Peanut Butter Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

These bars are absolutely delicious! I love combination of textures: fudgy, gooey, and crunchy. It all starts with a fudgy brownie base, then layered with marshmallows, and finally topped off with chocolate peanut butter rice krispies. I made these for my church’s small group; everyone loved them and I’m sure you will too!

These bars don’t take a lot of time to make but you could cut down on the time by using a box brownie mix for the base. The bars are easiest to cut when chilled but can be eaten at room temperature or chilled. Personally, I like them chilled because I love cold chocolate!

Ingredients

Makes 24 bars

For the Brownie Base:

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate;
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter;
• 1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided;
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder;
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature;
• 2 cups granulated sugar;
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

For the Toppings:

• 1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows;
• 1½ cups milk chocolate chips;
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter (don’t use natural peanut butter);
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter;
• 1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan.
2. For the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.
5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.
6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.
7. Spread/Pour the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.