Brownie Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

By srumbel

Makes 24 generously sized, thick squares. I used homemade cookie dough and brownie recipes. The chocolate chip cookie dough must produce soft and thick cookie bars to avoid becoming too thin and fragile for the heavy batter on top. Feel free to use a boxed brownie mix for the top layer, but nothing from a box tastes like homemade brownies. Be sure to use a recipe that will cover a 9x13 pan.

from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Ingredients

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
• 2 cups mini peanut butter cups (or 2 cups chopped peanut butter cups)
• Brownie Layer
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 8 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate (I used 1 Bakers Baking Bar)
• 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet or milk chocolate)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Make the brownie layer first, even though it will go on top: melt the butter and semi-sweet chocolate in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly (about 6 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes - you may use this 15 minutes to make the chocolate chip cookie layer). Stir sugar into cooled chocolate/butter mixture until combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla. Gently fold in the flour and salt. Set aside.
Make the cookie layer: in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. On low speed, mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Using a rubber spatula sprayed with cooking spray (to reduce sticking), spread the cookie dough all over the prepared baking pan. The layer will be thin, but will puff up as it bakes. Top with peanut butter cups, then pour the brownie batter on top and smooth with a knife or rubber spatula. Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips.
Bake the bars for 30-36 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out relatively clean (a few brownie crumbs may remain). Allow the bars to cool completely, about 1 hour, before cutting into squares. Bars remain fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.