After wreaking havoc on other parts of the country, a whale of a winter storm is about to hit our area. Several inches of snow then ice, which freaks me out about losing power. In 2011, a freak winter storm in October, left us without power for a week. So Rob, Charlie and I spent 8 days in a hotel around the corner from our house. We were happy to find somewhere close that allowed dogs, but spending so much money on that was tough. Some day, I hope we have a generator…

Anyways, I made two kinds of treats for work today, bc I am staying in the hotel across from work and have no treata for tomorrow. These are a Ghirardelli brownie with oreo truffle topping, finished off with melted chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Brownies

• 8 oz 60% bittersweet chocolate
• 6 tbs butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Melt chocolate and butter. Add sugar and salt. Mix in eggs, then flour. Butter an 8 inch square pan and line with parchment paper. Butter paper as well. Pour batter into pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool

Truffle topping

• 30 Oreos
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Directions – finely grind Oreos in food processor (or you can hammer them with a rolling pin and get out all your frustrations). Combine with cream cheese. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut the brownies.

Topping

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

Directions – melt chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add oil. Spoon on each individual brownie. Store in covered container.