Reese's Explosion! Brownies

Reese's Explosion!

(The exclamation point makes this post so intense.)

So, I stocked up on candy this year in the hopes that we'd have trick-or-treaters at our new house, but alas.. just a few knocks on the door.  We had about a billion treats left, and I was not about to let them sit around this house and whisper to me at night.  So I decided to throw them all into a vat of brownie batter and send them off to work with the hubs.  Perfect plan!

This was strictly a Reese's operation, but only because it was the only type of chocolate candy we bought.  Feel free to use whatever you've got.  We were left with Reese's Pieces, Reese's Sticks, Fast Break Bars and the old, loveable Reese's Cup.  Reese's Explosion! (Overkill?)

So I went to work chopping up all of the chocolate:

(P.S. to the candy companies: I think there is too much extra packaging at Halloween. Just saying.)

I used the Baked Brownie batter* as my base, but like I always say, use your favorite, I don't discriminate!  I'm a fan of all brownies.  I had about 1 1/2 cups of chopped chocolate, so I mixed half into the batter and saved half to sprinkle on the top.  I made a half batch, so 2 cups would be just about right for the full batch.

 I love the Reese's colors, by the way.  Very autumn-ish.

I highly recommend this tactic- get all of that candy out of the house before the holidays come along with all of their tasty pleasures.  Save your calories for turkey, and pie, and stuffing..

Reese's Explosion! Brownies (or Leftover Halloween Candy Brownies)

by Oven Love and Baked

• 1 batch of Baked Brownie batter* (or your favorite brownie recipe)
• 1-2 cups chopped chocolate candy, divided in half

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
2. Prepare brownie batter. (If using the recipe below, complete through step five.)
3. Mix half of the chopped candy into the batter.
4. Pour into prepared baking dish and sprinkle the remaining candy on top.
5. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky.

*The Baked Brownie
from Baked New Frontiers in Baking
Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 11 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 8 ounces butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray the sides and bottom of 9×13 baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt and cocoa powder together.
3. Put the chocolate, butter and instant coffee in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined; then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.