A Summer Treat

I don't know if there is an acual name for these delighful sweet treats, but, I am going to call them graham cracker sandwich cookies (I know, it's a pretty lame name, but I coudn't think of anything else)! And, I am sure that you have had one before because of their simplicity and tastiness. And if you have never had one, let me just tell you that graham crackers and frosting pair so well together, especially with a glass of cold milk!

These sweet treats remind me of hot summer days when I was little. My mom would make them for us to the take to the beach or on a picnic, we would eat them on vacation, and I remember always eating them while watching fireworks on the 4th of July, with blue frosting of course! I absolutely loved, loved, loved them and I still do. I really like when the graham cracker gets slighly soft from sandwiching the frosting :) These are great to make with any leftover frosting that you have, which is what I did with these. They are also a simple and fun sweet snack to whip up and kids will gobble them up, enjoy!

Graham Cracker Sandwich Cookies:

All you need is:

• Graham Crackers
• Your Favorite Frosting
• Sprinkles

Break gramham cracker sheet into two halves. Frost one half with desired amount of frosting. Place the other half of the graham cracker on top to form a sandwich. Dip edges in sprinkles. Store in an airtight container (these are best eaten the day they are made).

S'more Cookie Bars

Happy Memorial Day! I have the perfect treat to kick off the start of summer, S'more Cookie Bars! I love campfire s'mores, but these bars sure step those up a bit! You have HERSHEY'S chocolate bars and marshmallow creme sandwiched between a blondie-like graham cracker cookie bar! You have to let them cool before cutting, but, I think they taste best warmed in the microwave to get the sticky, gooey, and metly effect of a s'more.     

S'more Cookie Bars: (Hershey's)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 (1.55 oz. each) or 2 King Size HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Bars
• 1 cup marshmallow creme (I used closer to 1-1/2 cups)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8-inch baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of the dough into prepared pan.

Arrange chocolate bars over dough. Spread evenly with marshmallow creme. Scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallow; carefully press to form a layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.  

Better-Than-Crack-Brownies

What else can I say about these fabulous brownies?

I guess the name says it all, although I don't know if they are truly better-than-crack, thank goodness! 

But, what I do know is that these brownies are sinful and are full of pure delicious-ness.

You have a fudgy chocolate brownie, topped with chopped up Butterfingers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which then gets topped off with a mixture of melted chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter and then Cocoa Pebbles cereal gets mixed in! Wow, I know, trust me they are gooooood!

These brownies are chewy and fudgy, crunchy and smooth, and chocolatey and peanut buttery! It's like eating a brownie, a candy  bar, and a scotcheroo all in one!

 I have made these several times and everywhere I take them, they are a huge hit!

Go make these brownies : ), don't wait!

Better-Than-Crack-Brownies: (adapted from How Sweet It Is)

-1 batch brownies for a 13x9-inch pan (boxed or your favorite homemade)

-1/2 cup chopped Butterfingers

-1 cup chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

-3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

-3/4 cup butterscotch chips

-1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

-1 1/2 cups Cocoa Pebbles cereal

Make brownies according to directions for a 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, just so that they are slightly underbaked. Remove and top with chopped Butterfingers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and bake 4-6 minutes more.

While they finish baking, melt chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter together until smooth. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly pour peanut butter mixture over top.

Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. I think they taste best cold straight from the refrigerator!

Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars

When I saw these Brookies over at Bakingdom, which I am calling Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars, I just about drooled and I made them the very next day! Brookies, which are part chocolate chip cookie, which I love, and part brownie, which I love even more, are turned into a tri-level decadant treat! You have a buttery and chewy chocolate chip cookie base, topped with a dense and fudgey brownie, topped with a smooth and rich chocolate buttercream. I love, love, love them! Give these a try and if you like these, you may also like these, these or this!

Brookie Bars=pure decadance, indulgence, and are simply irresistable : )

Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars: (adapted from Bakingdom)

Ingredients:

For the Cookie Layer

-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup brown sugar

-1 egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

For the Brownie Layer

-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

-1 cup sugar

-2 eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/3 cup cocoa powder

-1/2 cup flour

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon baking powder

OR

use your favorite boxed brownie mix plus the ingredients called for on the box (if using a boxed mix, be sure you use a mix for an 8x8-inch pan, not for a 13x9-inch pan).

For the Frosting

-4 tablespoons unsalted butter

-1/4 cup cocoa powder

-2 cups powdered sugar

-2-6 tablespoons milk

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Make the cookie layer first: In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined (be careful not to overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips and spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.

Make the brownie layer: While the cookie layer bakes, prepare the brownie batter. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sugar until combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Whisk in the dry ingredients until combined. Once the cookie layer comes out of the oven, immediately pour the brownie batter on top of the baked cookie layer and return to the oven. OR, prepare boxed mix according to package directions and immediately pour over baked cookie layer and return to the oven.

Bake 20-30 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack and then frost as desired.

To make the frosting: In a microwaveable medium size bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa powder until combined. Mix in the powdered sugar and milk alternately until you reach your desired consistency. Stir in the vanilla.

Funfetti Christmas Tree Bars

Merry Christmas!

Funfetti Cookie Bars:

Ingredients:

-1 box Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix

-1/3 cup oil

-2 eggs

-1 can Pillsubury Funfetti frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, oil, and eggs until well moistened. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack and frost with funfetti frosting and decorate as desired. 

*I used cookie cutters to cut out the Christmas trees and then frosted and decorated them! 

Cook's Illustrated Seven-Layer Bars

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful holiday season! I have been so busy this month with school and work that I haven't had much time to do any holiday baking or blogging which is so sad. But, finally school is out and I plan to get a ton of holiday treats baked up this week for my family and friends to enjoy. Baking started yesterday with bake-your-brains-out day at my sister's house in Detroit. This year was our third annual year of bake-your-brains-out day and it was such a great time just being surrounded by loved ones, getting in the holiday spirit, baking and munching on yummy treats, and laughter! This year we made no bakes, lemon squares, seven-layer bars, candy cane cookies, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, pretzal rolo turtles, and homemade chocolate covered cherries. We also decorated gingerbread houses, which is my favorite part! The first 2 years we made our own gingerbread houses, but last year, none of our house stayed up, oh no!.....so this year we cheated and bougt gingerbread houses from the store and they turned out much better!

So, here is a recipe for amazing seven-layer bars from Cook's Illustrated America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies 2010. They added a few extra elements to the classic bar cookies which truly knocked these babies up a few levels from the original recipe and they are so scrumptious! They are sweet and buttery, crunchy and creamy, and filled with lots of flavor combinations that marry so well together! In my opinion, these are the perfect treat because they are full of so many different yummy ingredients and they are perfect for holiday gift giving!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: This classic bar cookie is loaded with ingredients: chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts piled over a buttery graham cracker crust. The original recipe (published on the back of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk) turned out raw-tasting nuts, a soggy crust, and dry bars. To develop a sturdier, crisper texture, we prebake the crust and add ground toffee bits to it for their buttery salty flavor. To improve the bars' flavor, we toast the sweetened coconut and pecans, which also adds crunch to the filling. We add Rice Krispies cereal to lighten the bars. To toast the coconut and pecans, we place them on seperate baking sheets in a 350-degree oven until they are golden, five minutes for the coconut and eight minutes for the pecans. These bars are very sweet and rich, and can be cut into smaller pieces if desired. (I love how Cook's Illustrated elaborates and tells you why they make things the way they do!)

Seven-Layer Bars: (Cook's Illustrated, Holiday Cookies 2010)

Makes 24 Bars

-1 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits

-12 whole ghram crackers

-8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

-8 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

-1 cup Rice Krispies

-1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

-2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

-1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle posistion and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13 by 9-inch baking pan with foil, allowing excess to hang over pan edges. Grease foil. Process toffee bits in food processor to fine powder. Add ghram crackers and process to fine crumbs. Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in butter. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan. Bake until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

2. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle crust with milk chocolate, and allow chocolate to soften, about 5 minutes. Using spatula, smooth chocolate into even layer. Layer Rice Krispies, pecans chocolate chips, and coconut in pan in that order, pressing each layer to adhere. Combine condensed milk and vanilla and pour evenly over top. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, 2 hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and cut into squares.

Come back tomorrow for Festive Funfetti Cake Batter Bark!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

This pumpkin gooey butter cake recipe from Paula Deen is perfect for an autumn dessert, it tastes like a mix between pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. The pumpkin filling is creamy and light and slightly gooey and it gets flavored with two of my favorite fall spices, cinnaomon and nutmeg. The crust is a yellow cake mix that gets mixed with melted butter and an egg and it is very soft, sweet and buttery. So, if you want something a little different from your average pumpkin pie, give this a try! Paula Deen also has so many other variations of gooey butter cakes, if you like this pumkin gooey butter cake, you may also like this Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake: (Paula Deen)

Cake:

-1 (18 1/4-ounce) pacakge yellow cake mix

-1 egg

-8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

-1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

-1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

-3 eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-8 tablespoons butter, melted

-1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

These sugar cookie bars give you all the tastes and textures that you want and expect in a sugar cookie, yet, they are so much simpler to prepare! The cookie is super thick, very moist and buttery, has a slightly tender crumb and sweetness, which pairs so wonderfully with the rich and sweet vanilla buttercream frosting. I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9x9-inch pan; the original recipe calls for a 13x18-inch pan. I can't remember where I found this recipe, but, it is very popular all over! Give them a try, they are perfect for any holiday or occasion.

                                                
                                                    Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars:
                                            
                                                -1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
                                                             -1 cup sugar
                                                                -2 eggs
                                                             -1 tsp. vanilla
                                                           -2 1/2 cups flour
                                                              -1/2 tsp. salt
                                                         -1/4 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and mix well. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda with a whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Spread into prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

                                                Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

                                                      -1/4 cup butter, melted
                                                     -2 cups powdered sugar
                                                         -1/8 -1/4 cup milk
                                                         -1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Spread over cooled cookie and decorate as desired.

Happy Fall! Seven Layer Magic Cookie Bars

Happy Fall everyone! I know I am a few days late, but, I have been very busy and a little overwhelmed and stressed out wity school. I am taking an accounting class and it is just so confusing to me and my first test is tomorrow. Accounting is just about a bunch of numbers and putting them in the right places and knowing assets, from liabilites and equity's and a bunch of other stuff like that! BLAHHHH is all I have to say about that, it makes me feel stupid! Plus, it has been taking time away from my baking and blogging. I would much rather be spending my time baking my favorite fall treats, sharing them with you and searching other blogs for yummy recipes : )!

Since baking is such a stress reliever for me, I did have to sneak a little time in for it, otherwise I would go CRAZY just staring at my accounting book and accounting homework on the computer. I love how the whole baking process is so soothing and comforting, from finding the perfect recipe, to the prepping of all the ingredients, to the mixing and stirring, the aroma that fills the air while baking, the cooling, and finally the tasting! So, I baked up Eagle Brand's Seven Layer Cookie Bars with a few changes. I topped a buttery graham cracker crust with one of my favorite fall candy's, adorable little candy corn which made these bars a little extra chewy in a great way, along with shredded coconut, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and poured on the sweetened condensed milk and then sprinkled it with fall colored M&M's. These little magic bars are so delicious and sweet and the combination of flavors complement each other so well. The few minutes while I was enjoying one of these bars filled with goodies made me feel.....well, magical!

Seven Layer Magic Cookie Bars: (Eagle Brand, adapted by me)

-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

-1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

-1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1 cup butterscotch chips

-1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

-1 cup candy corn

-M&M's (fall colored), for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for glass baking pan). In small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9 baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut and candy corn; mix well. Pour on top of graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle with M&M's.

3. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Peanut Butter Caramel Apple Cookie Bars

Fall is one of my favorite seasons and it is probably my most favorite season to bake in! The air is cool and crisp, the leaves change from color to color, you get to cuddle up under a fuzzy blanket and eat warm comforting meals like homemade chicken and dumplings that satisfy anybody's belly. You get to enjoy fresh warm apple cider and eat caramel apples, I can just taste it now! There are also so many great seasonal items to bake with. Apples being one, and oh how I do love tart Granny Smith apples (they are my fave), so crunchy and crisp! So, here is a yummy recipe for my first fall dessert of the season. It starts with a soft and sweet sugar cookie base which gets topped with a smooth cream cheese, peanut butter and cinnamon mixture. Then, you layer on some fresh tart apples and drizzle it with warm caramel and top it off with crunchy cinnamon-y cashews. Enjoy!

I also have been searching around for canned pumpkin for the past couple of weeks and I finally found some yesterday! Yay, I was so excited! There were about 15 cans on the shelf so I picked up a couple because I have been in great anticipation of baking some pumpkin desserts! Pumpkin is another one of my favorite things to bake with in the fall. I love the aroma of anything pumkin baking, the smell is so intoxicating and enticing and the smell of pumpkin and spice just fills the whole house up with pure Autumn-ness! Happy Fall Baking everyone!

Peanut Butter Caramel Apple Cookie Bars:

-1 package (16.5 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened

-1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup powdered sugar

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 medium Granny Smith apple

-1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

-1/2 cup Cinabon Cinnamon Cashews, chopped (or plain would work just as well)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Press sugar cookie dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool completely.

2. Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cookie.

3. Slice apples to desired thickness and arrange evenly over cream cheese mixture.

4. Microwave ice cream topping for 30 seconds or until warm; drizzle evenly over apples. Chop cashews and sprinkle evenly over apples. Cut in to wedges and enjoy!

Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Blondies

Calling all peanut butter lovers! I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies on Joy the Baker and I knew I had to try them because my boyfriend loves peanut butter desserts! She topped hers with a milk chocolate frosting which looked delicious, but, I opted for a mixture of melted milk chocolate chips and butterscotch chips for the top because I have been very into scotcheroos lately and it is the topping I use on them! I also filled the blondie batter with Reese's Pieces, mmmm mmmm good. The blondies are delicious, they are very dense, moist and chewy and are packed full of peanut butter flavor and caramelly brown sugar flavor. I also think these would taste great swirled with strawberry jelly and I also want to try them with the milk chocolate frosting! These are so worth making many more times!

Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Blondies: (Joy of the Baker, adapted by me)

-5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 cubes

-1 cup light brown sugar

-1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

-1 large egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 cup flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 cup Reese's Pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together until the butter is just melted. Remove from the burner and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add the peanut butter. Stir until incorporated. Allow to cool for 5 more minutes, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.

Whisk together salt, flour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Fold in the Reese's Pieces. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for about 30 minutes. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over top and let set until topping is firm. Cut and serve. Store in an airtight container.

                                                      For the Topping:
                                      -heaping 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
                                       -heaping 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one until melted and smooth, about 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Dough Brownies

When I saw these brownies on Lovin' From the Oven, I knew they were just perfect for me and I knew I had to try them. Of course, that was because they consisted of two of my favorite things! And I was right about these, I absolutely loved, loved, loved them. A super thick, fudgey, moist, chocolate brownie that is topped with an eggless cookie dough filled with cute mini chocolate chips and mini M&M's. These are to die for if you love brownies and if you love eating spoonfuls of raw cookie dough. They are super easy and very satisfying and I think they taste best cold out of the fridge after sitting in there for at least a few hours. The flavors all combine so well together and you get one super rich and delicious dessert! Give them a try.........I dare you : )!

Tip: I used a 9x9-inch baking dish instead of a 13x9-inch pan so I would have thicker brownies and then I halved the cookie dough batter.

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Dough Brownies: (adapted by me)

For the Brownie:

-1 box of brownie mix for a 13x9-inch baking pan plus ingredients called for on the box (for thicker brownies use a 9x9-inch baking dish), or your favorite brownie recipe

For the Cookie Dough:

-1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

-3/4 cup brown sugar

-1/3 cup sugar

-4 1/2 tablespoons milk

-1 1/2 cups flour

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

-3/4 cup mini M&M's

-3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Prepare your brownies according to package directions. Let cool completely.

2. Next, combine the butter and sugars and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the milk, flour and vanilla and beat until well combined. Then stir in the mini chocolate chips and M&M's.

3. Spread the cookie dough on the cooled brownies.

4. Chill the brownies until the cookie dough is firm. Serve.

Death By Chocolate Brownies

The title says it all! These are seriously Death by Chocolate Brownies and they are seriously, absolutely so fabulous tasting. These brownies are for serious chocolate lovers, absolute chocoholics, brownie and chocolate addicts, must-have-chocolate-now people......like myself! I have probably told you enough that I LOVE BROWNIES, I am in love with them, they are my absolute favorite dessert of all time! So, I created this super decadant brownie for all of you out there who feel the same way I do about  brownies!

These brownies have four wonderful layers of chocolate. You have a brownie base that gets swirled together with a lucious and smooth chocolate cheesecake layer which is studded with double chocolate oreos. Then you bake it, let it cool and top them off with a creamy chocolate fudge buttercream. These are very rich, moist and dense, chocolately and fudgey and they are just perfect...... in my humble opinion! 

Death by Chocolate Brownies:

For the Brownies:

-1 box of your favorite brownie mix, plus the ingredients called for on the box, or 1 recipe of your favorite brownie recipe for a 13x9-inch pan

-Chocolate Cheesecake Layer (recipe below)

-Chocolate Fudge Buttercream (recipe below)

For the Chocolate Cheesecake Layer:

-6 oz. cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup sugar

-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

-1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Spread half of it into a greased 13x9-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth. Add melted chocolate and eggs and beat on low speed just until combined. Spread evenly over brownie batter. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack. Once they are cooled, frost with chocolate buttercream. Store covered in an airtight container in the refrigerated.

For the Frosting:

-6 tablespoons butter, softened

-5 tablespoons cocoa powder

-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

-1-2 tablespoons milk

-1/2 cup hot fudge topping, such as Smucker's

-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Cream the butter. Slowly mix in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Add the milk, hot fudge and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy.

 

Triple Chocolate Scotcheroos

All I can say is that these Triple Chocolate Scotcheroos are OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS! These little gems are packed full of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, a little peanut butter, some butterscotch chips and a surprise ingredient that many people go gaga over, including myself.....Nutella! Cocoa rice krispies, peanut butter and nutella mix together to form a sweet and chewy, crunchy and chocolately base and then it gets topped with smooth and dreamy chocolate and butterscotch chips that combine so perfectly together.

Thank-you David Lebovitz for this great little concoction, you are a genius!

He took a classic scotcheroo and in my opinion, amped them up about 10 notches! And, I am not trying to dis plain ol' scotcheroos because I am a big fan of them, but, I must say these triple chocolate ones are incredible, outstanding, chocolately, mouth-watering delicious (my mouth is getting watery right now!) and they made me really, really happy.....I was in pure bliss. Who knew that such a simple dessert could be so fantastic? You need to try these, ASAP!!! I am not kidding, especially if you are a chocolate lover like me : )! Have I convinced you yet? I don't think I can use anymore words to describe how fabulous these are!

Triple Chocolate Scotcheroos: (David Lebovitz, adapted by me)

-1 cup sugar

-1 cup light corn syrup

-1/2 cup peanut butter

-1/2 cup Nutella

-6 cups crisp chocolate-flavored rice cereal (Cocoa Rice Krispies Cereal)

-1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

-1 1/4 cups butterscotch chips

1. Butter or spray a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. In a large saucepan (at least 6 quarts) over medium heat, bring the sugar and the corn syrup to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and Nutella, then mix the rice cereal in until completely coated. Press the mixture into the greased pan, making sure the top is smooth.

3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and well-blended, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Spread over rice cereal mixture and cool until set.

David Lebovitz describes these as pretty intense and on the sweet side, so bite-sized portions are in order, but, I could have eaten the whole pan  by myself!