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