Caramel Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

Last night we hung out with some friends from my husband's softball team. We had some great weather (minus the few random rain showers), the kids all played well together and we enjoyed some good eats including these decadent brownie cups.

I usually get asked to provide desserts when it comes to gatherings and I have to say I don't ever complain! I have so many different recipes bookmarked and ideas in my head especially when it comes to desserts that I don't know if I'll ever have time to complete them all.

These are definitely one of the most decadent desserts I've ever made. I started with a boxed brownie mix. While I do try to cook from scratch as much as possible, sometimes we just can't go wrong with a little Betty Crocker in our life. I baked these in a mini muffin pan and then topped them with a Rolo. After they cooled I made up my favorite peanut butter frosting, this stuff is just one big bowl of goodness I tell ya. I don't get a chance to use it on any of my cake or cupcake orders since it contains cream cheese and whipped cream and those are not ingredients I can use with a home-based business.

You'll have a good amount of extra frosting with this recipe so you can plan to use it on a batch of cupcakes, a small cake, sandwiched in between some cookies....I wouldn't even judge if you sat down and ate it by the spoonful. It's really that good, I promise!

Caramel Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

Ingredients:

1 box fudge brownie mix plus ingredients called for on package

Rolo candies, unwrapped (I used about 40 or so)

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c peanut butter

3 c powdered sugar

1 c whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Unwrap Rolo candies and chill in freezer while you prepare and bake brownie bites. Preheat oven to 325. Prepare brownie batter according to package instructions. Grease 2 mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. * I used a family size Betty Crocker brand mix so I ended up with close to 40 brownie cups, other brands might only yield closer to 2 dozen* Using a small cookie scoop drop batter into prepared cups, filling about 3/4 way full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately place a rolo candy (small side down) into each brownie bite. Bake in oven for 2 more mins and then remove to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before trying to remove from pan.

In the meantime make your frosting, cream together butter, cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add in powdered sugar. Finally mix in the whipped topping. Once brownies are cooled, remove from pan. When you're ready to serve, top each bite with a dollop of frosting. I inserted a large star tip (Wilton 1M) into a pastry bag to decorate mine. Store extra frosting in the fridge.

Makes around 40 brownie bites

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