The discovery of a chocolaty surprise when biting into a decadent homemade brownie is enough to bring me to my knees.  So when I came across this recipe which combined a simple recipe for brownies combined with the cook’s favorite chocolate candy bar, I couldn’t wait to try it.  And try it I have – many times.  While my favorite candy bar is Reese’s, a Snicker’s, 3 Musketeers, Whatchamakalit – anything your heart desires – will work. And of course, when I’m mixing up the batter, I have to pop a Reese’s in my mouth just to make sure it’s just as good as I’ve always remembered it. 🙂

Candy Bar Chocolate Brownies

(via David Lieberman)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, melted, plus a little more for greasing the pan
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 10 mini chocolate-peanut candy bars, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups), refrigerator cold (recommended – Snickers fun size)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grease a 9 by 13-inch cake pan (aluminum is fine) with butter. Beat the 1 1/2 sticks butter and the sugar together in a large bowl until blended. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then stir in water and vanilla. Sprinkle the salt and baking powder over the mixture, then mix in. Do the same with the cocoa. Finally, stir in the flour until just blended.

3. Put the candy bars in a food processor or blender and pulse on low speed until all the bars have been reduced to a coarse crumble. Fold the crumble into the batter thoroughly. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the center is set, the edges look a bit crusty, and the top of the brownies start to crack a little. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!