Hi All!!
Perhaps the wildest day of all lies ahead of me... I am in the office now hoping to get a jump on the sheer amount of computer layout work I need to do... tried to post here last night but kept getting "Server is too busy messages" so I firgured I'd log in this am...
Brownies turned out good I think! Hard to tell when I didn't even lick any batter off a spoon or eat a crumble of peanut butter cup!!! For Jenn & Julie, here is the "secret" recipe for my brownies... now don't get mad when you see the secret as this is a simple recipe and don't think less of me as a cook for using these shortcuts! LOL! Sadly Julie I don't think you can make a low cal/low carb/sugar free version of these monsters... the carb/fat counts are off the charts! That's what makes em so addictive! LOL Here's the recipe...
(1) Buy the Better Crocker brownie mix with the Hershey Kisses in it... I have tried other mixes, this one is the best for this concoction. Prepare batter as directed.
(2) Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil (trust me!) and then grease with butter or butter flavored shortening. Again, sub what you want here but nothing but the two listed above will make this recipe turn out as magically fudgy as it does. and yes, a 13x9" pan, if you were to try and make these brownies any thicker the American Heart Association would arrest you!!
(3) Pour batter into pan and spread to all four courners. Then dollop Skippy peanut butter in about 8 or 9 heaping scoops on top of the batter. (You will use about half of an 18oz jar). Use a sharp knife to "swirl" the peanut butter through the batter but do not defuse the peanut butter or batter too much, ie. don't mix them together. You should have a gorgeous meandering river of peanut butter flowing through this valley of fudgy batter. I have tried other major brand peanut butters and Skippy is the only one that turns out perfect in this recipe. Other brands seem to "crust" up or mix into the batter too much.
(4) Bake in a 350 degree over for 23min... yes the package says 26-28 min. Go ahead and do that if you want to but by slightly undercooking them at exactly 23 min, you will have a brownie that is fudgy and magical, holds together when sliced but falls apart perfectly as you eat it.
(5) While the brownies are baking, take a package of Snack Sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (11.2oz bag) and open them up, break them by hand into 4 pieces each. For years I made these brownies with the miniatures, huge mistake!!! The hand broken peanut butter cups gives the brownies so much more character, texture, and I think flavor. And if you use a store brand instead of Reese's, please don't tell me!! LOL!
(6) As soon as the hot brownies are out of the oven, begin strategically placing the peanut butter cup chunks over the surface, pressing the chunks down into the brownies so they break the surface and become one with the hot brownies. Now you may think, why not just scatter them on the batter before baking... WELL STOP THAT!!! If you do bake the brownies with cups on top the reese's chunks will get grainy & nasty, and the chocolate may burn. Your will almost completely cover the surface of the brownies when you are done placing your cup pieces.
(7) and now, the hardest step!!!! You must... MUST let these brownies cool for HOURS!! If not, you will have a huge mess on your hands. You see, what happens when you put the cups on is they melt... but hold their shape as long as they are not disturbed and are allowed to cool. When cooled the cups are now somehow magically tender and melded into the brownies, yet still distinct and the pan looks like gourmet perfection.
(8) When cooled, lift the foil out of the pan to a cutting board and slice these puppies up! Running your knife under hot water helps a lot, these puppies are fudge-tastic and will stick otherwise! I usually slice the batch into 24 brownies. You only need a small one to get all the flavor!! Makes an excellent brownie sundae base FYI.
(9) Enjoy!!)
So there you have that!! hehe!!
As for me, I will probably not be back to the DIS until late this evening! Have a great day all!!
Mike
You are an inspiration! 
hehehehe!
