Crunchy Samoa Brownies

Ingredients

• cooking spray
• Base and Topping:
• 2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 caramel and toasted coconut cookies (such as Girl Scout Samoas®)
• Brownie Layer:
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 2 (4 ounce) bars high quality dark chocolate, chopped
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

Step 1

Heat your oven to 350°F and lightly spray an 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking soda. Pour in the melted butter and stir everything until it’s combined. Take about a third of this oat mixture and pop it into a separate bowl, then mix in the chopped cookies—this will be your crunchy topping. Press the rest of the oat mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Step 2

Pop the pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, just until it’s set. Let it cool for a few minutes while you get the chocolate layer ready. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter along with half of the dark chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and let it cool until it’s lukewarm.

Step 3

Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each so the mixture gets nice and glossy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder, then fold this into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the rest of the chopped dark chocolate.

Step 4

Spread this brownie batter over the oat base you baked earlier, then sprinkle the cookie oat topping evenly on top. Bake everything for about 25 to 28 minutes, until the center is set and the topping turns a lovely golden brown. Make sure not to overbake. Let the brownies cool completely before slicing into bars. Enjoy!