It can get a little stressful in my house when Steve’s team, the Miami Dolphins, is playing. If they’re scheduled to play the New England Patriots, well, that’s a whole different kind of worry. As a loyal fan, he takes game day very seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I love football too. How can I make this night extra special?

I thought, how about one of his favorites, brownies? Because I’ve been busy myself, I decided to take a little help from the store and make this semi-homemade. I picked up a really good box of brownie mix and then added a few extra surprises to make my Double Fudge Peanut Butter Brownies.

This worked out great! It didn’t take that much longer to add these extra ingredients. The fact that I started with a really good box mix and just added a few extra special ingredients, like coffee. Coffee enhances the flavor of the chocolate.

I made store-bought brownies taste as though they were made from scratch.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 to 33 minutes,
Total Cook Time: 43 minutes
Yields: 16 brownies
Equipment: 1 (8 x 8-inch) non-stick baking dish, large mixing bowl, 1 large wooden skewer, 1 rubber spatula, 1 serving platter

Ingredients:
1 (17.6-ounce) box of Duncan Hines Decadent Double Fudge Brownie Mix, fudge packet included
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cold
1 cup of peanut butter, smooth
1/8 cup Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/8 cup of Nestle pumpkin morsels
Garnishes:
Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
Nestle pumpkin morsels

Preheat the oven to:
350°F. for glass or metal pans, and
325°F. for dark non-stick pans.

Instructions:
Brownies are done when a toothpick is inserted 1 inch from the edge of the pan, and it comes out clean. For an 8 x 8-inch pan, bake for 35-38 minutes. For a 9 x 9-inch pan, bake for 30-33 minutes. Add 3-5 minutes for dark non-stick pans.

The brownie mix is a double fudge mix that includes a fudge pouch. I decided to add a few more goodies like peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and some new Nestle pumpkin morsels. These extras should do the trick.

Follow the instructions on the box. To the dry mix, I added a 1/4 cup mixture of the semi-sweet chocolate and pumpkin morsels, and a pinch of kosher salt, mixing the morsels to coat the chips well with the dry mix.

For the wet ingredients, in another large mixing bowl, add the cold-brewed coffee, egg, water, oil, and fudge packet, and mix to combine.

Next, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. Pour the batter into a buttered (to ensure brownies do not stick), greased 8 x 8-inch non-stick baking pan. Next, take 1 cup of smooth peanut butter and place spoonfuls randomly, all over the top. Take a large skewer and swirl the peanut butter through the batter. This way, every bite will have some of that creamy peanut butter. 

Bake at 325°F. for 35-35 minutes.

Cool completely in a pan on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

After cutting the brownies, arrange them on a serving platter and sprinkle the tops with a few more of the flavored chips.

There you have it, my Double Fudge Peanut Butter Brownies.

Note:
1) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.