I can’t be the only one with a bowl sitting on my counter full of that bottom of the stocking candy that we didn’t eat while we were opening presents on Christmas day. It stares me down all day long and I”m pretty good about it until Mr. McKinney comes home and then he starts pilfering through it. We need it to disappear.
So, this last week I needed to take a dessert to an after Christmas gathering and it seemed that Candy Bar Cake would be the perfect edition. I had something that inspired me when I attended the Guess N Co. Warehouse Sale back in November. Its crazy, the largest Christmas Warehouse Sale in the South is in Des Arc, Arkansas in an old Van Heusen factory and it was 60,000 square feet of Christmas bliss. But, before we went in, we journey into Mrs. Claus Cafe to have the cake bars I had been eyeballing on Instagram. While I didn’t have her recipe, I took my favorite Ooey Gooey Butter Cake recipe and did my version of a Candy Bar Cake Bar. Yes, it was as ridiculous as it sounds. Or, as I like to say duh-lish!
Candy Bar Cake Bars
Ingredients
- 1 Dark Fudge Chocolate Cake Mix
- 1 stick butter melted
- 4 eggs use separately
- 8 ounce pkg cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 Cups powdered sugar
- 1 Cup Rolos cut in half (could substitute or combine milky way, Snickers, Reeces Cups, mint patties, etc.)
- 12 roughly chopped/broken Oreo cookies
- ½ Cup M&M’s could substitute with Reece’s pieces
- Colored sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a stand mixer, beat together cake mix, melted butter, and 2 eggs.
- Spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Press the cake mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Making sure to press up the sides a tiny bit to make a crust edge.
- (Tip: wet your fingers as you press the cake mixture in the bottom and you can get an even spread)
- Wash out the mixing bowl.
- In a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, and 2 eggs.
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and hand stir in 3/4th of the roughly chopped cookies and candies, saving the M&M’s and sprinkles for the end.
- Pour cream cheese mixture on top of the crust.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes or until cream cheese mixture is set and edges are browning.
- Remove from oven and scatter top with remaining cookies, candy, M&M’s and festive sprinkles.
- Press candies in a little and candies will melt into the topping.
- Let cool before serving.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Safari party – butter or chocolate cake mix on the bottom and black and white candies for toppings
Valentines – strawberry or red velvet cake bottom and coordinating candies
Halloween – chocolate, funfetti Halloween, or orange cake bottom and mix up with all kinds of favorite candy and eyeball sprinkles One suggestion is if you use peanut butter flavored candy, it will take over everything. I would suggest focusing on that flavor or leaving it out.
Any variety or combination of cookies/candies will work, except fruity things, just leave those out! The total amount of candy/cookies should not exceed 3 cups, but you will want them roughly chopped and incorporated into the cream cheese mixture.
This is a great recipe to use for other holidays like Easter or Halloween or match a birthday party theme with a child’s favorite candies.
So, that’s a recipe, but let’s be honest the real reason you are making this is to use up that candy in that bowl, so just mix and match with what you have or want to get rid of and see what you come up with. The only rule here is to leave the fruity candy for another recipe.
This would be perfect after Easter or topped with Cadbury eggs or Easter colored M & M’s. And of course, it would be a lovely graveyard for all that Halloween candy you hoard and hide on top of the refrigerator.
