Red Velvet M&Ms Bars

You’ve probably heard of cookie exchanges…they happen quite a bit around Christmastime. Well, how about a Valentine cookie exchange? I was invited to one a few years ago and it was great! It’s always fun to make (and eat) Valentine-themed treats! I was a little short on time, so I needed to make something fairly easy, but still wanted it to be very yummy. I had seen lots of recipes for cake mix bars and cookies, so I thought I’d come up with my own version of Red Velvet bars made with cake mix. Any Red Velvet recipe seems appropriate for Valentine’s Day, right?

These bars are actually more like brownies than cookies, with lots of M&M’s® and semi-sweet mini chocolate chips added in! If you’re looking for a simple Valentine treat to make, with lots of yummy chocolate flavor, you’ll want to try these out!

Red Velvet M&Ms Bars

Servings: 16-20
Time: 45mins
Difficulty: easy
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RED VELVET M&Ms BARS by NancyC

Makes a 9×13″ pan

1 (16.5-ounce) box of Red Velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines®) Signature Red Velvet Cake Mix)
1 large egg
1/3 cup canola oil or light olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (11.4-ounce) bag Valentine M&M’s® (about 1 2/3 cups), divided

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease or line a 9×13″ baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.

Mix cake mix, egg, oil, milk, and vanilla extract until blended—your batter will be fairly thick, but still stirable. Fold in the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of the M&M’s, stirring to distribute evenly in batter (save the rest of the M&M’s for sprinkling on top).

Press batter evenly into your prepared 9×13″ pan and sprinkle with the remaining M&M’s, pressing them into the batter. Bake at 350˚F for 23 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean (the toothpick may have a red tint to it when you pull it out). Cool completely, then cut into bars (if you lined your pan with parchment paper, lift the bars out of your pan with the parchment paper edges, and cut into bars).

Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com

These bars hit the spot if you’re wanting something chocolatey! What kinds of goodies are you making for Valentine’s Day?

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