Monster Cookie Brownie Bars

I’ve discovered the secret to winning over co-worker love… bring in baked goods on a regular basis.

I started baking for my co-workers at my previous job in Los Angeles and you would have thought I was Kate Middleton handing out buckets of gold. They were truly the most appreciative group of people and they always loved what I brought in!

I also love baking for my co-workers because I don’t want to eat all the sweets by myself. And trust me, I’ll eat every last bite. One of the traits I inherited from my grandmother, besides a healthy does of worry, is a massive sweet tooth.

My grandmother once told me that ice cream is just a little milk, cream and sugar… “It’s really not that bad for you.” And how can you argue with your grandmother on that?? She also once told me that  she and my great-grandmother would sit and talk in front of the oven while a cake was baking and once it was done, they would split it down the middle and each eat half. She then told me I remind her of my great-grandmother so it only seems fitting that I love sweets too.  So thank you, Mimi, for justifying my love of desserts.

Anyway, sometimes I just get the urge to bake and that’s exactly how these Monster Cookie Brownie Bars came together. I just used what I had in the pantry and threw it all together. I had a bag of M&Ms leftover from Halloween (thanks Beth and Allie!) so that was the inspiration for these bars. They were originally intended to be cookies but baking them in bar form takes less time and The Amazing Race was about to start so I was in a hurry!

Since I put coconut in the bars, my family refused to try them so I brought them to work and they were a hit! You can substitute peanut butter for the Nutella and I’m sure they’d be just as tasty with Reese’s Pieces instead of M&Ms. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Today is Veteran’s Day, so thank you to all that have served/are serving our country! And a special thanks to Papa, the greatest Veteran I know. He’s been gone almost a year now and he is missed so incredibly much. Love you Papa.

-Kelly 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated and brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chocolate chips and M&Ms
• 3/4 cup coconut

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine butter and sugars until blended. Add in eggs, vanilla and Nutella.
3. Mix in flour and baking soda.
4. Add in chocolate chips, M&Ms and coconut.
5. Pour in 13×9 greased pan and bake for 27 min.
6. Cut in brownie squares and enjoy!