Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Outrageous Peanut Butter Cup Bars


I thought I would take a break from my "pumpkin phase" and try something new. Everyone loves peanut butter and chocolate right? Well, I got this recipe from my new calendar from Cooking Club of America. I for one love a good Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, so I thought this would be an excellent recipe to try. I fell in love with the frosting, but the brownie was just a regular, plain ole brownie. You could taste hints of the peanut butter from the candy, but not a lot. Everyone here thought that the frosting was a little too much. Gary, who loves brownies, didn't like these. He said the peanut butter flavor was too strong. I for one would eat the frosting right out of the bowl...Wait a minute... I did! They are pretty good, but not on the repeat list here. I got stuck with the entire batch left over. Maybe I should stick with the pumpkin?

OUTRAGEOUS PEANUT BUTTER CUP BARS

Bars
2/3 cup butter, softened
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1 1/3 Cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 Cup flour
10 snack sized peanut butter cups, cut into 1/2" pieces

Frosting
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 Cups powdered sugar
1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter at room temperature
2/3 cup roasted salted peanuts

1. Heat oven to 325. Line 8" square pan with foil, leaving extra foil extending over edges. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place 3/4 Cup butter and chocolate in medium heat-proof bowl, place over medium saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from saucepan: let stand until cooled slightly

3. In large owl, beat eggs, sugar and salt a medium speed until blended. At low speed, bean in chocolate mixture and 1 tsp vanilla until blended. Beat in flour just until incorporated. Gently stir in peanut butter cups. Spread batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Be careful not to hit peanut butter cups. Top may crack during baking. Cool completely on wire rack. Bars may sink slightly during cooling.

5. Meanwhile , in another large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter at medium speed until blended and smooth. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla. At low speed beat in 2 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar until blended and smooth, adding additional powdered sugar , if necessary, to achieve desired spreading consistency. Stir in peanut butter. Spread frosting over bars, sprinkle with peanuts.

6. Using foil edges, lift bars from pan. Slide bars off foil onto cutting board: cut into 16 pieces.


SOURCE: Cooking Club of America, Dazzling Desserts

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you can use your favorite brownie recipe and use half the amount frosting? :)

kickpleat said...

yum! i love peanut butter cups and i try not to eat them. sigh. but i think i'll make this frosting to top something chocolately soon!

Sammy said...

No way! That combination would totally rock! Now you've got me drooling

Anonymous said...

Nothing can be too sweet in my book! These are worth a try!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear they didn't knock people's socks off... but they look fantastic and made me drool.

Rachel said...

Oh, yum! I think the icing looks delish!

utenzi said...

You take such great pictures of food, Michelle. I know it's not easy to get them to work out well. I think it's actually easier to do the baking than it is to get a good pic of the results.

I like the peanut butter approach more than going after more pumpkins but that's just me. Soon it'll be time for turkey!

carmilevy said...

I was flying home last night and thinking about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Then I wondered about all the great peanut butter-related foods I've had over the years. I'm addicted to the stuff, and your recipe would top the list.

Definitely serendipity.

Unknown said...

All this time I've been reading your blog I never knew you were from TX, I am too!! I live in Denton, where do you live in west texas?

Anonymous said...

Yay, I'm so glad I found you! I'm in desperate need for a dessert for Thanksgiving (other than the usual pumpkin and pecan pies). Maybe this is the place I'll find it!

Anonymous said...

This really looks delicious, I must try it soon!