Monster brownies

I worked late on Tuesday.  I have a the day off on Wednesday and scheduled a dentist appointment smack in the middle of the day (in Westchester).  And on top of all of that, I decided that Wednesday (well technically starting in the morning) would be the perfect time to do a 1-day juice cleanse (after I baked these brownies late Tuesday night).  The brownies spent all of Wednesday taunting me from the kitchen counter as I photographed them while drinking a slew of fruit-and-veggie only cold pressed juices.

So what do I decide to do?  Bake something extremely decadent.  Because there's nothing like deciding to do a 1-day juice cleanse to make me want to bake something extremely gluttonous...like Monster Brownies with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, mini M&Ms, and chopped Oreos!!  And then bring them to the dentist's, because there's nothing better to bring to a dentist than a sugar-loaded baked treat, right?

I actually saw the recipe for Monster Brownies a while ago, and thought that they'd be great to use those leftover chips and toppings I have around the apartment.  For this batch I used leftover Oreos from the Oreo pops I made for my friend's bar's 2nd birthday.  Leftover peanut butter chips from the cookies I made for the baby shower in January.  And some leftover chocolate chips from those other brownies I made last month.  And then I added some extra mini M&Ms that I had bought for another cookie but still hadn't ever gotten around to making...

Monster Brownies
From Bake or Break

Ingredients:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used semisweet)
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups total of your favorite add-ins (chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, M&Ms, nuts, pretzels, crushed cookies, coconut, chopped candy bar, etc.) -- I ended up using 1/2 cup each of mini M&Ms, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips.  Instead of measuring out the chopped Oreos, I just cut 7 double stuffed Oreos roughly into 9 pieces.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease a 9 x 13" pan.  I used a spray.
Line the pan with parchment or aluminum foil, leaving about a 2" hangover on both short ends.  I also did another piece of parchment paper perpendicular to that one.
Grease the lining.  Again, I used a spray.

Place chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave in 30 second intervals until butter has melted and chocolate melts when stirred.
Stir until smooth.
Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together floud, baking powder, and salt.
Set aside.

Beat sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined.
Add the chocolate-butter mixture, mixing until combined.
Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Stir in add-ins.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evently.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until set and a pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.

Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes.
Using the overhanging liner, lift brownies out of the pan.
Cool completely before cutting into bars (really follow the directions -- let them cool completely).