Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cookie & Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars

I know it's been FOREVER since my last post.  With the holidays and then husband job-related stuff, it's been crazy town.  Now that the girls and I are visiting family I can finally get back to baking. For our big Sunday family dinner, we decided to make Chocolate Chip Cookie & Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars. My mom and I had seen this recipe on Kevin & Amanda and have been obsessed ever since. It's hard to make such and indulgent dessert like this for just myself and my mom so we had to wait until we had a big family event.

 
My ever present helper
 
Mixing the dough in my Patriots jersey.
 
The first thing you do is make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. It takes the longest, and it's the first layer of the bar.
Softened Butter
Add Sugars

After you allow your butter to come to room temperature, you add your sugars and blend with electric mixer until creamy.  Then you add your eggs and vanilla.  Once that is all blended, you add your dry ingredients. I know most people say to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, but I have never done that.  I just pile them all on top of the wet ingredients and mix. The last thing I add (because yes, I do taste test the dough) are the chocolate chips.  Once that is all mixed, spread the dough in a 9x13 pan.  The recipe I was following called for lining the pan with wax paper, but my mom was out of it so I just sprayed the pan really well.
See, just pile on top.
Cookie Dough all spread in the pan.

After your dough is all spread in the pan you top it with the double stuffed oreos. This was the easiest part.


Already looks delish!

Then you make your brownie mix according to the package directions. I used Dunkin Hines Dark Chocolate brownie mix(I prefer Betty, but couldn't find the flavor I wanted). I then added 1/4 cup chocolate fudge sauce to the brownie mix stirring until it was evenly mixed. Then I poured it over the cookie dough/brownie mixture. I used a rubber spatula to make sure it was evenly spread.
Ready to be baked.
 
Now here is were I totally fudged the instructions. I said I would be honest in this blog, so here it is. I TOTALLY messed up the cooking of this recipe. I read that it should be cooked in a 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes.  Totally missed the first part that said to cook it covered first for 30min.  I cooked it about 35-40 min after constantly checking it and noticing that it was really gooey.  So mine ended up VERY gooey. Still good but gooey. I'll give you the *correct* instructions with the recipe at the end.
Out of the oven
All done and SUPER fudgy.
 
After watching the end of the Pats playoff game, we cut into these. They were super, super rich.  We didn't top ours with ice cream, but I would TOTALLY recommend it. I think I good scoop of vanilla ice cream would totally cut down on the richness of the dessert. And honestly, I've been eating the leftovers, and they were even better the next day.  And as always, the most important thing, Kaedence loved this dessert.
 
Recipe:
2 sticks softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 pkg (12oz) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos
1 Family Size (9×13) Brownie mix
1/4 cup hot fudge topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Add dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
Stir in chocolate chips. 
Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. 
Top with a layer of Oreos. 
Mix together brownie mix, adding an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix. 
Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. 
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. 
Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes.
Let cool completely before cutting.
 
Hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as we did!