7 Deadly Sins Brownie Bars

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One of my favorite things about the holidays has to be making treats to give to our friends, neighbors and family. While some people make cookies or pie, I make the world's best brownie bar. And I am not even close to kidding when I call this the world's best...it's that good! When I bring this bar to parties, people gush and rave. They beg me for the recipe. They melt a little with each bite. The last few years I've been whipping up a batch of these brownie bars for my co-workers, in a small effort to thank them for putting up with me all year and apologizing for having to deal with me. I think these bars may single-handedly be the reason I'm still employed. Until now, I've never shared the recipe so they have to keep me around so I'll keep making the bars. Fingers crossed that none of them read this post. 

These 7 Deadly Sins Brownie Bars contain seven of the most incredible, decadent, wonderful ingredients you could ever throw together and they're guaranteed to make you a believer.  Everything you could possibly want/love/crave is in these bars. They're chewy and crunchy. They're sweet and salty. They're chocolatey and peanut buttery. They're UNBELIEVABLE. And bonus - they're easy to make! Let's start from the bottom and work our way up, shall we? 

Brownie Base Layer

The bottom layer of this masterpiece is all brownie. Feel free to use a box of brownie mix and make as directed. Or if you're feeling ultra-fancy, you can make your brownie layer from scratch (you overachiever, you!). You can make your brownies as soft and chewy or dense and crunchy as you'd like, but just be sure to grease the pan well so the bars come out easily and don't stick to the side of the pan. 

Frosting Fluff Layer

After your brownies have cooled completely, mix one container of vanilla icing (or flavor of your choosing) with one container of marshmallow fluff. The two combined make the most incredibly, rich, whipped concoction that you've ever tasted. Try not to eat spoonfuls of just the icing - you want at least enough for a thick layer to spread evenly over the brownies. 

Salty Crunch Surprise

At this point, you might be questioning my sanity as to why keep going when we've already made an absolutely incredible dessert. Just trust me here...I will not lead you astray. While brownies topped with vanilla marshmallow fluff icing sounds like perfection, we're not even half way through this dessert yet. Don't give up on me now! Next up, add a cup of coarsely chopped lightly salted peanuts to the brownies. I made the mistake of throwing some peanuts in a plastic bag and lettime Mac go at them with the hammer. They were nearly pulverized to smithereens and peanut dust, so I had to throw that bag away and do it myself with a lighter hand. Also, I've made this recipe with and without this peanut layer (as I'm not really a huge fan of nutty desserts), but this one is better with the nuts. Again, trust me. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Layer

Our final layer is what puts this recipe above and beyond anything else you've ever tasted: melted chocolate chips, swirled with creamy peanut butter, mixed with Rice Krispies cereal. If this layer doesn't convince you that this recipe deserves a gold medal, I don't know what possibly could. This is my favorite layer. I could eat this layer all by itself for every meal of my life. It's SOOOOO good. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, creamy peanut butter and Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal. Trust me on the Rice Krispies - use Kellogg's because the generic brands go flat/stale and lose their crunch when mixed with the chocolate. 

Cool & Slice

Once your 7 Deadly Sins Brownie Bars are fully assembled, pop the dish into the fridge for about an hour and let the whole thing cool and harden. The top Rice Krispies layer will solidify, but not be so hard that it's tough to bite through. You want the whole dessert to harden enough so that you can cut the brownies into bars for serving without the whole thing falling apart. Although, if it does fall apart, it still tastes just as good (if not better). Feel free to let soften a little bit once sliced (but good luck not eating it all immediately). 

Cooking with Kids

If your kids are anything like mine, they absolutely love helping in the kitchen. Of course, their definition of helping is far from my definition of helping, but I do like to get them involved and let them feel like they offered some assistance. They're always so proud of the help they give and it gives me a way to work on following directions, being patient and cleaning up after yourself. They get the added benefit of getting to try out all the ingredients (and licking the spoons) and I get a bit of extra help in washing the dishes (which they inexplicably love to do). Although, when they saw me break out the box of Rice Krispies, they immediately wanted a bowl full of cereal with their lunch. 

Enjoy!

They're going to blow your mind. Don't say I didn't warn you. Try not to overdose. Good luck. You can thank me later. 

Ingredients

• 1 box brownie mix
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box
• 1 container vanilla frosting
• 1 container marshmallow fluff
• 1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 bag (12 oz or 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven and make brownies as directed on box in greased 13x9 inch pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
2. Mix icing and marshmallow fluff together in a medium-sized bowl. Frost brownies with icing mixture.
3. Sprinkle brownies with peanuts; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, measure Rice Krispies into large bowl; set aside. In saucepan or double-broiler, melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour over cereal in bowl, stirring until evenly coated.
5. Spread over iced brownies. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until set before cutting.
6. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

#Treats4Toys & Target

Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal (original and the red/green holiday special box) can be found at your local Target, in the cereal aisle. Right now they're running a special where you can buy 2 get 1 free of Jet puffed marshmallows and Rice & Cocoa Krispies cereal (thru 12/3). Also, if you make a treat using Rice Krispies cereal and share a photo of it on social media using the tag #Treats4Toys, Rice Krispies will donate a toy to a child in need through Toys for Tots! Now thru January 1st. So head over to Target and get the biggest box you can find. You won't regret it.  

For more Kellogg's inspiration and recipes, please check out THIS SITE. 

Brownie, frosted fluff, or chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispies...

which would be your favorite layer?