Chocolate Peanut Butter Passion Bars

I was on the hunt for another easy cookie or brownie recipe when I came across these in my Costco cookbook, of all places! The recipe was from Ghirardelli - of course I was too cheap to use a Ghirardelli brownie mix in it!

These brownies, or bars, are really really good. I'm not a huge peanut butter fan but I liked the flavor in this. The can of sweetened condensed milk never hurts! They are very rich and sinfully delicious. And super easy!

Because I didn't use the Ghirardelli brand, I just assumed a brownie mix designed for 9x13 pan would work - and it did.

Why these are called passion bars, I have no idea. Maybe because I was really passionate about eating the whole pan straight out of the oven?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Passion Bars
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 pouch chocolate brownie mix (they suggest Ghirardelli triple chocolate)
1 cup peanuts, chopped
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil and eggs. Add the brownie mix and peanuts; stir until moistened. Press half of the brownie mixture into the pan (use your hands - it's way easier); reserve the other half for the topping.

To make the filling, stir the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread it evenly over the brownie layer in the pan.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the reserved brownie mixture over the peanut butter layer.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is set. Cool thoroughly before cutting.