Today is the BOY’s birthday!
We celebrated last night with dinner at Bonefish Grill and then wine, card games, and music back at home.
Oh…and did I mention ice cream?!
I am using the BOY’s birthday as an excuse to celebrate Peanut Butter Month with another decadent dessert. In truth, he does love peanut butter M&Ms and homemade treats, so it really is a win/win. I may have outdone myself with my first PB recipe of the month (you should definitely check out these brownies), but this recipe is a worthy second place.
Remember when I picked up these peanut butter M&M’s at Mariano’s last week? Well, I hid them well enough that the BOY didn’t find them, which means I had an entire bag to bake with today.
I had all week to figure out what I wanted to do with candies. I thought about making basic M&M cookies but in the end, I chose to make Peanut Butter M&M Blondies using this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. I think what sold me was the thick ooey gooey peanut buttery texture. I’m guessing that’s why the saucepan is involved…
I debated chopping the M&Ms versus using them whole. In the end, I decided to chop them up coarsely leaving tons of big chunks and saving a few whole M&Ms to decorate the top.
Chopping the M&Ms allowed them to sread evenly all throughout the dough, and the fall colors look great!
Just a hint…the dough is super sticky so you will need your hands to spread it into your pan.
And Yes, it is okay to lick the spoon before doing all your dishes! That might be my favorite part of baking!
The recipe was a surprise, but the BOY quickly picked up on the peanut butter smell floating throughout the house.
It took a lot of will power not to dig right into this pan with a fork (or just my fingers), but I wanted to wait since we were heading out to dinner again tonight with the BOY’s family.
When I came home from dinner, I sliced up the bars for their photo shoot : )
And of course stole the first bite! They have a rich peanut butter taste and the candy coated M&Ms add the perfect contrast to these chewy bars.
Another great addition to Peanut Butter Month!!!
I plan on warming up a couple of bars smothering them with whipped cream and sitting down with a cup of tea to watch the DVRed Bears game. I can’t think of a better way to end our exciting weekend!
Peanut Butter M&M Blondies
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag of peanut butter M&Ms, coarsely chopped
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and set aside.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the peanut butter, until creamy and combined. Set mixture aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the peanut butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared dry ingredients, and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in the chopped M&Ms.
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the top is golden and the edges are slightly browned. Remove blondies from oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, cut into squares and serve.
Last year’s Birthday post on 11/11/11!
GOOD YOU HAD THE BROWNIES AS THE BEARS DID DISAPPOINT! ….. PLEASE SAVE ONE FOR DAD AND ONE FOR ME…
Of course! I’ve got 2 with your name on them. It was a sad end to the game but a victory to the defense holding the #1 team to a 7 point lead with out back up QB.
These look so beautiful and easy to make too. I love how the m&m’s decorate the cake.
That was such a pleasant surprise…I loved the colors! Thanks for the comment!
The name of that wine cracks me up. I’m know for saying silly old time phrases, so it’s perfect for me!
Happy birthday, boy! Those look really yummy! I’m a sucker for m&m’s and peanut butter!
PB M&M blondies?? You know the way right to my heart!!
: )
I’m not a huge M&M person, but the pretzel and PB ones are my favorite!
OH MY GOD THESE BARS!! They look SO dense and delicious!! HAPPY birthday to him again, this would have made my heart swoon!
You have to make them!!! They are unreal!
Oh my lanta I really think you out did yourself because those look SO good 🙂
anything peanut butter is a win win
Yes! I was just nibbling on a bar before dinner and they really are good! I hope I have time for more PB recipes this month!
A belated happy birthday to your hubster. Many more!
Thank you Thank you! I still can’t believe that this was our 6th Bday together. I’m sure I’ll start running out of gift ideas soon : )
You and these desserts!!! You must have some crazy will power, if I made a recipe that large I can’t stop myself from devouring it. Kudos! Hope you guys had a blast!!!!
I like to try them right away and then I ship them off to work (or hide them in the freezer)! My will power is a work in progress so I don’t keep anything in the house for too long!
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