Cookies 'n' Cream Oreo Almond Brownies

Two days till Thanksgiving. Two. Days! I can smell the stuffing now, people. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I could happily make my meal on this carbiest of side dishes alone…even the turkey seems gratuitous sometimes.

In spite of my preoccupation with the entree, though, I always make sure to leave room for dessert. And just in case you’re still scrambling for something sweet to counteract the tryptophan, I’m sharing these bangarang (technical term) brownies with you.

The debate among brownie purists rages: cakey or fudgy?

I am firmly in the fudgy camp. I want my brownies to be rich and dense, and I never want to forget that I had to melt a whole bar of chocolate (practically) in order to make them. If you’re like me, these treats will be right up your alley. No crumbly bars here–just chocolatey chew when you sink your teeth into ‘em.

(My mom also surprised me with a box of these Cookies ‘n’ Cream Ice Cream Oreos! I couldn’t resist throwing them in the batter. They’re not that different from the regular creme filling, but there’s a touch of added sweetness that hearkens back to its ice cream cousin.)

Cookies ‘n’ Cream Oreo Almond Brownies
Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 10 tbsp butter, softened (I used 8 tbsp unsalted and 2 tbsp Olive Oil and Sea Salt)
• 2 oz. unsweeted chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used a mix of Green & Black’s Almond and 70% Dark)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 generous tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 15-20 Cookies ‘n’ Cream Ice Cream Oreos, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line an 8×8 pan (I used Pyrex) with foil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour and baking powder together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolates and butter together, heating in 30-second increments and stirring after each. (Pour mixture into larger bowl for the next steps if your microwave is too tiny to fit mixing bowls like mine is.)
4. Whisk in sugars and vanilla, then whisk in eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.
5. Add dry ingredients and whisk until just combined and no dry streaks remain–don’t overmix. Fold in about 2/3 of the Oreos.
6. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread with a flat spatula. Press remaining 1/3 of Oreos onto the top of the batter.
7. Bake for 35-37 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out with fudgy crumbs.
8. Cool in pan for five minutes, then remove sling and allow brownies to cool completely on a wire rack for several hours. Store in the refrigerator to maintain desired fudginess!

Makes 16-20 brownies, one 8×8 pan.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! I’ll be spending mine skimping on vegetables so I can have extra desserts–but more importantly, I’ll be spending it as someone incredibly blessed to have a full table, a loving family, warmth, power, and shelter in the winter months. This may be a Christmas saying, but to me it’s appropriate this week as well: “God bless us, every one.”

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