OATMEAL BROWNIES

Had a craving for brownies tonight, so thought I’d whip up a batch of these Oatmeal Brownies ;-)

OATMEAL BROWNIES ~ 4 dozen cookies

BROWNIE MIXTURE: 4 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened Chocolate * 2/3 cup Shortening * 2 cups granulated Sugar * 4 Eggs * 1 teaspoon Vanilla * 1-1/4 cups all-purpose Flour * 1 teaspoon Baking Powder * 1 teaspoon Salt * 1 cup chopped Nuts, if desired

OATMEAL MIXTURE: 2-1/2 cups Oats (regular or quick) * ¾ cup all-purpose Flour * ¾ cup packed Brown Sugar * ½ teaspoon Baking Soda * ¾ cup Margarine or butter, melted

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Grease baking pan, 13 x 9 x 2-inches. Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking soda; stir in margarine. Reserve ¾ cup of the oat mixture. Press remaining oatmeal mixture into baking pan and bake 10 minutes; cool 5 minutes.

Prepare the Brownie mixture as follows: Heat chocolate and shortening in a 3-quart saucepan over low heat until melted (or use a double-boiler pan); remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in remaining ingredients. Spread mixture over baked oatmeal mixture in pan:

Sprinkle with reserved oatmeal mixture …

Bake until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan – about 30 minutes. Do not overbake … I don’t like doughy foods, so I ‘overbaked’ by about 10 extra minutes ;-) Cool; cut into 1-1/2-inch squares.