One morning after church as a 7-year-old, I danced around in my pink floral dress, announcing to everyone in earshot that I was going to San Diego to see my grandparents’ dogs. Not my grandparents… Their dogs. A white Scottish terrier named Kilty and a black on named McDuff. Small and soft, they wagged their tails and licked my chin when I scratched their fluffy heads, and I happily obliged every chance I got.
We loaded up the minivan, including plenty of goldfish and juice boxes for the 8-hour road trip, and my brother and I quietly read library books and played “I Spy” in the backseat. But when Mom pulled off the freeway and led us upstairs to a room at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Anaheim, my bottom lip began to quiver.
My parents smiled and said, “Surprise! We’re stopping to take you to Disneyland tomorrow!” and I promptly burst into tears.
NOT normal.
I loved Disneyland. (And I still do!) I collected signatures from Minnie and Pooh, begged to ride the Tea Cups at least 5 times (despite Dad’s spinning-sickness), and posed for pictures in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. I sat for silhouettes on Main Street, dangled my feet over London on Peter Pan’s Adventure, and tugged on Mom’s arm to ask for a Mickey Mouse balloon.
But I hated surprises.
So Daddy called his parents on the hotel phone and, after I wiped away my waterworks and blew my nose into 15 tissues, let me say hi to Kilty and McDuff. I promised to pick out a Christmas ornament for my grandparents at the park, and they agreed to stand at their garden gate with the pups when we drove up their street.
I really enjoyed the next day at Disneyland, but my parents and I learned a big lesson from that trip: do NOT surprise Amy. Ever.
Well, okay. Unless it involves chocolate. Like when I gobbled up this surprise dark chocolate honeycomb from my high school friend. Or when my guy surprised me with gourmet dark chocolate truffles and my favorite 6-layer fudgy chocolate cake.
Then I’m completely giddy, excited, and 200% content.
So when I stuck a Rolo surprise in the center of my ultimate ooey gooey brownies… Bliss. Utter bliss. Seriously, guys. Rich, dense, fudgy squares with melty chocolate and caramel in the middle. This surprise will blow you away—in the happiest sort of way!
| Ooey Gooey Rolo Brownies | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ¼ cup (42g) dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly
- ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ cup (60mL) skim milk
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 16 Rolo candies
- Preheat the oven to 300°, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup, and level with a knife. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and dark chocolate chips. Mix in the sugar. Add in the egg whites, milk, yogurt, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. (It’s okay to have small lumps in the batter!)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and press 1 Rolo into the center of where each square would be. Bake at 300° for 25-29 minutes (closer to 25 minutes for more ooey gooey parts; closer to 29 minutes for a fully fudgy texture). The brownies in the center may not be set. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Let the brownies set for at least 2 hours once at room temperature before slicing into squares with a sharp knife. (Optional, but highly recommended: Reheat individual brownies in the microwave on HIGH for 5-8 seconds to warm up the caramel center!)
Use dark chocolate chips, not semi-sweet. The semi-sweet will make the brownies much milkier.
Do NOT substitute brown sugar for the granulated. This mutes the chocolate flavor of the brownies.
Regular plain nonfat yogurt can be substituted for the Greek yogurt.
Awwwwww! Such a cute, but sad story! Your parents should have told you they were taking you to the dentist… in LA… maybe not as believable, but it wouldn’t have been as much of a disappointment when you found out the truth!
ROLOS!!! Yummy! These were always my Dad’s favorite candy, but I sneaked a bite or two from him when he was feeling generous! DELICIOUS in brownies…
I LOVE your third photo- the aerial view? Stunning.
You are going to be SUCH a great parent Andrea! That’s the best way to get around my Disneyland tears; the park would’ve been so much better than the dentist! And thank you about the photo! 🙂 I’ve been working on trying to take more aerial shots. It’s a different technique and skill set to arrange props to look good from above!
What a great idea about the Rolos…one of the best candies around already!
Really sorry about the Disneyland surprise…it just seemed like such a good idea at the time! I’m glad you still like to go there. 🙂
I still had fun when we went! Once I dried all those tears in the hotel bathroom. 🙂 Speaking of which, it’s almost time to go again… It’s been over a year!
Ohh my gosh your story made me laugh!! I HATE surprises too, but I don’t think I hate them this much hahaha. I more so just feel awkward. These brownies look amazing.
I’d highly doubt that you’d cry if you got a surprise trip to Disneyland! 😉 Guess I just love dogs too much?…
Heyyy!!! I was wondering if you ever considered something like whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe?
I haven’t used it myself in this recipe, but I’m sure it’ll work just fine Molly! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the brownies!
Would milk chocolate chips work? That’s all I have in the pantry and waiting to be burned off…if so, how much should I use since dark chocolate has a stronger flavour?
I think we can make that work Tessa! Try adding the same amount of milk chips plus an additional 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. You may also need to add an additional 2-4 teaspoons of milk so the batter isn’t too dry. I’d love to hear how that turns out!
Wow Amy, congrats on getting two of my all-time favorite words into the same recipe. 🙂
Great advice about not substituting brown sugar for granulated, the molasses flavor can easily overwhelm chocolate.
We use a boxed mix (Ghirardelli Double Chocolate usually, which already contains chocolate chips), and instead of one Rolo for each brownie square, we add about a cup of them, chopped, as a top layer, either during the last few minues of baking or right out of the oven. Yum and a half!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies JD! Brownies and Rolos are so hard to resist, and they’re completely dangerous when combined! 😉
Hello, can i substitute the all-purpose flour with oat flour (i grind it from quick cooked oat) or half oatmeal and half wheat flour? Thank you..
Yes, either option you mentioned will work Lily! The brownies will be slightly denser with oat flour, but since these brownies are already extremely fudgy, that won’t make much of a difference in this particular recipe. Just make sure you measure the oat flour correctly, using either a kitchen scale or the method outlined in the link in the Ingredient list, because it tends to be more absorbent than other flours (so too much could dry out the brownies!). 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of them!
Hello again, thank you for the reply! I’m a newbie in baking, It’s my first try making brownies, i used half oat flour and half wheat flour, and olive oil instead of butter. Can i substitute the granulated sugar with another healthy sweetener?
My pleasure, Lily! Coconut sugar would be the best substitute in this recipe. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the brownies!
Can i increase the amount of flour and decrease the amount of sugar? And also can i use the entire egg instead of just white egg? If it’s possible, can you please give me the amount of each? Thank you!
My brownies can get easily fall into pieces when divided. ? I don’t have any idea what’s wrong…….
They won’t turn out if you increase the flour and decrease the sugar, but you’re welcome to include the whole egg! If they’re crumbly and falling apart, there was too much flour in the batter. Did you do as you asked an increase the flour and decrease the sugar? Or did you use a 1-for-1 oat flour for all-purpose flour substitute? Like I previously mentioned, it’s incredibly important to measure the flour correctly, especially when using oat flour, so the brownies don’t turn out dry and crumbly. How did you measure the flour? With measuring cups or a kitchen scale? If the former, can you describe in detail how you measured? 🙂 We’ll sort this out for you!
I used half wheat flour and half oat flour with measuring cups and scoop and leveling method. my brownies not dry, they’re wet kind like glue texture so i ate them cool (straight from refrigerator) because it tend to stick together. They’re wet but can easily fall apart, i don’t understand what’s going on ??
If the texture is like glue, then the batter was overmixed. Did you use an electric mixer, a stand mixer, or a spoon/fork?
I use spatula to mix them. I guest I’m overmixing the batter because it still have lumps. I heard if you are using oat flour instead of all-purpose flour, you should increase the amount of water /liquid because oat flour need much water than all-purpose flour, is it right? How much water/liquid should increase?
Yes, the spatula would lead to overmixing! Use a fork instead. 🙂 As long as you’re measuring the oat flour correctly, you shouldn’t need extra liquid. Remind me — how are you measuring the oat flour? Are you scooping it directly from the container with measuring cups, or are you using a kitchen scale? With the issues you’ve been experiencing, it may be easier for you to follow this brownie recipe of mine that already uses oat flour and simply add the Rolos to that instead. 🙂
Great! I’m gonna use fork next. Thank you so much!! I’m using measuring cups, but I’m not scooping right from the cup, i use small spoon to scoop the flour and put it in cup. Is this method right?
You’re welcome Lily! And yes, that method of measuring flour is correct. However, for even greater accuracy, I recommend using a fork to “scoop” the flour from the container (instead of a spoon) and gently shake it back and forth over the measuring cup. That basically acts like a sifter and practically guarantees you won’t add too much flour. 🙂
Yes that perfect! I’m gonna try to make that brownies you’ve link. Really appreciate it !! ?
My pleasure Lily!