Peanut Butter Candy Bar Brownies

This recipe is for all of the peanut butter lovers out there (you know who you are). Just reading this recipe for Peanut Butter Candy Bar Brownies made my mouth water. I loooove peanut butter and chocolate, so the ingredients sounded magical to me. Nutter butters, butterfingers, reeses peanut butter cups and chocolate chips... is there any better combination?

This recipe does not disappoint. You have to trust me - TRY THIS! I sent a plate of these to work with my husband for a potluck lunch. He comes home that night and tells me he conveniently "forgot" to put these on the potluck table. He instead kept them in his office and ate a bunch himself. And he, thankfully, brought the rest home. I did a little happy dance when I saw them again... it had been rather sad when he left the house with them that morning. Yep, that's my husband... helping me gain 10 pounds in the month of December.

The original recipe called for peanuts and coconut. I'm not a big fan of peanuts in my brownies and I just didn't think I wanted coconut in the peanut butter gooey goodness, so I omitted both ingredients. Feel free to throw them back in if that's your type of thing. I was also thinking next time I may try making the crust with Oreos instead of the Nutter Butters to see how they turn out being a little more chocolatey.



Peanut Butter Candy Bar Brownies
(adapted from myrecipes.com)

1 16-ounce package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
7 & 1/2 ounces Reese's peanut butter cups (about 25 miniature cups), coarsely chopped
4 ounces Butterfinger candy bars (about 7 small candy bars), coarsely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13″x 9″ pan with aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over edges of pan. Grease foil well.

2. Combine crushed cookies and butter in a medium bowl. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

3. Combine condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

4. Sprinkle chopped candy bars and chocolate morsels over prepared crust. Drizzle condensed milk mixture over toppings.

5. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using foil, lift out of pan. Peel foil away, and cut into small bars (they're rich!).

Makes about 25 bars.