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These Valentine’s Brownies are full of sweet Valentine’s Day M&M candies, dry roasted peanuts, and oats for a perfectly crunchy topping over thick, fudgy brownies!
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You may have noticed that my version of making sweet holiday treats for my family and friends is mostly to throw some colorful m&m’s in the mix!
It works every time to add a little bit of festive fun and these Valentine’s Crunch Brownies are no exception!
We started with a box of brownie mix (hello, easy) and whipped up a fun oat topping that’s full of brown sugar, peanuts, and m&m candies.
These little bars are festive and fun, they taste amazing (the fudgy bite of a brownie paired with the crunch of oats and peanuts is amazing), and most importantly these are so easy that you could make them in your sleep!
Ingredient Notes:
Brownie Batter – We’re calling for a box mix to keep life easy, but my homemade brownies are pretty simple and seriously just the best. If you really love chocolate, make these with our Nutella Brownies!
Topping – The topping for these Valentine’s brownies is full of good stuff! Oats, brown sugar, and butter get mixed up with crunchy dry roasted peanuts.
Candy – Along with the other topping ingredients, you’ll also add in some Valentine’s M&M Candies for an ultimate, sweet crunch! This recipe is easily modified for other holidays too. Check out these Easter oatmeal brownies!
What We Love About This Recipe!
Homemade brownies are pretty amazing but sometimes it’s easier to just grab a box mix to save some time and effort. This recipe is perfect for that and you can also change it up to fit other holidays by using different colored candies. We love how that crunchy topping really makes these special!
How to Make Valentine’s Day Brownies:
Brownie Batter: Mostly you’ll just need to follow the instructions on the box for this step. Prepare the brownie batter with any egg, oil, or water the box calls for. When the brownie batter is ready you can pour it into a prepared pan!
Topping: To begin preparing the crunchy brownie topping you’ll add the melted butter, brown sugar, oatmeal and peanuts to a mixing bowl. Start mixing all that up until it is well combined!
When you’ve got all that mixed up you can start folding in 3/4 of the Valentine’s M&M candies to add the festive look. Then sprinkle the topping mixture over the brownie batter!
Bake: To finish preparing the brownies to bake, add the remaining candies to the top of the brownies and then bake in for 40 to 45 minutes. You will want to let these Valentine’s Day brownies cool completely before slicing and serving!
Helpful Tip!
How to tell when brownies are done:
We like fudgy and soft brownies, not overbaked or dry!
To get soft fudgy Valentine’s Day brownies we place the tester (knife or toothpick) one inch from the edge of the pan.
Testing in the center leads to overdone brownies! When it comes out mostly clean an inch from the edge, you’ll know these crunch brownies are ready!
Brownies cooked to this level of doneness do need to cool in the pan to set up. They’ll turn out perfectly fudgy after cooling.
FAQs:
These Valentine’s brownies will keep well for about 3 to 5 days if stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
You will want to get a mix that is enough to fill a 9×13 dish. They are usually labelled “Family Size”. You can use your favorite brand.
MORE VALENTINE’S DAY TREATS!
- Valentine’s Crunch Bars
- Valentine’s Day Cracker Toffee
- Valentine’s Day Cookies
- Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
Valentine’s Brownies
Ingredients
- 18 ounces brownie mix plus ingredients as called for on the box
- 2/3 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
- 11 ounces Valentine m&m candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Add brownie mix in a mixing bowl and prepare brownies according to package directions. Pour into the prepared pan.
- In a separate bowl, add melted butter, brown sugar, oatmeal and peanuts. Mix well. Fold in 3/4 of the candies. Sprinkle mixture on top of brownies. Add remaining candies to the top of the brownies. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a tester inserted 1 inch from the edge of the pan comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
Cheryl says
Sounds delicious. What caniuse I place of peanuts. Peanut allergy infamily
Karly says
Hi Cheryl! You could use any nut you like. Toffee would also add a bit of crunch, but will make it quite a bit sweeter as well.