Okay, so I have to ask, do you think it’s possible to have too much peanut butter and/or chocolate? Because um……there is a little bit of it in these bars and I’m just not seeing how it’s a problem. Fine, so obviously too much of any on thing is not good but what I’m talking about is all of the different forms of those two epic ingredients that are incorporated into these bars.

So I’m going to be honest with you, these are not for the faint of heart. I’m talking, serious peanut butter and chocolate heart-attack material here and yet they’re so irresistible. Indulge at your own risk. The name sort of says it all I think, dangerous. I’m almost wondering if I should feel guilty about sharing them. On the flip side, it’s pretty hard to rule them out as completely unhealthy because being happy is a huge part of being healthy and these are guaranteed to make people very happy with every decadent bite. See, so that makes them partly healthy right? Do you see where I’m going with this logic?

Haha, okay so maybe we won’t go that far. I’m clearly trying to ease my conscience with things that don’t even make sense. Since we’re all friends here I won’t do any more sugar-coating the fact that these already have too much sugar. Sometimes you just have to live a little, you know? This is one of those times and that’s what these bars are, an experience. An explosive, peanut butter loaded, chocolate stuffed experience. Just do it!

Extreme Reese's Chocolate Brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Cookie Dough:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/2 cup chopped reese's peanut butter cups

Peanut Butter Filling:

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Drizzle:(Optional)

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 (180C) and grease an 8x8 or 7x11 inch pan with oil.

Chocolate Cookie Dough:

Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of stand mixer or a medium mixing bowl. Add the egg and beat until combined then add salt, soda, and vanilla and mix well. Now stir in the cocoa on low until mixed, then add the flour last and continue stirring until your dough comes together. Fold in the chocolate chips and reese's with a large spatula and divide the dough in half.
Spread half of the dough in the bottom of prepared pan (the dough may be a bit sticky to work with so if you are having trouble it can be chilled until easier to handle.) and press into a smooth layer.

Peanut Butter Filling:

Stir together the melted butter and peanut butter in another medium bowl until smooth. Add the salt, vanilla, and milk and mix until combined then add the powdered sugar a little at a time and mix to incorporate into a thick dough.
Scrape the filling mixture out onto the base cookie dough layer and also press it down to form an even peanut butter layer on top of the chocolate dough.
Now scrape out the remaining chocolate dough over the filling layer and crumble evenly over it for the top layer.
Bake the bars for 18 to 22 minutes until the top is starting to darken and brown on the edges. Remove from oven and, if desired, immediately sprinkle some additional chopped reese's over top and press down very gently. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting.

Drizzle:

If you'd like to add the extra drizzle, whisk together the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and use a small tipped pastry bag or simply a fork to drizzle over bars.

For more great food ideas and inspiration, please do not forget to look at my other recent posts

1. Smooth & Creamy Strawberry Rhubarb Meringue Pie
2. Creamy Kale & Spinach Chickpea Macaroni
3. The Easiest Creme Brulee Ever
4. Quick & Easy Vegetarian Egg Rolls
5. One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken & Broccoli Gnocchi
6. Chocolate, Caramel, & Banana "Banoffee" Cake
7. Avocado Chicken Green Enchilada Bake
8. White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
9. Monster Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
10. Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto & Havarti Grilled Cheese

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D750 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent. Click on the link below for some great tutorials on how you can also succeed on the steem blockchain:

Master Toolkit: Steemit Resource Guide Illustrated by @sndbox

Also, a huge shoutout to @rigaronib for designing my logo!

Do you want to learn more about me? Click here to see a recent @wadepaterson interview with me - 20 questions with @gringalicious