Reese's Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

I have a favourite brownie recipe that I like to use always. Recently, I was experimenting with different types of brownies and made some yummy and healthy black bean brownies a few weeks ago. This time, I wanted to try adding a kick to the brownies. I looked through my cupboard and saw I had some Ghirardelli chocolate squares left over from Christmas, and some Easter Reese's mini peanut butter cups I recently bought. After making a well thought-out decision (*ahem*...through enie-menie-miney-moe), the decision was the peanut butter cups. I used the same recipe as my go-to brownie recipe, but I doubled the batter size and adding a bit of cocoa for a darker colour. You will also notice that I am not using too much sugar - I feel that the chocolate from the cups as well as the frosting will have enough sweetness that too much sugar in the cake will just be too  much. I am hoping to make some Ghirardelli brownies in the near future. Enjoy!

Reese's Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Prep time: 5 min        Cook Time: 30 min           Yield: 16 servings

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Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 cup butter, cubed
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 14 mini Reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped and chopped
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 4 tbsp. milk
- Mini Reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped and chopped for garnish

Directions
Brownies
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a double broiler over low heat, stirring until smooth and melted through. Remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder, beating well. Add eggs, beating after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until mixed. Add to chocolate mixture, stirring until well blended. Spread half of the batter in prepared cake pan. Sprinkle with peanut butter cups. Top with remaining batter.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely in pan.
Peanut Butter Frosting
1. In a medium bowl, whip butter and peanut butter until combined. Add powdered sugar and stir until combined. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until mixture becomes smooth.
2. Spread frosting on top of cooled brownies. Sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups.



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