Tricks and treats

Charlie Brown got a rock.
My kids got tie-dyed underwear and the seven hour Collector's Edition of Titanic*.

The rest of you get Candy Bar Cookie Bars.

Of course, if you are battening down the hatches because the storm of all storms is crashing down all around you, having some extra underwear around, regardless of what color it is, may be a blessing in disguise**.  As are these treats.



Candy Bar Cookie Bars

Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone after last year's cookies.  These are Black Bottom Bars, with a hint of pumpkin, and a candy surprise in every bite.  I took a shortcut and used Trader Joe's excellent box mixes here, but you can definitely use the same concept with your own brownie/blondie recipes too.

2 eggs
1/2 c. canned pumpkin (optional...if you don't use the pumpkin, use one more egg)
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled
1 Box Trader Joe's Blondie Baking Mix
1 Box Trader Joe's Truffle Brownie Baking Mix
About 2 cups of assorted candy bars, unwrapped and coarsely chopped (I used Twix, Snickers, Butterfingers and Nestle Crunch.  Stick with chocolate-based, but other than that, the sky's the limit!)

Preheat oven to 350, and line a 13 x 9 baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, allowing some of the foil/paper to come up the edges of the pan.   This will make it much easier to get your bars out later.  Set aside.  Chop the candy bars into roughly equal sizes pieces (about 1/2 inch square, or slightly smaller), and set those aside, too.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, and pumpkin, if using.  Transfer half of the mixture to a separate mixing bowl. Add the brownie mix to the first bowl, and stir by hand until well combined.

Pour blondie bar mix through strainer or colander into the second bowl, to separate out the chocolate chips.   Add the chocolate chips to the bowl with the brownie batter (it'll be extra chocolate-y that way!), then stir the bowl with the blondie mix until you have a smooth batter there, too.

Spread the brownie batter evenly over the bottom of your prepared pan.  Sprinkle with the chopped up candy bars.

Drop spoonfuls of the blondie batter on top of the candy layer, and carefully spread out, using a spatula.  It's OK if the candy is not completely covered in spots, as the dough will spread while baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden brown, and the pan does not jiggle when you shake it.  Cool completely, remove from the pan, cut into bars, and serve.

Click to print this recipe!

Wishing all of you a safe, dry and very happy Halloween!

* On Blue-Ray. All part of an elaborate Halloween box hoax perpetrated by my niece and my sister, the only person I know who would take the time to personally tie dye a dozen pairs of tidy whiteys (his and hers!) as a joke.  The gag box also included loads of vanilla tootsie rolls (who eats these?), edible pet milk for the dog, a cat food cookbook for me and the cat to share, a box of twigs for the guinea pigs, and a Lego princess hair salon kit for my husband.  The whole plan was nearly derailed when my dog found the real Halloween box (with the good candy and DVD's people actual want to watch), ate it, then barfed everything up all over the back yard.  He gets a rock.
** That copy of Titanic, however, will never come in handy.