Next week my oldest daughter starts Pre-K and I will have to leave her side for the first time. I’m not sure who this will be harder on but I’m going to guess it will be me. It has been bittersweet buying her school supplies, uniforms, and picking out a backpack and lunchbox. With all of the school planning going on I thought why not offer an easy to make & packable dessert for kid’s to take in their lunchbox…like a brownie.

Since my daughter likes only a little bit of chocolate I elected to make blondies with peanut butter cups to provide the hint of chocolate she craves without going overboard (not to mention chocolate doesn’t hold up well in the Florida summer heat). I also added some peanut butter chips to the batter to give these blondies a more pronounced peanut butter flavor.

For this recipe I used the mini unwrapped milk chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s. They come in both milk or dark chocolate. I prefer the dark chocolate variety, but I know kids often prefer milk chocolate, so to please a wider audience I went with milk chocolate. Don’t be afraid to experiment with dark chocolate if you know everyone you share these with will enjoy the stronger flavor.

It really doesn’t matter if you opt to make these for a school lunch or an adult indulgence, if you love the classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter, you will surely love these peanut butter cup blondies!

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Ingredients:

• 5.6 ounces (1 ¼ cups) All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Sugar
• ½ tsp. Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• 1/3 cup Creamy Peanut Butter (preferably natural)
• ¼ cup (4 tbsp.) Unsalted Butter; melted & cooled slightly
• 2 tbsp. Milk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 large Eggs; lightly beaten
• ¼ cup Peanut Butter Baking Chips
• Mini Unwrapped Peanut Butter Cups (about 30)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir well with a whisk.
3. In a separate bowl combine the peanut butter, butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs. Stir well. Add the peanut butter mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in the peanut butter chips.
4. Scrape batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Arrange peanut butter cups over batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan on a wire rack before serving.

RECIPE ADAPTED FROM: MAUREEN CALLAHAN
PHOTOGRAPHY & STAGING: PETER MENDOROS

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