These Brownie Bars are a romantic and fun treat for your loved ones during this Valentine's Day! Brownies are fudgy, with crunchy oreo cookie layers inside and a melt-in-your-mouth soft and smooth chocolate ganache that anyone will appreciate!
The most scrumptious fudgy brownie bars you'll ever tried!
For more Valentine baking recipes check out my Shortbread Heart Cookies.
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Why We Love This
- These Valentine brownies are very easy to make and decoration is even easier. Everyone loves crunchy oreo brownie bars!
- This recipe creates a minimal mess in the kitchen compared to other Valentine's Days dessert bars and recipes. It does require a few steps but they all are done gradually and in steps which makes it an easy recipe to follow and kids will love helping with this fun treat too.
- And the best part, these Brownie bars are fudgy, crunchy, and with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate ganache glaze inside.
Equipment
- Baking Pan - 9 or 8 inches square baking pan is preferred but I have also made this in a 9x13 inch pan. However, you'll need to adjust the amount of Oreos in this case. Also, the brownies will come out slightly thinner but it shouldn't affect the taste here.
- Mixing Bowls - I used large and medium bowls in this recipe.
- Kitchen Scale - it is always best to use a measuring cup or kitchen scale, especially when baking.
- Rubber Spatula - rubber spatula is preferred when dealing with chocolate or sticky substances as it is easier to handle and the batter doesn't get stuck to it.
- Parchment Paper - love this brand but any parchment paper should work here!
Instructions
Prep. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
Prepare a 9 inches square baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Leave a few inches with a parchment overhang on the sides so you can easily remove the brownies later.
Melt the chocolate using the double boiler method. Heat up a medium saucepan with a few inches of water in it.
When it starts to simmer, place a heatproof bowl over the top with olive oil (coconut oil or melted butter) and chocolate chips (picture 1.).
Stir with a whisk or spatula constantly until about 70-80 percent of the chocolate chips are melted. Take the bowl off the stove and continue stirring until all the chips are melted and the texture smooth. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until bubbly and foamy.
Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and mix at low speed until smooth. Add vanilla and sugar. Mix again on low. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder. Whisk until just combined.
Combine wet and dry ingredients, stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.
Pour half of the brownie batter into the pan. Even the batter out with a spatula as much as you can and top with an oreo layer.
Add another layer of brownie batter, even out, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
The center should still be relatively moist if we want to achieve fudgy brownies. For ''cakey-style'' brownies bake time should be a couple of minutes longer.
Usually, a toothpick inserted into the center should be slightly moist (but not watery) and with a few breadcrumbs but not dry which will mean you have overbaked the batter.
Let cool like this for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Meanwhile, make the Chocolate Ganache Glaze. Prepare a heatproof medium bowl with chocolate chips. Set aside.
In a small saucepot place the heavy cream and take it to a gentle boil. Immediately pour the cream over chocolate chips and let sit like this for 1-2 minutes (picture 8.).
Whisk the mixture until chips are melted and the texture is smooth.
The ganache will be thick but it should still be easily pourable. It will thicken later.
Pour the ganache glaze on top of the brownies, spread out evenly with a spatula. Arrange crushed Oreos on top along with your favorite Valentine's sprinkles.
Chill in the refrigerator for another hour or two.
Upon removing the valentine brownies from the fridge, on an even surface or a large cutting board cut the brownies with a sharp knife into 9 larger bars (do this while they are still cold!).
If they are chilled it is easier to cut in uniform pieces (but it is optional!). Then let them come to room temperature and let them melt slightly.
Enjoy these oreo brownie bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a glass of milk!
Tips
- Muscovado sugar - My favorite sugar! You can use either dark (results in a more dense, stronger toffee-like flavor and VERY moist textured brownies) or light muscovado sugar (also dense and moist but not so strong as dark). Muscovado is unrefined raw cane sugar, processed as little as possible which helps the sugar to retain much of its natural molasses. It has a strong smoky and toffee-like flavor is very moist and is very fine. All those characteristics make it a wonderful sugar for baking. Worth noting that it is not the same as brown sugar you see in stores. In fact, brown sugar is refined white sugar with molasses added during the manufacturing process. You can also tell by the texture difference.
- Oreos - I used a 9-inch square pan but you can also use a 9 x 13 inches pan. Try to squeeze in Oreos to cover the whole area, cut them in half if needed to fit in the edges. For the top, use as much or little crushed Oreos as you'd like. It doesn't have to be covered completely in cookies as I did. If you want to cover the whole area, make sure you have a very sharp large knife for cutting these later. I chill brownies overnight or longer and usually it is not hard to cut these evenly once chilled.
- Make it fun - zest from one or two oranges will give a great flavor and smell to your brownies! Also instead of vanilla extract, rum or almond extract will give your brownies a new spin.
- Batter - any of your favorite all-purpose flour should work here. We only use a little of it here along with some cornstarch and cocoa powder to make the batter thick. I do recommend using a high quality cocoa powder whenever possible, does make a difference! That being said, I do understand that many folks need a quicker solution and that's where a Betty Crocker Premade Brownie Mixes (or others) will come in handy. The recipe instructions will remain the same but without my homemade batter ingredients.
- Chocolate ganache glaze - this ganache comes out beautiful EVERY TIME. It is enough to cover the brownie batter in a medium-thick layer without overpowering chocolatey flavor everywhere. If you want to try something new, and experiment with fun flavors try adding: orange, lemon, or lime zest, flavored extracts such as rum, orange, almond, and others to the brownie batter or stir into the ganache.
- Bake time - I usually bake mine for 20 minutes but as everyone's oven temperatures are slightly different I recommend checking on the brownies at 17-20 minutes and not leaving them baking for very long after that. Once you see the edges start going very dry it means the batter is burning. The center should still be relatively jiggly and moist (usually this is best seen when baked without Oreos). Insert a toothpick in the center, it should come out still moist but not completely watery and with a few breadcrumbs.
- Brownie bars sizes - I like to cut these into 9 uniform squares that are slightly larger than your normal brownies. However if properly chilled, you'll be able to cut these into 12 2-inch squares.
- Flour - this recipe also works with gluten-free flour blends that contain rising agents such as xantham gum for example. Bob Red Mill Or King Arthur Measure To Measure. Or again as mentioned before, a premade gluten free brownie mix will be a quick fix too.
- Chocolate chips - most chocolate chips are suitable here. On different occasions, I've used semi-sweet, dark, and milk chocolate chips for this recipe. As we add oil to the mix it helps things melt quicker and smoother. Alternatively substitute with good melting chocolate (usually cooking chocolate bars are good for this, especially milk chocolate ones).
Thank you so much for reading about these Valentine Brownies. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
Easy Dessert Recipes
- Chocolate Rice Pudding
- Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies With Raisins
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Valentine Oreo Brownie Bars With Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Ingredients
Brownie Bars
- 8 oz chocolate chips semi sweet or milk chocolate
- 7 tablespoon olive or coconut oil or melted butter
- ¾ cup muscovado light or dark sugar see notes
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 26-30 oreos see notes
- Cake heart sprinkles
Ganache Glaze
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips or chocolate bark cut into chunks
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Prep. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
- Prepare a 9 inches square baking pan lined with parchment paper. Leave a few inches with parchment overhang on the sides so you can easily remove the brownies later.
- Melt the chocolate using the double boiler method. Heat up a medium saucepan with a few inches of water in it. When it starts to simmer, place a heatproof bowl over the top with olive oil (coconut oil or melted butter) and chocolate chips. Stir with a whisk or spatula constantly until about 70-80 percent of the chocolate chips are melted. Take the bowl off the pot and continue stirring until all the chips are melted and the texture smooth.
- In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until bubbly.
- Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and mix on low speed until smooth. Add vanilla and sugar. Mix on low.
- In a separate mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder. Whisk until just combined. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.
- Pour half of the brownie batter into the pan. Even the batter out with a spatula as much as you can and top with oreo layer. Add another layer of brownie batter, even out and bake for 20-25 minutes. The center should still be relatively moist (if we want to achieve fudgy brownies, for cakey brownies bake time should be a couple minutes longer). Toothpick inserted into center should be slightly moist and with breadcrumbs but not dry which will mean you have overbaked the batter.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove from the pan and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Meanwhile make the Chocolate ganache glaze. Prepare a heatproof medium bowl with chocolate chips. Set aside. In a small saucepot place the heavy cream and take it to a gentle boil. Immediately pour over the chocolate chips and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Whisk the mixture until chips are melted and the texture is smooth. The ganache will be thick but still easily pourable. It will thicken later. Pour over the brownie batter, spread out evenly with a spatula. Arrange crushed oreos on top layer along with your favorite valentine sprinkles. Chill in the refrigerator for another hour or two. Upon removing the brownie bars from the fridge, on an even surface or a large cutting board cut the brownies with a sharp knife into 9 larger bars (do this while they are still cold!). This helps with even cutting and creates uniform pieces. Let come to room temperature and melt slightly. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a glass or milk!
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