Muddy Buddies brownies

The fun thing about trying new recipes is that you never really know how they will turn out; sometimes recipe experiments go horribly wrong, and sometimes recipes that are in the process of going horribly wrong turn into something quite good. This was the latter. I was attempting to make "reverse" Muddy Buddies, using white chocolate and cocoa powder. But, the combination of white chocolate and honey I made was not something that would spread well over the cereal. In an attempt to save dessert, I pulled out of my pantry a box brownie mix. I crushed the cereal into the white chocolate mix and poured the brownie batter over top. The result was a sweet, uniquely flavored brownie. Moral of the story -- don't be afraid to try random recipe ideas, and don't give up halfway through if your idea isn't working!

Muddy Buddies brownies

8 cups Chex rice cereal
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
cinnamon
cocoa powder
1 box brownie mix
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites, beaten

Melt white chocolate chips and butter in the microwave and stir with honey. Mix with crushed rice cereal. Spread evenly in a greased dish. Lightly dust top of cereal mixture with cinnamon and cocoa powder. In a bowl, combine brownie mix with oil, water and egg whites (this may be different from the directions on the box). Pour brownie mixture over the cereal, letting it settle evenly in the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)