Oreo Brownies

For the sweet tooths; this recipe is for you. My friend from Arkansas made this for a girls' night and boy is it sweet. Using lard in icing does take a bit of getting over, (only in America eh? and Suzhou Industrial Park), but the brownies turned out really well, more convincingly chewy and brownie like than the recipe I usually rely on, so I've upgraded to this one for future use. You might want to go for a run after consumption.

FOR THE BROWNIES

• 1 c unsalted butter (or two sticks)

• 2 c granulated sugar

• ½ c chocolate chips (or your favourite chopped chocolate)

• 3 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• ⅓ c unsweetened cocoa powder + 2 tbsp

• 2 Tbsp black cocoa powder (if you don’t have black cocoa powder, you can use dark cocoa or more regular, unsweetened cocoa powder instead)

• 1 c all purpose flour

• ½ tsp salt

FOR THE OREO FROSTING

• ½ c unsalted butter (or 1 stick)

• ⅓ c lard

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 c icing sugar

• 1–2 Tbsp milk (more as needed to create fluffy, light frosting)

• 12 Oreos (crushed into coarse crumbs; leave some larger pieces)

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE BROWNIES

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray or a bit of canola/vegetable oil.

2. In a large microwaveable bowl, heat the butter on high until fully melted. Remove from the microwave. Stir in sugar and chocolate chips until smooth and silky. The heat of the butter will melt everything together.

3. Allow the butter mixture to cool slightly and come back to room temp.

4. When ready, add eggs, then the vanilla extract to the butter/sugar/chocolate mixture and stir well.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder(s), flour and salt.

6. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/chocolate chip mixture and gently fold & stir together until there are just a few small clumps in the batter. Do not over mix. The batter will be thick.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes. The top should have large cracks and if you insert a knife into the middle, it should be just about clean.

8. Allow the brownies to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE OREO FROSTING

1. Mix the butter and lard until light and fluffy in a large bowl.

2. Add the icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing slowly in between each addition until most of the sugar is mixed (the mixture may still be dry at this point).

3. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix on medium speed. Add more milk slowly, enough for a frosting to come together. Mix on high speed until super light and fluffy. The frosting should be soft and light.

4. Lastly, stir in the crushed Oreos by hand.

5. Frost the brownies generously. Serve.