Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

Remember when I said I’ve lost fifteen pounds AND I still eat brownies?

Well they weren’t just any brownies.

They were these Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies.

For these particularly amazing, rich peanut buttery, fudgy cheesecake brownies full of deliciousness I would:

• wear socks all day (P.S. I HATE socks.)
• clean the house without the TV on in the background (I’m not even sure I’m capable of this but I would so try it)
• do my Insanity workout twice in a day (recent personal data shows that this is not necessary, but for a brownie I could make it happen)
• eat creamed corn salmon (OKAY, so I really love a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie, but I draw the line at creamed corn; I think I could do salmon)

I first saw these brownies while wandering aimlessly around Pinterest. They were supposed to happen for Chad’s birthday.       It’s not until July.

So what had happened was… we went grocery shopping and i spied a big bag of Reese’s Pieces and I wanted an excuse to buy them so I tucked them in between two heads of lettuce and then discreetly steered the cart towards the baking aisle for!! Brownie mix.

I suppose I could have made my favorite brownies from scratch, but chocolate chips are more expensive than brownie mix. What’s that all about?

I considered eating the peanut butter cheesecake batter with a spoon.

I also checked the Reese’s Pieces to make sure they were suitable for cheesecake batter. You know, quality control.

When you cut into these finished brownies the hard candy shells leave a little smudge of color on the creamy baked cheesecake. If you wanted to color code these for holidays or events you could use M&M’s. The Reese’s people have not yet caught on to the color coded candy craze. It’s always Halloween where they live. I don’t know about you, but I could totally get down with hot pink Reese’s Pieces.

Spooning the cheesecake batter evenly over the top of the brownie batter is sort of tricky.

But then it’s time to bake.

And once baked, cooled, smothered in melted chocolate and chopped Reese’s Cups, you’ll really never know that spreading the cheesecake batter evenly was a problem. Mostly, though, you just won’t care.

I have a major problem with melting chocolate in the microwave. I want it to work… but it doesn’t work. Not melty enough and then BAM! Burned chocolate. I’m sticking to the stove. I don’t gamble with chocolate.

I cut into the brownies before they’d cooled completely. I was just a teensy bit excited.

One morning I woke up and half a plate of brownies was missing from the fridge. So someone else around here was excited about brownies, too.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies (from Pip & Ebby)

Ingredients

1 box of your favorite brownie mix, prepared according to package instructions ** Note: I made these brownies following the “cake-like” instructions. They had plenty of height, but I think for the next round I’ll probably forego the third egg and go fudgy with it.**

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 (12 ounce) package Reese’s Pieces candy

1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

3 tablespoons heavy cream

12 large Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, refrigerated and then coarsely chopped

To Make

Pre-heat the oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9X13 baking dish. Mix the brownies according to package instructions and spread evenly into the prepared pan. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter and then beat until smooth. Stir in the Reese’s Pieces and then spoon the batter evenly over the top of the brownie batter in the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The cheesecake layer will be set and golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes (or completely) and then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate chips with the heavy cream (on the stove or in the microwave; pick your poison) and stir until you have a smooth chocolate sauce. Spread it over the cheesecake layer. Top the melted chocolate with the chopped Reese’s Cups. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set completely before slicing into squares.