The ultimate dessert combination…a brownie and a cookie, and as if that wasn’t phenomenal enough, OREO cookies are embedded within.
Have you ever eaten at Kneader’s Bakery & Cafe? It’s a chain restaurant located in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and Texas. It’s the best ever!
Last year during my family’s annual ski vacation to Utah, we hit up the place…twice. Once for breakfast and a different day for lunch.
The bottomless french toast with homemade caramel syrup, whipped cream and strawberries…I can’t even. And the turkey and cranberry sauce croissant sandwich…there are no words.
If you’re ever in one of the areas where it’s located, you must stop.
Anyhow, I love to gawk at their desserts displayed in the glass cabinets while I’m in line. They all make my mouth drop and water, but this particular day, the brownie cookie bars caught my eye. Not only did they involve fudgey, chocolatey brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough, but they had OREO cookies stuffed in the middle! That white cream filling was just oozing and begging me to partake!
My interest was more than piqued and I knew this had to be the best and most brilliant idea anyone has ever had in the history of the world. So I purchased one for myself (I may have been kind enough to share a bite with my hubby) and the rest is history. I knew I needed to make them at home since I can’t just drive hundreds of miles to get my Kneader’s fix every time the urge hits (which is often).
So while I was visiting family over Christmas break, I had the perfect opportunity to run some tests in my parent’s kitchen and I came up with the most delectable delight ever known to mankind.
{BROOKIE OREO BARS}
1 box of your favorite brownie mix, prepared according to package directions
1/2 recipe of this chocolate chip cookie dough
20 Double Stuf OREOs, or more if desired (double-stuffed is way better!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions and spread into a greased 9″x13″ pan. Place whole OREO cookies on top of the brownie batter as closely together as possible. Prepare 1/2 recipe of cookie dough according to directions, then grab small portions, flatten them in your hand, and place on top of the brownie batter. Piece them as close together as possible.
Tip: If the brownie recipe offers two versions, cake-like or fudge-like, be sure to make the fudge-like.
Cover pan with foil (to prevent the cookie dough from browning too much) and bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, or just until bars are cooked through but not dry. Let cool mostly, cut into squares, and enjoy!
I don’t trust myself with a pan of brownies, let alone when it’s combined with my number one choice in cookie dough and then infused with my favorite store-bought cookie ever, so I set the freshly-baked goodness out on the counter and my siblings made it disappear in a hurry.
The best part about them is that they don’t involve a ton of work because they use a brownie mix for the base! I prefer brownie mixes to the homemade variety, so it was a total win in my book.
But they had to have a homemade chocolate chip cookie dough, so that’s just what happened.
These bars have more brownie than cookie, but if you want to switch up the ratio, just double the cookie dough portion and let it bake for longer. Or, you can always reduce the brownie portion in half (just use half the batter and save the rest for another time) and then make the full recipe of cookie dough for different results. So many options, you just can’t go wrong!
Oh, and be sure to squeeze those OREOs as tightly together as you can in the pan, because you’ll thank yourself later!
I want to be best friends with these bars. I think I will.
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