Milk Chocolate Brownies

I had a lot of milk chocolate mini-bars, so I made some milk chocolate brownies out of them.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (soften first if you remember)
  
• 2 cups (340g) milk chocolate (baking squares, chips, too many milk chocolate chunks, ...)
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Option - 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line an 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs by a few inches on two opposite sides, then spray lightly with cooking spray.
3. Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. (Large enough to mix all ingredients in.)
4. Heat in the microwave at half power in 30-second increments until the butter is melted.
5. Add chocolate in stage, stirring in to melt.
6. As needed, heat butter and chocolate some more in microwave at half power in 30-second increments, stir repeat until smooth. Set aside and let cool slightly.
7. Mix the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well-blended.
8. Add the chocolate-butter mix to the sugar mix, and stir until smooth.
9. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.
   
10. Gently fold the flour mix into the wet mix until just combined,
11. Scoop the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
12. Optional - Sprinkle additional chocolate pieces on top if desired.
13. Bake 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a just few moist crumbs attached.
14. Run a knife along the non-lined sides of the pan to loosen.
15. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes or so.
16. Using the overhanging parchment paper, lift the cooled brownies out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Let cool to room temperature, then cut into bars.
 


Carole's Notes:

We liked these. I typically prefer a more semi-sweet brownie, but we had no problems eating them up. The chocolates I used mostly had nuts in them. When I make them again, I think will fold in some chopped pecans.

The recipe is lightly adapted from from https://bakeorbreak.com/2016/09/milk-chocolate-brownies/