Halloween Candy Blondies

By Hklbrries

"Every year I buy bags of Halloween candy, just in case a hundred trick-or-treaters decide to drop by my house. Maybe two or three groups of kindergartners will ring the bell. After dark, it gets very quiet. I watch "Children of the Corn" on pay-per-view as I wait in vain for scary teenagers to knock on the door. The next morning, my leftover candy begs to be put to use.
There isn't much you can do with truly horrible Halloween leftovers, such as Smarties, Blow Pops and the dreaded Nerds. It's best to save these colorful items to decorate a holiday gingerbread house in a month or two. But here are some ideas for using the good stuff in quick and fun desserts."

Lauren Chattman, McClatchy-Tribune

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 16 mini peanut butter cups
• 1 cup M&M's

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from newsday.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, making sure that the foil is tucked into all the corners and at least 1 inch overhangs the top of the pan on all sides.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove it from heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves. Quickly whisk in the egg, yolk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated.

Set aside 1 cup batter and spread the rest into the prepared baking dish. Arrange peanut butter cups on top of the batter in the pan, with about 1/2 inch between each candy. Smooth the reserved 1 cup of batter over peanut butter cups. Sprinkle with M&M's.

Bake brownies until they are just set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Grasping overhanging foil on either side of the pan, lift out the brownies and place them on a cutting board. Cut into 32 pieces. These blondies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.