Oreo Brownie Cookie Bars

Have you ever had trouble deciding whether to make cookies or brownies? These 3 layer bars are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth with a chocolate chip cookie base, a layer of Oreos, and a layer of brownies on top! What could be a better combo?

This weekend, my younger sister came to visit me at college, and we decided to spend one night baking. I had heard about this recipe before, and since my sister loves anything and everything with chocolate and Oreos, I figured we would give this recipe a try. These bars were very easy to make, and they taste just as good as they look in the photo! Some recipes tell you to make your own brownie batter, but we took a shortcut and used a box mix. You could probably use store bought cookie dough too, but we went with homemade!

OREO BROWNIE COOKIE BARS
printable recipe
1 9x13 brownie mix (and ingredients to follow recipe on brownie box)
1 package Oreos (you can use any variety - we chose double stuffed)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter, brown, sugar and sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Stir in chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl, prepare brownie mix according to box instructions.

Press cookie dough in bottom of greased 9x13 pan.

Layer Oreo cookies on top of cookie dough (as many as will fit!)

Pour prepared brownie mix on top.

Bake for 35 minutes or until brownies appear sufficiently cooked.

Allow to cool before cutting!

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Treats!

It is surreal to be home for Thanksgiving after being away for three months for my first semester in college! Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays to spend time with family, and after being away at school, I was especially looking forward to sharing food and fun times with my relatives. I also like getting together for the holidays because it gives me an excuse to bake! With little time to pick out a recipe and start baking, I turned to my Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. If you followed my blog over the summer, you know that many of my posts came from this this trusty cookbook. Well, I am pleased to say, I ended up with another fool proof, delicious dessert! I knew that my other relatives would be bringing fruit pies and pumpkin desserts, so I opted for the chocolate brownie route. But these are no ordinary brownies, no, they are made with caramel, peanut butter chips, and toasted pecans. So even after filling up on turkey and casseroles galore, my relatives were able to make room for these decadent brownies.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES WITH CARAMEL, PEANUT BUTTER, AND PECANS
printable recipe

CRUST
2 1/4 graham cracker crumbs (about 16 full graham crackers)
1 1/2 sticks butter (melted)

CARAMEL FIlLLING
1 pound caramels
1/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup pecans (coarsely chopped and toasted in the oven at 350  degrees for about 10 minutes).

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

BROWNIE
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 9x13 inch pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into greased pan to serve as crust.

Melt the caramels and heavy cream over low heat until smooth. Pour over crust.

Sprinkle toasted pecans and peanut butter chips over caramel.

Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Pour chocolate into medium bowl and add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until combined.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the pan over the other ingredients.

Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Recipe from: The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

My mom and sister also took on a baking project of their own that was too cute not to share! These turkeys are made out of candy and Oreos, and they are, of course, a Pinterest find!

Enjoy!

Buckeye Bars

O-H! If you live in Columbus, I hope you gave an I-O reply! As an Ohio native, I attended my first Ohio State football game at an early age. Both of my parents are OSU alums, and even though I will not be attending the large university next year, I will always have a place in my heart for the OSU buckeyes.

Ohio State athletics and the famous horseshoe stadium play a large role in the  Columbus community. In addition to being a buckeye fan, you know you are from Columbus if:

1. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.
2. You measure distance in minutes.
3. You design your Halloween costume to fit over a winter coat.
4. Classes are canceled because of snow.
5. You know how to pronounce Scioto and Olentangy.
6. It is not unusual to see for a street called East North Broadway.
7. You like your pizza cut in squares.
8. You live in the suburbs, but can be in a cornfield within a few minutes.
9. You own a Buckeye necklace (see photo below!).
10. When driving, you slow down on 670 to smell the Wonderbread factory.

Columbus natives also enjoy chocolate peanut butter buckeye desserts. If you are a fan of the chocolate peanut butter combo, you will love these Buckeye Bars!

Buckeye Bars
printable recipe

CRUST:

1 ½ cups butter (melted)

3 ½ cups flour

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

2/3 cup finely chopped peanuts

¼ tsp. salt

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:

4 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

6 tbsp. sugar

1 egg

¼ cup milk

BROWNIE:

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ cup butter (softened)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (melted)

½ cup peanut butter chips

GARNISH:

¾ cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt unsweetened chocolate in double boiler over medium heat until completely melted (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool 5-10 minutes.

Combine all of the crust ingredients. Press crust into 12 x 18 inch jelly roll pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.

Combine peanut butter and cream cheese and beat until combined. Beat in sugar, egg, and milk.

To prepare brownies, cream butter and melted chocolate in medium bowl. Add sugar and cream until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla extract.

Add baking powder, salt, and flour and stir until just combined. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Spread most of the brownie batter over cooled crust. Drop peanut butter filling by the spoonful on top of brownie batter. Drop remaining brownie batter on top. Run a knife through the batter to create a swirl design.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Immediately sprinkle remaining peanut butter chips on brownies when out of oven.

Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Yields 54 2-inch brownies.

Recipe from the Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Go Bucks and Enjoy!

Buckeye Brownie Towers

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I decided to bake her an early present. She loves anything with chocolate and peanut butter, so these two ingredients were a must! I wanted to create something that was bite sized, not a cupcake, and elegant. Other than that, I had no ideas. I explored a few baking blogs and came across Baking with Basil's Brownie Buckeye Bites. Inspired by this recipe, here is my own take on the dessert!












BROWNIES
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
10 tbsp. butter (melted)
3 large eggs

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

GARNISH
Chopped Peanuts
Baking Chocolate for melting to create spiral topper and to dip the pretzels
Circle Pretzels

Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.

Combine the melted butter and cocoa powder. Melt the semisweet chocolate chips and add to the butter and cocoa powder. Add the oil, sugar, and eggs.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix by hand until just combined. Pour batter in parchment paper lined jelly roll pan. It is critical to line the pan with parchment!

Bake for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool and then place in refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a small circular cookie cutter to cut out the tops and bottoms for the towers. I found it helpful to dip the cookie cutter in a bowl of ice water each time to prevent it from sticking to the brownie. My cookie cutter was about 1.25" in diameter, and this yielded enough tops and bottoms for 20 brownie towers.

Combine the melter butter and powdered sugar for the peanut butter filling. Use a food chopper to achieve fine graham cracker crumbs. Add graham cracker crumbs and peanut butter to mix. Press into wax paper lined 8x8 inch pan. Put in freezer and allow to chill for 15 minutes. Use the same cookie cutter used for brownies to cut circles of peanut butter filling. You can crumble up the extra scraps and sprinkle on the top of the brownie towers as I did for the brownie towers I made and photographed.

 Take one peanut butter circle and roll the edge in melted baking chocolate before rolling in chopped peanuts. Stack the completed peanut butter circle between two brownie circles. Take pretzel circles and dip in baking chocolate (you can also use white baking chocolate).Place the pretzel on the top of the brownie tower.

Melt additional baking chocolate and place in plastic bag with corner cut off. Squeeze onto wax paper in spiral design. Chill spirals for 20 minutes before peeling off wax paper and placing on top of completed towers.

Enjoy!