Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Fudge

Does anyone really have leftover Halloween candy at their house? In my world, there is absolutely no such thing! The amount of recipes circulating last week that called for "leftover Halloween candy" had me cracking up. But they sure looked good! And I'd never turn down a baked good made with candy bars (hello!?).

We went through a ton of candy this year for Halloween ~ but not at our house. Our trunk or treat event at church had a huge turn-out and we went through LOTS of candy. So much, in fact, that I had to send a church member up the road to CVS for 35 more bags halfway through the event! We paid through the nose for those bags but Trunk or Treat just isn't a hit if we run out of candy before all the kids got their fair share. Next year, I'll be the crazy lady at Costco buying a pallet of candy!

So, I didn't have a single piece of leftover Halloween candy in my house but I DID have fudge. Ridiculous fudge, really. I kept seeing fudge recipes go by on Pinterest and realized it'd been years since I made some at home. I played around a bit with some of my favorite flavors and came up with this. Y'all, I realize it's a tad over the top but go with it.

The fudge itself is semi-sweet chocolate + peanut butter. I used semi-sweet because, honestly, I'm not a milk chocolate fan. If you like milk you could sub that in and have a milk chocolate + peanut butter fudge similar to a Reese's cup. And because I can't leave good enough alone, I decided to blend in chunks of brownie.

Yep, brownie.

Now, I'm not usually a packaged/boxed brownie girl but in order for the brownie to hold up in the thick chocolate it needed to be a dense firm brownie. Not gooey, fudgy, or soft. I don't have a stand-by brownie recipe that would fit the bill so I reached for packaged brownies.

You know those awesome brownies you used to get in your lunchbox? Yep, that's what I used. And they worked perfectly!

To add a touch more peanut butter flavor - and to make them prettier - I drizzled on a simple peanut butter glaze.

The whole recipe comes together in around 10 minutes. Let it cool for a couple hours, slice into pieces, and you have one sinful treat on your hands.

These are super rich and sweet! I recommend cutting them into small pieces - which also means they'll last longer!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Fudge
10 ounce bag peanut butter chips (such as Reese's)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 dual-pack fudge brownies (such as Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies)
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment or wax paper, allowing it to hang over the edges slightly for easier removal later.

Remove the brownies from their wrappers and chop them into small pieces. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the peanut butter chips, semi-sweet chips, and condensed milk over medium heat. Stir constantly until it's smooth. Remove from heat and gently stir in 1/2 of the chopped brownies.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pan, smoothing it out on top. Sprinkle the remaining brownie pieces over top, slightly pressing them down into the chocolate.

In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, milk, and powdered sugar. Spoon it into a sandwich sized ziptop bag. Cut the corner and drizzle it over top.

Allow to chill for 2 hours or until firm (the drizzle will remain soft). Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Source: adapted from Something Swanky