No-Bake Coconut and Walnut Fudge Brownies

I recently joined The Secret Recipe Club, a fun round-robin where a blogger is assigned the job of making a recipe posted on a different blog, whose owner in turn makes something from a third blog, and so on.   I was given the assignment of selecting a recipe from fearless homemaker, a blogger from Nashville and self-described "foodie, cocktail lover and entertaining enthusiast."   From her lack of capital letters, I would guess that she's also a fan of e. e. cummings

I think having someone else select the assignment is a great idea, since it forces me to try a recipe out of my comfort zone.  But for the same reason it is scary in more ways than one.  Amy is much thinner, much younger and way cuter than I am.  Not that I'm jealous or anything.

Of course not ...

Amy's blog is of the non-kosher persuasion, but when you read past about "succumbing to the cruel temptation that is bacon"  I was relieved to read that she had  been a vegetarian for 7 years.  So it turns out the hardest part was wading through through all her recipes and selecting one for the Club post.  I eventually decided to give theHubby me a gift and selected one of her brownies, a no-bake version.

These babies are held together by crushed chocolate wafer cookies, like the kind you have left after eating the filling out of  an Oreo.  Amy was nice enough to suggest a couple of more sanitary substitutes.  But Famous Cookies don't have a hechsher, and the local Try-n-Save doesn't carry Newman's.   But it did have what I hoped was an equivalent store-brand.  However, it came in a 27oz. package, and the recipe called for 18 ozs (Quick!  Where's the calculator?).   Two-thirds of the package is 18 ounces ... so I need 2/3 of the total.  Of course the cookies are sub-packed into 4 sections, not 3 so a little more calculating is necessary ... 13 cookies in a section, times 4 equals 54 total cookies.  So two-thirds of 54 equals 36 cookies!  Wow!  My brain hurts!

Since 36 cookies won't fit in my processor at one time, I first dropped in 9 then hit the On button.  Turns out 9 cookies equals 1 1/2 cups o'crumbs.  So only 18 cookies, half of what I had originally calculated, creates the 3 cups called for in the recipes.  

Unless I didn't grind the crumbs fine enough.  In any event, remember, your mileage may vary.

TheHubby  doesn't care for almonds, so aside from less cookies the only other change I made was to substitute walnuts for the almonds.

You can use wax paper or aluminum foil to line the pan, with plenty of overhang to grab and lift the brownies out.  Do not use baking spray instead!  Unless you want to eat brownies directly from the pan with a spoon.  

After waiting patiently for several hours for the brownies to solidify, I eagerly took a bite.  They are not quite like brownies, but more like soft Walnut Joys ...  with a hint of crunchiness from the cookies.    But definitely still tasty.  Amy, thank you for posting your recipe!

No-Bake Coconut and Walnut Fudge Brownies 
adapted from fearless homemaker

makes 16 small brownies

12 ozs. bittersweet chocolate, chopped or broken up

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups finely ground chocolate wafer cookies (anywhere from 9 - 18 ozs, depending upon brand of cookies used)

2 cups plus 2 Tbl. sweetened shredded coconut, divided

1 cup plus 2 Tbl. chopped walnuts, divided

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Line a 9” square baking dish with plastic wrap or foil, leaving at least a 1” overhang on all sides.   Set aside.

Heat chocolate and evaporated milk in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally ...

... until chocolate melts and is smooth. Do not let mixture come to a boil.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Measure out 1/3 cup of mixture, preferable over something to catch drips.  Set both aside.

Combine cookie crumbs, 2 cups coconut, 1 cup nuts, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

Pour in chocolate mixture; stir until combined.

Spread mixture evenly into dish. Spread reserved 1/3 cup chocolate over top.

Sprinkle remaining nuts and coconut evenly over top (I forgot didn't bother with the coconut garnish).

Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove brownies from pan by lifting plastic wrap. Remove plastic, and cut into 16 brownies.