Fantastic Oreo Brownies

This recipe is taken from BBC GoodFood's October 2020 magazine and can also be found online here. 

The original recipe, has been paired down, by me in this post, which is why I have included the original recipe link too in case you want to have a look. In this instance, I have taken out a step and some ingredients because they were for specific Halloween themed icing on the Oreos, which in April, is not something I particularly wanted. The end result of these brownies were super chocolatey and luxurious, the only problem that was picked up was a slight overbaking: I think they could have done with 5 mins less in the oven as the brownies do continue to cook in the warm tin slightly after being removed from the oven. 

Also, as a tip, when checking if the brownies are done, poke your knife/skewer/toothpick into the cakes in various places as I think that I might have accidentally poked through a chocolate chip when I was checking if it was cooked all the way through, so beware! 

Finally, this recipe can definitely be used as a base recipe for other brownies e.g adding dried fruit, crushed up biscuits and marshmallows for a rocky road brownie, or drizzling on top with caramel and adding banana into the mixture for banoffee brownies whatever floats your boat is fine. Let me know how they turn out for you, on Pinterest or in the comments below. 

Enjoy!

Dietary Info:

-Contains Dairy 

{Use a lactose free version of butter or margarine, for example Sunflower Oil spread or plant-based block of butter. And in place of the milk chocolate, you have two options, one do extra dark chocolate or two, use a dairy-free milk chocolate like this one}

-No Nuts

-Contains Gluten 

{If you use a G-F plain flour as an alternative, you may need to add an extra egg or a splash of milk as G-F flour tends to absorb more liquid}
-Vegetarian

-Unsuitable for Vegans 

{See above for Dairy suggestions and for the egg, you could use a chia egg, I have also heard that you can use things like apple puree and mashed bananas in place of eggs as well for the liquid aspect of the egg, if you are not using them in say meringues}

-Pudding / Snack

Makes: 9-12 squares

Ingredients:

-200g butter {I used 200g, cubed unsalted butter}

-200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped {This doesn't have to be expensive, I used Tesco's Molly's Plain Chocolate (2x100g bars), which are 30p per bar!}

-4 large eggs

-350g caster sugar {I used a mixture of caster and granulated sugar because I ran out of caster mid-way through}

-100g plain flour 

-50g cocoa powder {I used a hot chocolate powder}

-100g milk chocolate, chopped {Like, the dark chocolate this doesn't have to be expensive!}

-12 Oreos

Method:

1:Heat the oven to 180℃/160℃/355℉ fan/Gas 4 and line a 24 x 20cm brownie tin {I used a 21x21 square tin} with baking parchment. {I also greased the edges of the tin} Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a small pan of just simmering water. {Aka, a bain-marie} Stir until completely smooth, then leave to cool for 10 mins. {It won't be completely cold, just a bit cooler, when you add it to the brownie mix}

2:Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk {You can use a hand whisk but it will take a bit longer and your arm may hurt afterwards} until thick and pale – the mixture should double in volume and leave a trail when the beaters are lifted. {Mine didn't leave a trail behind, it just sunk back into the egg and sugar mix, but it worked just fine anyway} Pour the cooled dark chocolate mixture around the edge of the bowl. Sift over the flour and cocoa, add the milk chocolate, and gently fold everything together with a spatula or large metal spoon. {I used a metal spoon, this is used so that you don't knock the air out of the eggs you just whisked up} Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 mins. {I did 50mins because my tin was a bit smaller and therefore, the brownies were thicker and took longer to bake. TIP: To check if the brownies are done, stick a knife or toothpick into the middle of the tray and if it comes out clean it is ready, if not put the brownie back in for 5-10mins}

3:Remove the traybake from the oven, and immediately push the biscuits into the surface in even rows – do this gently, so they’re just pushed in slightly. {I used some icing to glue them to the brownies} Leave to cool completely. Cut into 12 squares. {If using a smaller tin, like moi, you will get less, but thicker, brownies. So, I got 9 squares}

While you're here, I have a Pinterest for all my recipes where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html. 
https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile

This recipe: https://pin.it/2EfTuiM