Mint Oreo Brookies

The great part about some of the dessert recipes I am sharing with you is that they tend to be "winter" desserts that you can make anytime in the season and a lot of the mint chocolate recipes are great for St. Patrick's Day. Hahaha, yes, I am already thinking ahead for upcoming holidays! I can't wait, especially for Valentine's Day! I love that holiday!

Today I woke up early to do my after holiday sale creeping. I had high hopes from last year but sadly this year I was a bit disappointed -- well somewhat. I love using after holiday sales to stock up on dog toys. I really love Ninja having a lot of toys but he also can rip up toys fairly quickly. And since Ninja has no clue (and probably wouldn't care) that he's playing with Christmas toys in the summer ;) it works perfectly. BUT this year there was nothing but a few things left :/ I was able to pick up a few really nice Christmas things like gift tags, ribbons, bows and wrapping paper. And they are so cute that I cannot wait till next year! AND I made the hubby promise that next year we could spend the holidays with my family!

If you remember, I love cookie bars because it's the fun of eating a cookie without all the scooping BUT I have never made a brookie!!! I love when I make something for the first time. These are super simple to whip up BUT if you want it even easier (like making these in less than 30 minutes) you can use a family size fudge brownie boxed mix. This will cut your prep time down significantly. These brookies have the same amazing fudgey goodness of brownies! Plus they have that awesome crunch of Oreos and the melty mint goodness of the Oreo filling.

MINT OREO BROOKIES 

Adapted from Averie Cooks

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 stick of butter, melted
1 large egg
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. of peppermint or mint extract
20 Mint Oreos, quartered

*to cut down on prep time you can use boxed brownie mix. 

DIRECTIONS

Line a 8 x 8 baking dish with aluminum foil. Grease aluminum foil with butter, shortening or cooking spray. This will help when removing bars from baking dish, allow for cooling, and easier, cleaner cutting into squares.

In a small bowl, sift and then whisk together cocoa powder and flour. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine melted butter (slightly cooled as you don't want to cook the eggs), eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Stir in dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Remove from stand mixer and fold half of the Oreos into the batter. Transfer batter to baking dish and spread evenly using a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining Oreos evenly over the batter and then slightly press into the batter. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting.

Enjoy,
Chika