Recipe: Joyous Almond Fluff Brownies

In a world of instant coffee, instant Internet access and instant gratification, it's nice to take a breath and slow down a bit.

Last I checked, being a grown up isn't all it's cracked up to be, and I try to reinforce with my children that they should enjoy being kids while they still are kids. Part of this involves instilling a love of family rituals and traditions.  

A case in point: We enjoy Halloween as much as the next family but especially love the ritual of preparation even more. Each year we add to our collection of ghoulish delights. Each year we search for the perfect pumpkin.  

No one enjoys the rites of childhood quite as much as my son. Hopefully, he will always carry that sense of wonderment and joy throughout his life, although I have my concerns. No one can quell the secret passions of your elementary school days quite like a jury of your peers, in this case a gaggle of middle school boys.

Every year, we have an overabundance of candy, given to the kids by our lovely and generous neighbors. I give each of the kids a one-gallon Ziploc bag, and they get to keep what they can fit inside.  

My son has incredible spacial relations that are suspiciously akin to my own. No one, and I mean no one, can pack a Ziploc bag quite the way he can. We have fierce, late night candy trading negotiation sessions that would rival those of the World Trade Organization. After it's all counted, sorted, and squirreled away for the winter, there is always a homeless pile of treats.

We all have them. In addition to the candy that won't fit into the aforementioned bag, there are those candies that no one in their right mind would eat. Candies with wrappers in foreign languages I've never heard of, candies with mangled wrappers, candies that pre-date the cold war, candies that fell through the trade embargo.  

Traditionally, we gather these up and give them to the Great Pumpkin. In exchange for the extra candy, the Great Pumpkin leaves them a little something-something like a pack of baseball cards or a new CD. I have a drawer full of letters that the kids have written to the Great Pumpkin asking him endless personal questions, to which the Great Pumpkin has always written thoughtful and detailed responses.

But what I'm really after are the Almond Joy. That's right. I'm guilty as charged. My daughter will eat one or two, but my son won't trade them cause he knows the Great Pumpkin likes them. GP told him so in one of those thoughtful letters. I confess, it's one of my guilty pleasures in life, leftover from my own childhood.

So in honor of the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, I've created a super easy dessert to make with my beloved Almond Joy. Enjoy what you choose to do with your own leftover candy. 

Joyous Almond Fluff Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 package Betty Crocker basic brownie mix

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 cup water

• *1/2 cup oil (*recipe on box calls for 2/3 cup use, 1/2 cup instead)

• 6-8 fun sized Almond Joy candy bars, chopped

• 1 jar Marshmallow Fluff

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brownie mix, water, egg and oil in a bowl. Stir well to combine. Add chopped Almond Joy (or other favorite candy bar). Take 1/2 to 1 full jar of Marshmallow Fluff and gently fold in until semi combined. Pour into a generously greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Cool completely before attempting to slice.  

Note: This brownie is beyond moist. They may not come out of the pan pretty, but they sure taste great.