Spice Cake Bars with Peeps in Snow Frosting

These spice cake bars are perfect for the holidays – they are cake-y, moist, and sweet. And the Peeps on top make them so festive!

I’m in love with so many things about winter and the holidays. Where do I even begin? Well – one of the things I love is gingerbread/spice cake. I also love the cold weather.

I love the color palettes . . . I’m a big fan of blue, silver, and white (and red, white, and green too!). I love the parties. And I LOVE the holiday Peeps!

Yes – I’m one of those people who looks forward to the Peeps every Easter. I get thrilled when I see the little green, yellow, orange, and pink chicks on my drugstore shelves.

I’m also quite thrilled that Peeps have expanded into other holiday seasons as well – Christmas being one of them!

This year I was sent several packages of holiday Peeps with the goal of making a recipe with them. Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever had an easier challenge! I received the following PEEPS® to try:

• PEEPS® Hot Cocoa & Cream Flavored Marshmallow Chicks Dipped in White Fudge
• PEEPS® Milk Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookie Flavored Chicks

While I loved them both for snacking (get in mah belleh!), I knew that the Hot Cocoa & Cream in particular would be the “pièce de résistance” of a dessert I was planning – spice cake bars with frosting! If you have never had a spice cake bar, you’re missing out.

It’s that time of year to make this simple dessert bar recipe for a party, for neighbor gifts (you can easily wrap these individually), or just to eat as a delicious Christmas dessert during the holidays.

Spice Cake Bar Recipe

Ingredients

• One box spice cake mix
• One egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of milk (you may need a little more or less)
• For the frosting:
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• To decorate the top:
  • White/blue sprinkles and/or snowflake sprinkles
  • Hot Cocoa & Cream Peeps – at least two packs

Tools

• 9″ square cake pan

I used six Peeps, but ended up cutting nine bars. If you plan better than I did, you can fit nine Peeps in the pan if you like!

Everything about these little Peeps cake bars is amazing. The Peeps are just sitting on the snow . . . waiting to be eaten!

Get the printable recipe card below.

Spice Cake Bars

This spice cake bar recipe is perfect for the holidays – they are cake-y, moist, and sweet. And the Peeps on top make them so festive!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 9 bars

Ingredients

• 1 box spice cake mix
• 1 egg(s)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 T butter
• 2 T milk
• 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 Peeps

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the spice cake mix with one egg and the vegetable oil. The mixture is going to be pretty thick, but this will give you a good idea of how much milk you need. I prepared 1/3 cup of milk and poured most of it in . . . then stirred.
• The goal is to get the mixture to just thin enough that it can be stirred. It will definitely be thicker than you are used to with a typical cake recipe.
• Once the mixture is thin enough to stir, mix well for several minutes. Then pour into a 9 x 9 non-stick or greased cake pan.Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the center is done (you can test with a toothpick; make sure it comes out clean).
• Allow to cool for 30 minutes or until the center sets. While the cake bars are cooling, make the vanilla frosting.
• Place 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons milk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract to the sugar. Stir to combine.
• The mixture should be frosting consistency; if it isn’t, add a touch of milk and keep stirring until it reaches desired consistency.
• Immediately spread on the cake bars with a knife. Sprinkle your sprinkles and snowflakes on top; place your Peeps directly into the icing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 412mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg

Now I’d love to know, what is your favorite recipe with holiday Peeps? Let me know in the comments!