Peanut butter brownies because I couldn't find Clark

by Sarah J. Gim, Posted Feb 5th 2006 @ 12:45PM

crunchy peanut butter topped brownies

For the Super Bowl, Clark Bars would have been the perfect dessert to serve. The crispitty crunchitty peanut buttery bar covered with chocolate that is the more sophisticated cousin of the Butterfinger, originated in Pittsburgh, and would have gone well with a perfectly Pittsburgh spread of pierogi (not frozen of course), Polish sausage on a "Walk the Dog" bar, and chipped ham pinwheels. Unfortunately, Clark Bars are very hard to find.

Instead, I made brownies in the spirit of Clark - not quite a peanut butter center, but crunchy, cream cheesy peanut butter on top of a rich, chewy, fudgy brownie.

Sarah's In-the-Spirit-of-Clark Peanut Butter Brownies

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour a 9" square baking pan. You can use an 8", but the bake time will be longer and your brownies will be taller.

Sift together ½ c. all-purpose flour with 6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, ¼ tsp. baking powder, and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together ½ c. (1 stick) melted butter, ½ c. granulated sugar, ½ c. packed brown sugar. Add 1 tsp. vanilla, then beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, until well-blended.

Stir flour/cocoa mixture into butter/sugar mixture until well-blended. Don't spazz - the batter is supposed to be super thick. Spread into baking pan.

In a third bowl, beat together 1 8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese, ½ c. crunchy peanut butter, ¼ c. granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 Tbsp whole milk, and ¼ tsp. vanilla until smooth and creamy. Pour on top of brownie batter in baking pan.

Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Filed Under: Ingredients, Methods
Tags: america, baking, brownies, candy, comfort food, cookies, dessert, desserts, food, food and drink, food and wine, sweets