After last weekend I found myself with a mountain of Oreos to use up. I should mention this was after I’d already baked a second batch of those Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies. Oops.
I probably bought two packages. Oops again.
This might surprise you: I don’t usually eat plain Oreos on their own. But I do love anything cookies-and-cream flavored. I also have a tendency to buy things I don’t need. There — now you know all about me.
I’d already made cupcakes and brownies, but I couldn’t stop thinking about a crunchy cookies-and-cream bar, inspired by those double fudge Oreo crunch cookies. That’s a lot of Oreos for someone who isn’t obsessed with them — and yet, after these bars, I might be converted.
Think of it as the love child of better-than-crack brownies and a bag of Oreos.
With Mr. How Sweet away, I thought this would be a perfect treat he wouldn’t eat. Wrong — he surprised me and ate half the pan as soon as he came home. Sometimes people surprise you.
The photos tell the story: these bars are rich, fudgy, crunchy and chewy all at once. If you prefer desserts that aren’t overwhelmingly sweet, these might not be your thing — and that’s okay. Make a lighter dessert instead.
Triple Layer Cookies and Cream Crunch Bars
Makes 9–12 bars
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups chocolate chips, divided
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 20 Oreo cookies
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8 x 8-inch cake pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Mix in the cocoa powder until combined. Add the flour and salt, mixing until the batter is smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Press nine Oreo cookies gently into the batter. Bake for 25–30 minutes.
While the brownies bake, crush the remaining Oreos in a zip-top bag until crumbly. When the brownies are done, remove them from the oven and immediately sprinkle with 1/2 cup chocolate chips and the crushed Oreos. Return the pan to the oven for 2–3 minutes to soften the chips.
While the chips soften on the brownies, melt the remaining chocolate chips with the peanut butter until smooth. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the melted chocolate–peanut butter mixture over the top, spreading it so the chocolate fills the Oreo crevices — this helps glue the layers together.
Refrigerate the bars for about 2 hours before serving. Let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cutting. Don’t worry if some cookies shift or the top cracks — they’ll still taste amazing.
If you need me, I’ll be recovering from a sugar coma.