Peanut Butter Cup Brownies...Mmmmm

I picked up a bag of Reese's Premier Baking Pieces at the grocery store the other day because they were on closeout. I probably never would've realized they existed if they weren't marked down. That said, I just had to have them. They are cute! Little itty bitty Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The kind you find in Moose Tracks Ice Cream. Yum!

Anyway, I decided I wanted to put them in brownies. Oh, they are good. Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

4 oz unsweetened chocolate (4 squares)
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 bag Reese's Premier Baking Pieces
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Melt 3/4 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Combine with sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and Reese's Premier Baking Pieces in a large bowl. Mix well. Pour into a 9" x 13" baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. Cool completely.

Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Spread over brownies.

You can either eat them now or wait for the chocolate/peanut butter topping to cool. I couldn't wait. Cut and enjoy.

Black and White Brownies

I didn't particularly care for these brownies only because I can't stand white chocolate. E asked me why I made them if I didn't like white chocolate. Well, I figured other people like it so maybe I'll try this recipe out to see if it would be good enough to sell. E liked it, so I'll probably tinker with it some and make it again to sell. I followed this recipe almost exactly, but next time I'll make my own brownie base. This recipe uses box brownie mix.

Black and White Brownies

1 19- to 21-oz pkg fudge brownie mix, including ingredients needed to make brownies according to box directions
1 10-to 12-oz pkg white baking pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 Tbsp hot water
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups pecans, chopped

1. Grease the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Stir in half of the white baking pieces, all of the semisweet chocolate chips, and the 1/2 cup pecans. Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan.

2. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven about 25-30 minutes or until center is set. Sprinkle with the remaining white baking pieces; bake for 1 minute more. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

3. For frosting, in a small bowl combine melted butter and hot water; stir in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Beat by hand until smooth. I found that there wasn't enough liquid so I added a splash of milk until I was able to mix it smooth. Spoon over top of brownies. Sprinkle with the 3/4 cup pecans (I didn't). Cool about 1 1/2 hours or until frosting is set. Cut into bars. Makes about 36 brownies.

These were way too sweet for me. The white chocolate just made it that much worse. Again, E liked them. I left a couple at home for him to eat and gave the rest away. I think I'll try a recipe with out the white chocolate and with my brownie recipe. I have some ideas of what to do.

It's going to be hot this weekend (90 degrees!!!) so I'll be doing a lot of garden stuff. I worked some in the greenhouse yesterday evening and planted a lot of things. I'll start planting green beans tomorrow in the garden and maybe potatoes and corn. I think it'll be warm enough now to put some tomato plants in the ground, but I won't be putting too many in. The ones I started from seed are still too small (I was late getting them started) so E went and bought a few plants. I have some milk jugs that I'll use if the temps drop too low at night, but I don't think we'll have many more of those days.

I made a killer lemon pie last night which, hopefully, I'll post Monday. I usually like to follow a recipe exactly before I make any changes, but I didn't like the amount of lemon called for (I love tangy lemon things) so I added more and omitted one item. It turned out fabulous. E was chomping at the bit this morning to dig into it, so I didn't get a pic of it whole; there is one piece taken out.

Yay for Me!

Saturday evening E and I went to the coffee shop to talk to the owner. She was really excited about getting my goodies in her restaurant! Yay!! She also wants me to sell my jams since there is a gift shop. I took her samples of some jams and Peanut Butter Brookies. She and everyone else absolutely loved them. She wanted me to start bringing her things right away. Yesterday I spent the afternoon baking and canning. Here is a pic of the Peanut Butter Brookies and Gingerbread Biscotti that I am taking down there this evening. The biscotti will go great with their Gingerbread Lattes. I don't drink coffee and even that sounds good!
I'll think of a couple more things to come up with and take them down there later in the week. The partner even asked if I could do cakes and pies. I told her I'd have no problem with that, but I'd have to figure the cost out. Some cakes and pies might be too expensive. I explained to her that I only use quality ingredients, so that can make the prices go up some. I'll have to experiment some this week. In the mean time, E and I need to do some serious exercising!!

On another note, Wayne (E's step-father) was having a heart attack Saturday. I say "having" because it was caught before it turned into a full-blown heart attack. He looked pretty bad when the rescue squad took him out. He's doing much better now and may be able to come home today. I hope he takes it easy from here on out and I hope the start eating healthier. I don't think I should be using them as my guinea pigs anymore!