Candy Bar Cookie Bars

I took a shortcut and used Trader Joe’s excellent box mixes here, but you can definitely use the same concept with your own brownie/blondie recipes or use other box mixes too.

Preheat oven to 350 F, and line a 13 x 9 baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, allowing some of the foil/paper to come up the edges of the pan. This will make it much easier to get your bars out of the pan later. Set aside.

Chop the candy bars into roughly equal sizes pieces (about 1/2 inch square, or slightly smaller), and set those aside, too.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, and pumpkin, if using. Transfer half of the mixture to a separate mixing bowl. Add the brownie mix to the first bowl, and stir by hand until well combined.

Pour the blondie bar mix through strainer or colander into the second bowl, to separate out the chocolate chips. Then add the chocolate chips to the bowl with the brownie batter (it’ll be extra chocolate-y that way!), then stir the bowl with the blondie mix until you have a smooth batter there, too.

Spread the brownie batter evenly over the bottom of your prepared pan. Sprinkle with the chopped up candy bars.

Drop spoonfuls of the blondie batter on top of the candy layer, and carefully spread out, using a spatula. It’s OK if the candy is not completely covered in spots, as the dough will spread while baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden brown, pan does not jiggle when you shake it, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (except for some melted chocolate). Cool completely, remove from the pan, cut into bars, and serve.