Milky Way Brownies: National Milky Way Day!

Today is National Milky Way Day. I grew up with Milky Way Bars. My friend Donna lived across the park and sometimes we'd go there after school. Her mother never minded if we indulged in candy before dinner, and Donna always had Milky Way Bars in her freezer. What a treat. When we were older, Donna and I got a ride to high school with a neighbor. While we waited for him, we availed ourselves of the Milky Way bars on his family's coffee table! Maybe this wasn't particularly healthy, but it was a delicious start to the day! And, FYI, Milky Way Bars were not available in my mother's household. What a day to celebrate--the All American Candy Bar! So grab a Milky Way to celebrate today!

Want to elevate your Milky Way Bars? Bake some into brownies! Here are two recipes for Milky Way Brownies! One's for home, and the other's for a crowd!

1. EASY MILKY WAY BROWNIES!

Make your favorite Brownie Mix (I like Ghirardelli), following directions by adding the 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup water. At 20 minutes into the baking (350F), put about 7 ounces of chopped up miniature Milky Way Bars or Milky Way Bites on top. Bake another 20 minutes. Oh yum! Gooey love!

2. MILKY WAY BROWNIES FOR A CROWD!

Have a crowd coming over? Baking for a crowd? Want to make a batch of Milky Way Brownies from scratch? This recipe is the Bees Knees!

Ingredients
1 pound sweet butter, cut into pieces
1 pound dark chocolate (70% cacao), chopped
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (or very dark - 90%), chopped
2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
7 large eggs
2 Tbsp Madagascar vanilla
2 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 ounces miniature Milky Way bars, chopped
2 Milky Way Bars, sliced

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter and flour 12x18x1-inch pan. Line with foil or parchment that hangs over the sides (butter the parchment or foil). This makes it easier to get the brownies out.
In metal bowl or saucepan over a saucepan of simmering water, heat butter and chocolate until melted and smooth; cool slightly.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, espresso powder, vanilla, and sugar. Stir egg mixture into slightly cooled chocolate mixture. Cool to room temperature.
In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to batter. Stir chopped mini Milky Way bars into chocolate mixture. Then pour into prepared baking pan and smooth top with rubber spatula.
Place slices of full-size Milky Way Bar on top of brownie batter.
Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; do not overbake!
Let cool completely, then cover tightly and chill overnight. These are very gooey, so chill if you want to cut them!