Cooking with Emily: Layered Cookie Dough Oreo Brownies

After creating Oreo truffles and building my confidence as a baker, I decide it is time for a new challenge: layered cookie dough Oreo brownies.

11:27 AM: I grab my ingredients and open the YouTube video I am following after putting on the “No Strings Attached” by *NSYNC on shuffle for an optimal baking environment.

11:31 AM: I notice that the woman in the video is simply following the brownie recipe on the Betty Crocker box she advised me to get, so I do the same after preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

11:29 AM: I put the brownie mix and ¼ cup of water in the mixing bowl which smells temptingly good.

11:35 AM: I put ½ cup of canola oil and successfully crack two eggs in the bowl. The recipe calls for vegetable oil, but I use canola oil (what I already have) as a substitute after confirming with Google that those ingredients were interchangeable. I then wipe off any egg yolk on my hands on a paper towel and wash them.

11:36 AM: I notice a small piece of egg shell as I take a picture and remove it

11:40 AM: I begin to mix the combination.

11:42 AM: I finish using the mixer and notice the significantly less time and arm labor necessary when I did not mix it by hand. 10/10, would recommend.

11:43 AM: My oven’s alarm beeps to inform me that it is ready for my concoction.

11:44: I take the too-sticky stickers off my new pan and rinse it off to avoid any germs from any gross pan passerbyers that decided to touch it while it was in the store.

11:45 AM: I line the pan with parchment paper for easy brownie removal post baking, which was  tougher than anticipated because of its constant crinkling. I immediately layer a sheet of cookie dough over it to weigh it down.

11:55 AM: I have some leftover cookie dough so, naturally, I eat it.

11:56 AM: I unpackage the double stuffed Oreos and line them up in rows above the cookie dough. I choose double stuffed Oreos instead of regular stuffed Oreos for the most unhealthy, and therefore, satisfying outcome in my recipe.

12:01 PM: I finish the box of Oreos so I grab another, normal stuffed box and fill in the remaining row with Oreo halves because a full Oreos do not fit.

12:03 PM: I am left with a remaining Oreo half, so I eat it, without regrets.

12:04 PM: I proceed to the next step, pouring the brownie mix I made earlier over everything in the pan.

12:08 I wipe off the brownie mix I accidentally got on my laptop and smooth over the brownie mix with a rubber spatula to make it lay flat and evenly.

12:17 PM: I place the brownies in the oven and set a timer on my phone for 40 minutes. I then began cleaning my mess while I wait.

12:57 PM: I take the brownies out of the oven and poke them with a fork, because I could not find a toothpick, to determine if they are baking through enough. They are, so I let them cool for some time.

1:06 PM: I grab the edges of the parchment paper and lift the brownies out of the pan. I begin to cut them into squares.

1:10 PM: I eat my first layered brownie and it is slightly overwhelmingly chocolatey, so I drink some milk on the side for the perfect meal.

Overall, my layered brownies are very satisfying and a lot less stressful to make than my Oreo truffles were.