Fancying Up Plain Brownies

image scanned in from the Delightful Desserts Pampered Chef Cookbook

my own photo of my own, not as artistically pleasing, but just as yummy, brownies

I like this recipe for two reasons:

1. It's chocolate and peanut butter.

2. It's really simple, basically just a brownie mix, but it seems much fancier and more involved.


Triple Layer Brownies
from The Pampered Chef

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 cup old-fashioned (or quick) oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (19-21 oz.) brownie mix (plus ingredients to make brownies)
3/4 semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:
Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 casserole dish with Pam. Chop peanuts and combine them with oats, brown sugar, flour and baking soda. Add melted butter. Press into the bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake 8 minutes.

While the crust is baking, prepare brownie mix according to box directions. Gently spoon batter over partially baked crust; carefully spreading to edges. Bake according to box directions for brownies (28-30 minutes). Cool completely.

Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter and microwave, on high, uncovered for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Spread evenly over cooled brownies. Sprinkle with additional chopped peanuts if desired. Cut into bars or squares. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator (which I didn't do, but our only lasted about 36 hours).