershey’s chocolate, I do like to use Hershey’s cocoa powder for cookies.

If, however, I’m making a cake or a cookie recipe with very few ingredients, I want to use better-quality cocoa powder. For me, Fry’s Premium Quality Cocoa has all that I’m looking for. It has a stronger chocolatey scent than other cocoa powders. When it comes to flavour, Fry’s wins out again. The only thing that Fry’s doesn’t offer is a deeper, chocolatey colour like you see in the photos. I find that Hershey’s does a better job in terms of colour.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

Most no-bake confections are made without the need to freeze them for long periods of time, but they can be frozen. For this recipe, I have tested whether or not they can be frozen, and they certainly can! Once they are completely firm, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  You can freeze these for up to three months.

If you plan to give previously frozen bars or squares as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!