Just about everyone I know loves brownies. They truly are the perfect treat, rich and dense, chocolatey and chewy. What’s not to love about a brownie? Some days, a plain old brownie is exactly what you need. Other days, you might want to live on the edge and try something new.
Today? Today is the day you try something new. These brownies have a cream cheese frosting middle, a sprinkling of peanuts, and a topping of chocolate peanut butter rice krispies. Yum, right?
You can start out with your favorite brownie recipe or you can be a cheater like me and just use a box mix. There are times when you want a delicious homemade brownie, but in this recipe the stuff from a box will work just fine.
Bake your brownies according to your recipe (or box) and allow them to cool completely.
Whip up some cream cheese frosting and spread it all over the top. I usually prefer buttercream frosting, but I was worried it would be way too sweet for this and I was probably right. This cream cheese frosting was perfect. It’s not overly sweet like buttercream, so you (hopefully) won’t fall into a sugar coma the minute you take a bite. The cream cheese frosting is nice and tangy, almost a bit like cheesecake and, personally, I loved it. I’ll go ahead and admit that my kids thought it could be a bit sweeter, but they always think things should be sweeter. Pizza? Add sugar. French fries? Add sugar. Toothpaste? Add sugar.
Sprinkle the frosting with coarsely chopped salted peanuts. Mm, peanuts.
For the topping, grab a big pan, mix together chocolate and peanut butter until it’s melted and then stir in the rice krispies cereal. Spread it out on top of the brownies and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator and oh my word, have you got one yummy dessert. Go ahead and eat as many as you can before your husband leaves for work and then beg him to take the rest with him. You don’t want to overindulge or anything, right?
Triple Threat Brownies
For the brownie base:
- 1 box brownie mix OR favorite recipe brownies (9×13 pan size)
Mix brownies according to package directions or your favorite recipe. Bake and allow to cool completely.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
Beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until fully mixed. Spread on top of cooled brownies and sprinkle with nuts.
For the chocolate peanut butter rice krispies topping:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 3 cups rice krispies cereal
In a large pan, combine chocolate chips and peanut butter over low heat. Continue stirring until the chocolate and peanut butter are melted. Stir in cereal, making sure to coat all the cereal in the peanut butter chocolate mixture.
Spread the cereal mixture on top of the brownies and frosting and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Keep covered and store in the refrigerator.
Looks so yummy!
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MMM, Looks so delish!
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Oh, wow, this looks so good. I would make this without nuts, though. Maybe with toffee or Oreo crumbles. YUM! Lovely photos!
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Thank you for the vicarious through the screen sugar coma at 8:33 in the morning! I just might have to make these tonight….*sigh*
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you’re killing me.
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You are evil!!
p.s. This blog doesn’t remember me either. Your blogs are really hurting my feelings!
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Why must you torture me when I have NO KITCHEN?!
Those look yummy! I make a similar one with marshmallow in the middle instead of cream cheese. I call them my “girlfriend” brownies because a group of girls and a few bottles of wine and those things are GONE.
Hope you are well!
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These do look amazing.
BTW- I had a dream last night about your sugar donut muffins! I haven’t even made them yet. I am taking that as an omen though and I will make them very soon, promise.
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How did you come up with that?? Looks great!
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Woman, JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO MY THIGHS.
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cream cheese frosting is my favoritest.
but NOM NOM NOM
yum.
i would do walnuts and chocolate rice krispies.. no peanut butter
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This looks yummy. Will definitely try it out! Thanks for sharing.
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I think I’m going to make these. I have three people under 20 living in my house and if the went into a sugar-coma for a few days it really wouldn’t be too terrible.
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Oh, my! I think I will have to make these, and then immediately give them away. The folks in my hubby’s office will love them!
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OMG those look so good.
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oh yum!! i need a glass of milk just looking at it!
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These look so fantastic! Sinfully delicious! What a beautiful website.
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YUMMY! Those look delicious! That topping sounds amazing!
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Wow! Those DO look delicious!
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Oh dear, those are must-haves for the holiday season. When it gets freezing outside and all you want to do is sit inside with a movie and hot cocoa, these bad boys must be made as well. With a hearty scooping of ice cream, to top it off. I love that combination of ice cream and melty brownies. Yum!
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wow they look yummy!
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Yumm!
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I am going to make them this weekend for an outing I will be at. I always make the treat at least once before let other people eat one of my treats. This sounds too good.
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Ohhhhhhh. DROOL.
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Thank you for submitting the beautiful photo of these delicious brownies to our site. It’s our current headline pic! You have a great site, looking forward to reading more.
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Oh. My. God. I’m pretty sure I could eat that whole pan. I have no self restraint.
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This look amazing! I live in Colorado Springs though, not sure they would turn out well with the high altitude
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Oh heaven and I laughed out loud when you said to eat as many as you can and have your husband take them to work! I totally do that! lol Yum! I am trying these tonight! not sure if I should put them on my site though (it IS called the healthy apron), but everybody indulges now and again right? mmmm
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Hi! I’ve made these a few times now, and they’re SO good it’s not funny. And they’re easy to make too! Thank you so much for the recipe.
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Made these for my staff yesterday- they LOVED them. I used only half as much cream cheese frosting- more would have been too much for my short pan. I also used natural PB and baking chocolate chips mixed with a little semisweet to make a deep, dark chocolate topping that wasn’t too sweet. Oh, and I couldn’t find my jar of peanuts (in hubby’s car??) Everyone at work LOVED them!
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PS- Thanks!!!
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I just made these for a 4th of July bake sale. OMG delicious. We’re calling them “Wilford Brimley Bars” because you will need to order extra “diabeetus” supplies after consuming.
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Holy cow. Incredible. I will be making these at my earliest convenience.
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I’m trying this recipe and as I type, the brownie-box-mix is in the oven. Hope they turn out looking as yummy as yours!
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Admiring the commitment you put into your site and detailed information you present. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
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My family refers to these as triple death bars since they are anything but healthy. They are absolutely amazing and perfect for any gathering.
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This looks soo YUM!! …but my hubby is allergic to peanuts, if I cut the peanuts, and the peanut butter… any ideas on what the chocolate/rice crispy ratio should be?
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Made these for our family Christmas gathering and they were a huge hit! I used buttercream for the filling and it was amazing. Thanks so much!
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