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Make sure to leave a couple of these triple-decker brownies for Santa! These are so easy, you’ll make them year round.
This Treat Takes Very Little Time
These brownies look like they are a lot of work, but you will be surprised at how ridiculously easy they are.
I used to make something similar years ago where the recipe was entirely from scratch. Not that brownies from scratch are hard, but there were other factors involved that made it somewhat involved to make. The center was mini marshmallows that you melted in the oven over the almost-baked brownies. Try spreading that evenly across the top! However, the hardest part was cutting them. I always joked you needed a chainsaw to do it. Of course they were delicious, but my hands were sore for hours after cutting them.
This recipe uses convenience ingredients and are much easier to cut. The recipe came from a recent ad for a local supermarket because it featured items they had on sale for that week.
Your Choice For Frosting
The recipe called for vanilla and that’s what I used. However, you can use any white frosting you want because there’s several flavors to choose from.
They would also taste fantastic with your own homemade cream cheese frosting because the cream cheese would add a little sharpness to offset the sweetness. Cream cheese frosting also comes pre-made in the tub but I find that has a rather unpleasant aftertaste to it so that’s why I wouldn’t use it.
The frosting, unlike the melted mini marshmallows, is easy to cut through. It also gives these brownies an interesting texture. The base is chewy, the center is creamy and the topping is crunchy. It’s delightful. I must add that at first I thought it might be way too sweet, but it’s not!
No Fancy Mix Needed
Don’t be tempted to buy a fancy brownie mix with add-ins because you don’t need it. A plain old (and cheap) store brand will do nicely here. I’ve found most store-brand brownie mixes are just as good, if not better, than national brands so there’s no need to go overboard with it.
Watch The Video
The Recipe
Triple-Decker Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 boxed brownie mix 13x9 size brownie mix plus ingredients listed on the box
- 1 tub vanilla frosting see NOTES
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped cocktail peanuts
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 cups crisp rice cereal
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Prepare brownie mix as per box directions. Spread in the pan and bake for the length of time stated on the box for a 13 x 9-inch pan. Cool completely.
- Spread the tub of frosting on top of the cooled brownies. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Refrigerate while making the topping.
- In a large heavy saucepan melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter over low heat, stirring constantly until no lumps remain. Add the rice cereal and stir well, making sure that all the cereal is coated with the chocolate mixture. Spread the topping mixture evenly across the top of the brownies. Chill for at least 1 hour before cutting.
Robin Dinsmore says
Must this dessert be kept refrigerated once completed at all times? Ty
Judith Hanneman says
I’d say it depends on how warm it is where you leave them, so if your house (or where you store them) is a bit on the cool side, you probably don’t have to refrigerate. It’s just the topping that may get too gloppy if it’s too warm.
maxine says
any easy recipes with my Instant Pot??
Judith Hanneman says
I have some. If you do a search for “instant pot” in the search tab at the top of the page, that will pull them up.