The Loaded Brownie

Have you guys heard of the slutty brownie (variations here, here, and here)? If you haven’t, you need to acquaint yourselves quickly! It has been called, by some, the best brownie ever. Well, that may be true, but I would like to throw my brownie into the competition. This is my version of the slutty brownie. Instead of a cookie dough base, this is 100% brownie loaded with whole Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Oreos. So I will lovingly refer to it as the Loaded Brownie.

To make these brownies, all you need is your favorite brownie recipe or mix (confession: I used a brownie mix) and some leftover candy and Oreo’s. I used peanut butter cups because…well, just because. Who doesn’t like chocolate and peanut butter?

I cut each peanut butter cup and Oreo in half and placed them on top of half of the brownie mix. I wanted to ensure that each brownie would have both pieces of Reese’s and Oreos. I topped them with the rest of the brownie mix and baked according to package directions.

I found that these took a little bit longer to bake because they are thicker than normal, but if you like fudgey, gooey brownies, then don’t worry about the extra time.

It took every patient fiber of my being not to cut into these brownies immediately out of the oven. And I clearly didn’t wait long enough because the chocolate was still melted inside….but OH MY GOSH…how could I resist?! This brownie is simply amazing! Don’t believe me? Well, don’t take my word for it, but take my sweet coworkers word for it. A little old man on my floor who I rarely see, let alone talk to sent me an email to tell me this was the best brownie he’s ever had. Proof!

And he’s not wrong. It’s the best brownie I’ve ever had! So if you have any leftover Halloween candy (wait, whats that?), make these brownies. Load them up with Reese’s, Oreos, Snickers, Rolos, Twix, or whatever chocolaty candy you like best.

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There may never be two things on this earth quite so divine yet humble (especially to my sweet tooth) than cookie dough and Oreo cookies. If you find the previous sentence offensive or utterly ridiculous, then you are probably a better person than I, and we probably won’t ever be friends. I’m sorry….or, you’re welcome?

While I would love to take credit for such a glorious collision of childhood treats, I cannot. You should thank the good people in the Nabisco test kitchen for this flavor combination. I will, however, take credit for sharing with you how I recreated this treat so you can have yourself a homemade and all-natural(ish) take on a classic. I might even venture to say they are better than the original.

Like any ~~good~~ sandwich cookie, there are two key parts: the cookie and the filling. An Oreo cookie is light, crisp, and a bit crumbly so I knew I did not want to make a soft and chewy cookie. To get the cookie consistency I was looking for I employed the same technique you would to make a delicious, crumbly biscuit (full circle, people): cold butter. Before getting all my other ingredients together, I cubed up some butter and popped it in the freezer to get extra cold while I assembled everything else.

My other not so secret ingredient to make the cocoa flavor extra bold was espresso powder. You don’t taste the espresso flavor at all, but it adds depth and richness to the cocoa that will really make the flavor pop.The standard Oreo filling seems to be your basic buttercream, which is just butter and sugar…maybe some vanilla. To make the buttercream for these cookies a bit more cookie dough-like, I used both brown sugar and powdered sugar, a bit of salt, chocolate chips, and some flour to thicken it to be more “doughy”.

Assembling the cookies is the easiest part of the whole process, as you might imagine. But just be sure to let the cookies cool entirely or else you will have a melted puddle of butter and sugar (doesn’t sound so bad to me, actually). I scooped about 2 tsp to 1 tbsp of filling onto a cookie, then topped it with another. You may want to vary this depending on the size of your cookie.

Also, like normal cookie dough, this is also great to eat out of the bowl.

Or just lick straight off the cookie. No judgement here.

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