"Rocky Road" Brownies

Rocky Road Brownies - made February 16, 2014 from The Flying Brownie by Shirley Fan

So....it turns out that the white stuff in Midnight Milky Ways isn't marshmallow after all but vanilla nougat. Who knew?? Apparently a blog reader who kindly let me know on my Mississippi Mud Brownies post. Therefore, technically, substituting Midnight Milky Ways for marshmallows for a Rocky Road Brownie recipe doesn't actually make it Rocky Road but just a brownie topped with Midnight Milky Ways. Oh well. In my mind, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck.... Good thing I don't like marshmallows anyway.

I modified this recipe from The Flying Brownie because it was supposed to have a "twist" with the twist being the addition of pretzels on top for some crunch. I am not a fan of those crunchy pretzels. Give me a cinnamon sugar pretzel from Auntie Anne's while I'm at the mall and that's a different stripe but those regular pretzels that are hardened snappy sticks or curved pretzel-shaped carbs? Nah. I don't dislike those pretzels per se but back when I was training to walk a full marathon with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the Nike Women's marathon in San Francisco, that was one of the snacks we had on us as we did mile after mile of training. By the time we were up to 22-mile training walks, I was heartily sick of pretzels and to this day, I associate them with a dry mouthfeel and blisters on my feet. So no pretzels for me, no matter what the recipe says.

Instead, I topped this brownie with chopped chunks of Midnight Milky Ways and Milky Way caramels. You're supposed to do the candy topping about 5 minutes before the brownies come out of the oven so they have time to melt. I inadvertently forgot the brownies and took them out in the nick of time. Which meant I wasn't going to put them back in the oven to let the candy melt as I didn't want the brownies to bake further. No problem - I still blanketed the top with the chopped chocolates but then I covered the whole pan completely with a baking sheet turned upside down and let the residual heat from the hot brownie trapped underneath the baking sheet melt the chocolate on top. Worked like a charm. I'd say this was a good, basic brownie. I needed it for care packages I was mailing out and the whole premise of The Flying Brownie was baked goods that could easily be sent in the mail. This one fulfilled its promise.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 - 1 1/2 cups Midnight Milky Ways and Milky Way Caramels, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" square pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in the top half of a double boiler set over hot water. Stir until melted and blended. Remove the bowl from heat and stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Cool to lukewarm.
3. Add eggs. Stir until well blended. Mix in the flour and cocoa. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs.
4. 5 minutes before the brownies are done, remove from the oven and top with the chopped chunks of Midnight Milky Ways and Milky Way Caramels. When the candy has melted slightly (do not overbake), remove from oven and cool completely before cutting and serving.