Brownie Doctor: Oatmeal Cookie Brownies

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This week on The Batter Thickens, we're experimenting with nuclear physics.

Ok no, we're totally not. Are you kidding?? You wanna talk butter and sugar reactions? I'm your girl. Nuclear reactions? Yeah... that's outta my league. Big time. (We're not going to talk about that one time freshman year when I thought astronomy would be, like, looking at pictures of stars and saying things like, "Isn't space AWESOME? It's just so HUGE" and not, you know, what it actually is, which is apparently astrophysics. Let's just say it wasn't pretty.)

So nuclear physics is off the table. But I didn't totally lie to you. We ARE messing around with fusion. Fusion of fudgy chocolate brownie and chewy oatmeal cookie, that is. Because who needs star stuff when you have chocolate? (Hint: That was a rhetorical question.)

So, we start with your basic brownie mix. Easy-peasy. (No lemon squeezy. That's going to make your brownies taste weird, hun. Don't do it.) Mix it up, pour it into the pan, done.

Next comes the oatmeal cookie dough. We're keeping this simple, too. No frills, no fuss. Just the basics: butter (check), sugar (check), oats and flour (check and check).

Instead of quick oats, I used two packets of Maple Brown Sugar oatmeal just because I didn't have any quick oats on hand and didn't feel like making a special trip just for that. But I liked what they brought to the table. A little maple-y sweetness. A little extra oomph of brown sugar.

When the dough's finished, we're mixing in some chocolate chips. Because if the question starts, "Does this recipe need..." the answer is always "chocolate." Obviously.

Also:

**too much chocolate. Preach, JKR.

You can decide what kind of chocolate chips to use. I used dark chocolate, because dark chocolate reins supreme in my chocoholic heart (secret: I actually have a black heart - because it's made out of 75% dark chocolate). But if milk or semisweet is more your style, go for it. I really cannot in good conscience advise going the white chocolate route, however. If you do decide to go there...just know that you're on your own.

Can we talk about how amazing these babies smell? Because they smell really amazing. So amazing I would almost be content just to sniff them, without needing to get my tastebuds in on the action. Keyword: Almost. Because I mean, you could do that. But why would you? Why deprive yourself of the mouthwatering, "mmm" inducing experience of sinking your teeth into these thick, rich hunks of gastronomical comfort?

If you're the kind of person who would choose to settle for just smelling these brownies without tasting one, I don't think we're ever going to understand each other. We're just not. I'm sorry. You'll have to go live your sniffing, olfactory life and I'll live my caloric, sugar-addled, chocolate-saturated one. Mutually exclusive existences is what I'm talking about here, folks.

Oatmeal cookies and brownies have got to be two of the most comforting desserts known to mankind. And here we have them in one dense, delicious package. Biting into one of these is the culinary equivalent of sinking in to a warm bathtub, listening to the opening credits of Gilmore Girls, or getting a big hug from someone you love. It will instantly make you feel 6.8x* better. It just will.

- Molly

*Not an exact calculation. But close.

Oatmeal Cookie Brownies
Oatmeal cookie recipe adapted from Bakers Royale

1 box brownie mix
1/2 cup of butter, melted and browned
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.

Place butter in a saucepan over medium heat and melt until butter bubbles at the edge and becomes slightly brown and nutty in aroma. Set aside to cool.

While butter is cooling, mix brownie batter according to box directions. Pour into greased 8x8 pan.

Add flour, quick cooking oats, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Place brown sugar and cooled butter into a mixer bowl and beat until well blended. Add eggs in and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on medium high. (Note: I was skeptical that this transformation would happen, but it did. Be patient, and if you're using a hand mixer, brace your shoulder for an endurance workout.)

Turn mixer to low and slowly add in flour mixture and mix until combined. Dough will be slightly wet. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop oatmeal cookie dough by the heaping spoonful on top of the brownie batter. Swirl the batter and the dough together as much as desired (I used a fork and kind of stabbed into it repeatedly).

Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from over and cover loosely with aluminum foil or parchment paper. (This is to prevent the top from burning before the insides bake through.) Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted comes out (fairly) clean. Stuff yo face.