Sitting at the gym, while the boys burned off some post-basketball energy, I grabbed a copy of “Family Circle” from the magazine rack. Browsing the pages, I found a wonderful nugget, the kind I crave, a strong candidate for “Cookie of the Week.”
Preparing to make “Oreo Brownies,” I found myself ill prepared. First, I did not have all of the specified ingredients. Second, I found myself short on time. Enter hubris, “Dave, you are wonderful. You can do it.” Thank you for the encouragement, ego, I think I’ll try this recipe anyway.
Substitute semi-sweet chocolate for unsweetened chocolate. Shorten the time needed to whisk the eggs. “You’ll be just fine,” my healthy baking ego reassured me. Confidence builder, indeed, but oh so wrong.
The brownies tasted fine, but they kept collapsing. I had to keep popping them back in the oven. Desperate attempts to save the brownies and my pride.
A sad pan of fallen brownies.
A photo of my first attempt. The photo is a blurry mess, sort of like the brownie it shows.
Alas, the only way I could build myself back up and reclaim cookie glory would be to try again. Tackle the recipe with a renewed sense of gusto and a pantry full of the correct ingredients.
Sure enough, my standard belief in baking was confirmed. The beauty of baking is that if you have a good recipe and you follow it faithfully, you will find success and baking happiness every time. #truth #wordstoliveby
A pan of successful Oreo Brownies, a thing of beauty.
OREO BROWNIES
“Trust me, these brownies are a delight. Make sure to purchase the unsweetened chocolate and take the necessary time whisking the eggs and you will end up with a treat well worth the wait. Oreo goodness intertwined within every moist brownie bite. Enjoy.”
¾ cup Butter
6 ounces Unsweetened Chocolate
4 Eggs
2 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1½ cups Flour
¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1 cup Oreo cookies
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In the microwave, melt together the butter and chocolate. Stop after every 30 seconds to stir.
Once fully melted, remove from the microwave and let cool.
Mix together the eggs and sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes. I know this seems like a long time, but it will give the butter/chocolate mixture time to cool and will enable the eggs to give the brownies their all.
Mix in the cooled butter/chocolate and vanilla extract.
Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Coarsely chop the Oreo cookies.
Stir ½ cup of the chopped Oreos into the brownie batter.
Pour batter into a 9”x9” baking pan that has been lined with aluminum foil and greased.
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of the chopped Oreos on top of the brownie batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the brownies are set.
Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Use foil to remove from pan, before cutting.
Makes about 16 brownies.
Revised Source: “Oreo Brownies” from Family Circle magazine.
An Oreo Brownie, its friends devoured, the last of its kind, all alone, the way life should be. #browniesuccess (Please, ignore the partial eclipse from my head. It appears as if my baking hubris has also caused my head to swell. #professionalhazard )