brownies

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add the corn syrup and egg. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix this into the wet ingredients, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined. Fold in the walnuts.
• Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to dollop rounds of dough, spaced out, on baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, then let rest on sheet a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

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To make Dulce de Leche

• (Note that you can buy canned Dulce de Leche on the Hispanic foods aisle in many grocery stores and skip this step! You can also make it in a crock pot or stove–look up these other methods online. Microwave is faster, but has some danger involved.)
• Combine sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup in a LARGE microwave safe bowl. You need the bowl large because the stuff may start to boil like an erupting volcano.
• Microwave on 50% power, stopping and stirring every 2 minutes. Start watching VERY CAREFULLY about the 5 minute point. It can start to boil over very quickly. Start doing 1 minute increments, stirring well in between. Somewhere from 10 to 15 minutes, it will thicken and look caramel-colored rather than white, at which point it is ready. It might look curdled but that goes away when you stir. Add in the butter and stir until it’s melted. Set aside.

To Make the Brownies

• Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and butter it or apply nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, espresso powder (if using), cocoa, and salt. Add dry ingredients into creamed mixture; mix until well blended.
• Spread about 1/2 of mixture in the prepared pan. This will just cover the bottom. Drop spoonfuls of Dulce de Leche evenly over this layer and smooth out with an uneven spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over. Cover with remaining brownie batter using clean uneven spatula.
• Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool and cut into squares.

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• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times to ensure everything is combined. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
• Use a food scale to divine dough in half between two bowls. To one dough, add the extra sugar and cocoa, stirring until the color is consistent. Divide the white chocolate chips in half between the two doughs and fold in to incorporate.
• Use the teaspoon scoop to dole out one scoop of white dough, one scoop of cocoa dough and press together. Flatten slightly so that the half-and-half dough is visible. Set each combined dough ball spaced out on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until cookies look set. Let them rest on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

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• Cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla. Beat in the egg. Add the cocoa, espresso powder (if using), and milk. Gradually add in the flour and baking powder, scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate everything. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and set in fridge to firm up for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place black sugar in a small bowl.
• Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to create a lump of dough. Roll it in black sugar to coat. Place spaced out on cookie sheet.
• Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Watch for the cookies to look set; it will otherwise be difficult to gauge doneness because of the cookies’ dark color. Let sit on sheet a few minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Pack cooled cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
• In a big bowl, beat together eggs, butter, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the brownie dry ingredients and gradually add them to the egg mix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside 1 cup of the brownie batter for the topping. Scoop the rest into the prepared pan and use an uneven spatula to even it out.
• In another bowl, beat together the cream cheese blocks, cookie butter, and sugar. Once that is blended, add the egg and milk. Use an uneven spatula to spread the mixture in a thin layer across the top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the reserved brownie batter on top. Use the tip of the uneven spatula or a butter knife to create swirls.
• Bake pan for 35 to 40 minutes, until the very middle passes the toothpick test. Cool on a wire rack for an hour, then place in fridge to completely chill. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice up and store in a sealed container in the fridge. Keeps for at least 3 days.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
• In a big bowl, combine the cocoa and baking soda with 1/3 cup of butter. Add the boiling water and stir to combine. Add the sugar, eggs, and remaining butter. Once that is consistent in color, add the flour, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder, if using.
• Fold in the Oreos and chocolate chips until they are distributed throughout.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are pulling away from the sides of the pan and the middle passes the toothpick test.
• Cool at room temperature, speeding the process in the fridge, if desired. Brownies will be denser and easier to cut if chilled. Use the foil to lift the brownies onto a cutting board to slice. Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in fridge.

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