I did not like this recipe at all. The dough was extremely sticky and hard to work with. The directions said to bake until firm, but after the time specified it collapsed when I poked it, so I kept it in, and then it got hard on top. Even then, the dough was still sticky and dense, and greasy from having to grease the pan. I was barely able to get it out of the pan at all, let alone in nicely sliced bars. It was a terrible mess and I'll never try that again.

I absolutely love these!! Mine don't ever turn out bad, like others have stated and I have made them several times. I do however omit the chopped candy canes. I just use the peppermint flavoring in the dough, sometimes sprinkle the chopped candy canes on top of the chocolate. It's never been too sticky to work with like others have said. I just flour my hands and spread it, its not difficult at all. GREAT CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPE!!!!

great Christmas cookie

For those of you having trouble with the dough, remember that this is a sugar cookie dough. Don't try to work it like a pastry dough or a brownie. I use this variation and it never fails. Use a 10x15 jelly roll pan. Drop small spoonfuls of dough evenly across the pan until only small open spaces are left between the spoonfuls. Press everything together gently but firmly and bake for about 12 minutes. I use 2 cups of chocolate chips (which does take longer to 'set'). For a greater taste contrast, use dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet. It is easier to 'pre-cut' the bars when the chocolate is almost, but not quite, hardened. Use the blade of a pastry cutter and press down, or use a heavy-duty pizza wheel. My bars always keep a nice 'chewy 'cookie' texture for a long time - even when I shipped them to a campus and they sat in the mailroom for 3 days before being picked up. I think that must be because they are only about as thick as a cookie. As far as I'm concerned, the worst part is peeling the plastic off of the candy canes! (Thus - only 4 stars instead of 5!) Good Luck!

I totally agree with BARB72. This recipe sounded really great and looked good, but was too pepper-minty. After I cooked it, the dough was hard on the edges and mushy in the middle. Also very greasy.

Clever concept. Just have to be careful cooking the cookie portion if you live in a "high altitude" area. I made that mistake on my first try with this recipe.

A must have for our Christmas trays from now on, these are pretty as well as delicious and simple to prepare. The only thing I would change is to leave the crushed canes out of the dough, and just sprinkle some on top of the chocolate. I did not have any trouble with sticky dough because here's what I did: I wet my hands down before pressing the dough into the pan, and when it was all nice and even in the pan I dabbed up any excess water up with a paper towel so it wouldn't burn.

My children love peppermint but were not crazy about this recipe. It would help to include the approximate amount of candy canes that would equal the measurements.

An excellent Christmas treat. The amount of peppermint candy seems excessive but when baked the flavor mellows. A must try for peppermint lovers.

These are so good! To keep my hands from getting dough all over them, I used waxed paper to flatten the dough into the pan. This made it so much easier! The only problem I had with these bars was getting them out of the pan. I let them cool completely by putting them in the fridge, but for some reason, they did not want to come out of the pan. I will use a different pan next time. Definately a keeper though!