OK, before you judge me…I didn’t invent the name for these brownies. I first heard about these crack brownies during a pediatrics rotation when a pharmacist brought a batch to work. They were the talk of the day, and after hearing so many coworkers rave, I went downstairs and snagged one. Fortunately a few remained. They. were. AMAZING.
These bars start with fudgy brownies topped with a layer of peanut butter, a scatter of mini marshmallows, and a final crunchy chocolate-rice cereal topping. At first the name made me laugh, but it’s true—these are remarkably addictive. Now whenever I make them I find it hard to stop. Once, while planning a vacation with my husband, we kept reaching for another piece until I had to put the pan away because we would have finished the whole batch. Some versions use peanut butter cups in place of the peanut butter layer; I skipped those this time, and they were still irresistibly good.
I’m excited to share that I’ll be participating in the annual Food Blogger Cookie Swap this year to support Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Keep an eye out for cookie recipes coming soon!
- 1 batch brownies (boxed mix or your favorite fudgy brownie recipe)
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter, divided
- 1 1/2 cups rice cereal
- Preheat oven and prepare brownies according to the recipe or box directions. Bake in a greased 9×13-inch pan for 20–25 minutes.
- Remove brownies from the oven and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Microwave 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the peanut butter in a small bowl until softened, then spread evenly over the warm brownies.
- Sprinkle mini marshmallows over the peanut butter layer (or substitute peanut butter cups if you prefer).
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, chocolate chips and the remaining peanut butter together, stirring frequently until smooth.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the rice cereal until evenly coated.
- Spread the chocolate-rice cereal mixture over the marshmallows and press down gently using wax paper to compact the topping.
- Refrigerate the assembled brownies for about 30 minutes before cutting into 12 bars.