Ok these 3 ingredient brownies are a lifesaver! Have you ever been in this situation? You’re invited to a party and offer to bring dessert when all of the sudden you realize you have two hours until the party and no time to bake something from scratch? These brownies fool everyone into thinking you took much longer on them than you actually did.

All you need are three ingredients: Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix, cream cheese frosting, and peppermint chocolate bark. I will swear by the Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownies until the day I die. They are hands down the best box mix brownie out there.

First up, mix up the brownie batter and try to resist eating it all. It’s just as good as the baked brownies in my opinion. I like to buy the bulk pack of multiple mixes they sell at Costco. That way, I always have my favorite brownie mix on hand when the occasion arises that I need to whip up a quick dessert.

Next up, while the brownies are baking, mix up the simplest cream cheese frosting recipe:

1/2 block cream cheese

2 Cups powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

I let this whip together for a few minutes until it’s creamy and light and fluffy. Feel free to add more or less heavy whipping cream depending on the consistency you would like. I like mine pretty stiff and thick so it holds its shape on the brownies.

Then, grab a block of peppermint bark and cut it up into very small pieces with a sharp knife. This was much easier than I anticipated because peppermint bark is really crumbly once you dig into it. I used the Trader Joes Peppermint Bark for this recipe. I used less than one square, so it stretches far.

I wait until the brownies are completely cooled and then slice them up and plate them individually before frosting. I find that the frosting looks best this way.

My best frosting tip: if you don’t have piping bags handy, simply put your frosting in a ziploc bag and snip off one corner. Easiest switch ever and works almost exactly the same in my opinion.

I think the combo of peppermint bark on top of the frosting really ups the look of this simple dessert. Another cute and festive idea would be crushed peppermints or candy canes.