#10: Peanut Butter Cookie Brownie Bars

I AM A SLAVE TO SANDRA LEE. There, I said it. I have had WAY too much fun scanning through her cookbook, trying to decide which recipe I wanted to try next. Inspiration came at the strangest time, while I was sitting in Jeni's kitchen during my WONDERFUL vacation to California. We had been discussing desserts we could make with the ingredients we had on hand at the time, and for whatever reason, I blurted out- "OH MY GOSH, I could make these peanut butter brownies I saw a recipe for!" Strangely enough, I remembered every step needed to make the stinkin' brownies... Divine inspiration, if you ask me. Unfortunately, we were fresh out of all the ingredients, but that didn't stop me from making them the moment I was home. They were wonderful... all gooey, and crunchy, and mmmm... AND so easy to make. I think I'm getting lazy. I think I'm going to have to challenge myself soon...

#10: Peanut Butter Cookie Brownie Bars (taken from Sandra Lee's Bake Sale Cookbook)

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 package (19.9 ounces) dark chocolate brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 package (16 ounces) refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
1 package (2.25 ounces) nut topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir together brownie mix, oil, milk, and eggs until well mixed. Pour half the batter into the prepared baking pan. Break apart cookie dough pieces; randomly drop pieces in batter. Pour the remaining batter over cookie dough, spreading smoothly. Sprinkle nut topping over the top.
     - Okay, a couple of things to mention here. Sandra Lee is a liar. 16 ounces of cookie dough is WAY too much. I literally covered the entire pan in cookie dough before covering it with brownie mix, and I still had enough left over to make three peanut butter cookies on a separate sheet. PLUS, I couldn't find 16 ounces of peanut butter cookie dough at Albertson's, so I nervously bought only 14 ounces... and that was still too much. She must be seeing royalties from the cookie dough companies. ALSO, another thought, I didn't understand the "nut topping." You can actually buy something called "Nut Topping" from Diamond of California, but when I read the ingredients on the package, it said it only contained chopped walnuts. So I guess you just need... walnut topping?

3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Soooo good. I know I've been naughty and have used cake mixes in my last two recipes, but they just looked so GOOD! ... that doesn't make me a bad person, does it? Here is a picture of the brownie bars. Sorry about the quality. My mother took this, attempting to be artsy. As cute as it is, I don't think it shows enough detail, but beggars can't be choosers!