Chubby Hubby Brownies

Peanut Butter? Check

Caramel? Check

[Cookies and] Cream? Check

Pretzels? Check

Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate? Check Check Check

When I described these brownies to Big D, he turned to me and said, completely deadpan:

"Where's the kitchen sink?"

Want a closer look at that topping?

Hmmmm...these were that good.

Chubby Hubby Brownies

1/2 cup butter

• 4 ounces baking chocolate
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup pretzels, chopped
10 oreo cookies- chopped


1 cup powder sugar
2 tablespoons milk


1/2 recipe Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce


In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add chocolate and stir until completely melted.  Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Gently stir in cookies and pretzels ( Reserving some to sprinkle on top.) Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Sprinkle remaining cookies an pretzels on top. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Let cool. Combine powder sugar and milk,and mix until smooth. Drizzle over cake  with Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce. Cut yourself a piece and then give the pan to a caring friend to safeguard *ahem* I mean- enjoy. 

Brownie Fudge Pie with Caramel Sauce

This is not to be confused with Fudgy Chocolate Cream Pie. I just wanted to make that clear, you know. Every chocolate pie deserves it's own fifteen minutes of fame, and this one is no different! In all seriousness though, (since chocolate is quite a serious topic for most of us) this pie is made for serious brownie lovers, and chocolate fanatics alike. Its so ridiculously easy to make, its a pity not to! I never try just one recipe, purely for scientific purposes, of course. So I made two different recipes with essentially the same ingredients,but different measurements. The first one I made was from the Betty Crocker website. Then I tried a recipe from Allrecipes. They both rocked my world, although in slightly different ways. Betty Crocker's is a very rich, dense chocolate pie. It has a great texture with a strong chocolate flavor. The peanut butter caramel sauce offset the chocolateyness (how in heavens name do you spell that?!) perfectly. The recipe from Allrecipes was delicious as well. The chocolate wasn't quite as strong, but the fudgey texture just blew my mind. Although they were both heavenly, if I had to pick one to make again, I would pick the one from allrecipes. Since I like my readers to come to their own educated decisions, it would only be fair to post both recipes. Let me know which one you make and how you liked it! So, here ya go:

Fudgy Brownie Pie 

(adapted from Betty Crocker)

One recipe Pat-A-Pie Crust or graham cracker pie crust

1	cup butter or margarine
2	cups sugar
2	teaspoons vanilla
4	eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2	cups all-purpose flour
3/4	cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4	teaspoon salt
1	cup chocolate chips
1	cup chopped pecans (optional)

1           tablespoon flour


Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare pie crust according to instructions. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat; remove from heat. Stir in sugar, vanilla and eggs until well blended. Stir in flour, cocoa and salt until smooth. Pour chocolate chips into a ziploc bag. Add flour and shake well. Stir into batter. Spread evenly in pie crust.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Cool 1 hour.




Fudge Pie
One recipe Pat-A-Pie Crust or graham cracker crust

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (not optional!)
• 1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a medium saucepan, melt butter or margarine. Stir in sugar,eggs and vanilla extract. Add  flour and cocoa powder and mix until well combined. Pour chocolate chips into a ziploc bag. Add flour and shake well. Stir into batter. Spread evenly in pie crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. 

Serve either pie warm with warm Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce (an absolute must! You can make it early and refrigerate it until needed, but whatever you do, don't skip the caramel sauce!!) and whip cream. For serious chocolate lovers, you can drizzle on warmed basic chocolate glaze.

For my very observant readers, you may have noticed that the pictures posted here are all of the same pie (Betty Crocker's) Where is the other pie you may ask? How dare I post a recipe without a sneak preview of what you shall be eating? Well, um, so, you see, um, if I were to take a picture, it would kinda look like this...

Yeah....it was that good.

The way brownies were meant to taste...

Every time I make brownies, I try a new recipe. I kid you not. Maybe its because there are a bazillion brownie recipes out there. Maybe its because I find it intriguing that there are a bazillion different ways to combine cocoa, sugar, flour, oil and eggs and each way comes out completely different. In either case every recipe claims to be the best, fudgiest, chocolatiest (sp?) brownie that you will EVER taste. So naturally, I have to try each recipe to see if they are right. Many are pretty good. Some are delicious. Some are so-so. Soooo these brownies that you are drooling over, they really are amazing. I am not going to say that these are G-ds gift to mankind. Although, they do come pretty close....In my humble opinion, this is my final destination- I have found my perfect brownie recipe. While we are on the topic, I am a firm believer that everyone has their recipes that accomodate their tastebuds, and is their best recipe. Meaning, you might make these brownies immediately, and taste them, and say    " What? She thinks these are amazing? I've tasted better." And if you do say this, you have just proven my point that everyone has different tastes, and their own "go-to" recipes. I think everyone is just partial to their own recipe boxes....if you have one that is. Either way, I liked these, and I wanted to share them with you, so if you do make them, I hope you enjoy!

  

Best Brownie Recipe

Notes: I followed the recipe almost exactly....except I added in 4 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate to the melted margarine, and let the chocolate melt in it. Also, for optimum results, don't use a mixer- just use a wooden spoon and a bowl, and don't over mix the brownies. This is the key to fudgy brownies. In order to make this recipe in a 9x13 pan, the recipe needs to be doubled.

Crunchy,sweet, chewy, chocolatey.....what more can I say?

I have been drooling over this recipe for a while, and tonight I finally decided enough is enough, I gotta get this out of my system. I found the recipe over here: www.browneyedbaker.com and I must say they came out just as heavenly as her description. They are the perfect combination of peanut butter, crunchy Rice Krispies, chewy marshmallows and CHOCOLATE.

Thank goodness I gave them all away before too much damage was done! Anyways, make them tomorrow...they are worth it!