Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownie Bars

If you think the title is a mouthful, wait until you sink your teeth into one of these bad boys.  There are so many food bloggers out there.  So.  Freaking.  Many.  Every once in a while, I’ll come across one that I really like.  I like the person writing it and their recipes, so I’ll scroll over that “follow” button and click on it, then receive email updates when they post new items.  One of the blogs that I follow is Miss Chris Creations, and she always throws something up on her blog that is cute, creative, and it looks ridiculousy delicious.  Well, that’s where I saw a picture of these.

I gaped at the picture.  Red velvet, brownies, oreos and dark chocolate?  You have GOT to be kidding me.  But, she wasn’t kidding.  The pictures looked glorious.  And since I’m a fan of all of the above ingredients that were just mentioned, the recipe immediately went to the top of my list and my oven was put to work.  I did tweak the recipe some, based on some previous experiences and recipes…and the fact that I wanted to make red velvet brownies from scratch, just to give it a shot.  Christine actually makes a slightly healthier version of these on her blog, cutting out one stick of butter and replacing it with applesauce, and using red velvet cake mix.  I’ll have to try it out her way too, but this time there were a few little changes.  Genius, I tell you.  Genius.

Just to clarify, the bottom layer is a red velvet brownie, the middle layer is oreo truffle, and the top is dark chocolate truffle.  Oh my.  When I called my dessert loving cousin and told her about this dessert and explained the layers, she said, “What the crap?”  What the crap, indeed.  I would recommend that these be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, but definitely take them out at least 30 minutes before you want to serve them so they have a chance to soften.  Otherwise, the brownie part will get too hard, and won’t be as enjoyable…and we don’t want to sacrifice any enjoyment on these little monsters.  No, that wouldn’t be good at all.

Red Velvet Brownies  Recipe:

2 cups flour

2 cups white sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Oreo Truffle Layer:

25 Oreo cookies

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Chocolate Topping:

1 bag dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Grease a 13×9 inch pan and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar using electric mixer.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until mixture is smooth.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt, mix in cocoa, vinegar, and food coloring.  Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until set in the middle and toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool completely.  In food processor or food chopper, puree the oreo cookies into crumbs.  Mix at medium speed with electric mixer the oreo crumbs and cream cheese until combined.  Spread on top of red velvet brownies in pan.  Melt chocolate in 30 second intervals in microwave, stirring in between intervals until completely melted.  Add whipping cream and stir until combined and smooth.  Pour over oreo layer, place in refrigerator to set.  Cut into squares, store in refrigerator.