Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies Recipe

Crack brownies—delicious and rich dark chocolate brownies topped with melted dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups and sprinkled with sea salt.

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Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies Recipe

Okay, ‘crack brownies’ are AMAZING. My mother introduced me to peanut butter cup crack brownies when I was younger, I have no idea how she came up with the idea, but they’ve become a family favorite. After one bite, it’s easy to see how they’ve earned their name.

Peanut butter cup brownies are easy to make and the end result is to die for. The secret is Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies topped with mini dark chocolate Reese’s and sea salt.

They are absolutely addicting and incredibly rich…I think this may have been a major reason Shawn asked me to marry him. Just kidding! I think…

How to Make Crack Brownies

The recipe is as simple as:

  1. Following the regular directions on the Ghirardelli box.
  2. Adding Reese’s peanut butter cups on top of the hot brownies (fresh out of the oven).
  3. Smoothing out the melted Reese’s with a spoon to create a thin chocolate layer and sprinkling with a little flaked sea salt.

I use dark chocolate Reese’s but you can use milk chocolate if you prefer. Reese’s minis work the best (not the ultra-small kind but the size down from a large cup).

Let Cool in Fridge

The brownies MUST set in the fridge for at least one hour to give the peanut butter cups a chance to cool and harden. If not, they will be too gooey and won’t cut well. This is honestly the hardest part of the entire recipe…waiting.

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Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies Recipe
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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies Recipe

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  • Author: Patty Williams
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 50 mins
  • Yield: 15–20 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Crack brownies—delicious and rich dark chocolate brownies topped with melted dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups and sprinkled with sea salt.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 box of Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 16 Reese’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups (miniatures—not the super tiny ones)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

  1. Follow the directions on the back of the brownie mix box and bake as directed. For this recipe, use a greased 8×8 baking pan or oven-safe dish.
  2. While brownies are baking, unwrap the 16 peanut butter cups and set aside.
  3. As soon as brownies are done (toothpick comes back clean—though I don’t mind if they are a little gooey), remove from oven and place on stove top.
  4. Immediately place peanut butter cups on top of brownies in four rows of four, with the larger surface of peanut butter cup facing down.
  5. Once the chocolate starts to melt (3-4 minutes), take a spoon and smooth the melted chocolate around so that it is evenly dispersed over the brownies.
  6. Allow to cool for fifteen minutes then transfer to refrigerator for at least one hour.

Notes

I often make these the night before and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight, but they are usually ready (with the peanut butter cup layer hardened) after a 1-2 hours.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 brownie
  • Calories: 161
  • Sugar: 13.6g
  • Sodium: 180mg
  • Fat: 9.2g
  • Saturated Fat: 2.9g
  • Carbohydrates: 19.5g
  • Fiber: 0.8g
  • Protein: 0.9g
  • Cholesterol: 4mg

Keywords: crack brownies, reese’s brownies, peanut butter brownies