Surprise-Inside Brownies

Name: Surprise Inside Brownies
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ all-purpose flour; 1 cup baking cocoa (I recommend Whole Foods 365 fairly traded brand); ½ teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon espresso powder; ⅔ cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening; 2 cups granulated (white sugar); 4 large eggs; 1 cup mini chocolate chips; 21 chocolate sandwich cookies (Newman's Own, Oreos); Food coloring gel (I used Americolor Sky Blue and True Red); Decorative sugar or sprinkles

By Wendy Sondov · Published: Jun 1, 2020 · Modified: Jun 20, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Surprise-Inside Brownies start with a heat safe recipe that even make shipping chocolate to the desert a possibility! Baked in an individual serving brownie pan, these brownies have a chocolaty crunch outside and a soft and fudge-like interior. The sprinkles are festive, BUT wait until you see the surprise hidden inside.

Brownies topped with red, white, and blue sprinkles.

Why you'll love this recipe

Eating chocolate may be desirable year round, but shipping chocolate in warm weather (not to mention HOT weather) is a mistake. It's important to think about how heat can effect melting and spoiling.

Successfully mailing baked goods in the summer months is easy with the recipes using ingredients that are least likely to melt or to spoil. There are dozens of Monday Box recipes that were developed especially for shipping baked goods in hot weather!

Brownies are an ideal way to enjoy melt-free chocolate in the heat. The chocolaty goodness is baked in.

Brownie interior with an Oreo cookie in the middle, filled with red, white and blue frosting.

Would you think I was crazy or creative if I told you that I scraped the cream filling out of 20 double stuff Oreos, colored the filling, then piped it back onto the Oreos? Don’t answer yet!

What if I said that the entire process took only 30 minutes? Perhaps I already know your answer.

I admit that even at 30 minutes sounds a little bit crazy, but making your own colored Oreos is so much fun and full of potential uses. Holiday colors. Gender reveal. School colors. The color filled Oreos can be served on their own or hidden inside a brownie as a surprise!

Oreo filling,colored, red, white and blue, piped in alternating colored stripes back into the Oreo cookies

Surprise-Inside Brownies were created for a 4th of July military care package, but they could be made with any colors appropriate for your occasion. I used Double Stuff Oreos (and the filling of 3 extra cookies) so that I would have plenty of filling to work with.

Twist apart the cookies and scrape the filling into three small bowls.
The white filling only needs to be mashed with the back of a spoon until smooth.
For the blue and the red, a drop of gel food coloring (Americolor Sky Blue or Super Red) is added to the filling and mixed until smooth and evenly colored.
Transfer each filling into the corner of a separate small sandwich bag. Snip a small piece of the corner off each bag, then pipe alternating rows of frosting back onto an Oreo half and top with the other half, pressing gently to adhere.

Stacks of Oreo cookies with red, white, and blue filling stripes inside.

I hid the patriotic sandwich cookies inside fudgy (desert-safe) brownies.

This recipe can be prepared in individual portions in a pan with square cups, or in a cupcake pan. The batter also works well in a 9” x 13” pan. Stored at room temperature in an airtight container, Surprise-Inside Brownies will stay chewy for at least 2 weeks.

Brownie directions

Foil line or coat the pan with non-stick spray.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and espresso powder.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the shortening, sugar, and eggs.
Stir in the flour mixture.
Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
If using a 9" x 13" pan, spread half of the batter into the pan, then press the cookies into the batter. Top with the remaining batter. Use a spatula or spoon to smooth the surface.
If using an individual brownie pan, scoop 2 tablespoons of batter into each individual cup, then press a cookie into the center of each cup so that the batter comes up around the edges of the cookie. Top with a tablespoon of batter and smooth to cover completely.
Bake for 20-28 minutes, depending on the pan being used.

More 4th of July recipes

Make dozens of melt in your mouth cookies in minutes with this Spritz Cookie Recipe with Shortening. Use a cookie press to make cookies in holiday colors and shapes!

Nothing is more patriotic than these crunchy Flag Cookies!

One microwave minute is all you need to make individual servings of Red, White, and Blueberry Mug Cake.

Check out the post about the Patriotic Miliary Care Package that included these brownies and 4th of July Cookies!

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