Buckeye Brownies

These Buckeye Brownies are decadent, rich, and so addicting.

Welcome to Round 2 of Football Fridays here on Neighborfood! Today, I bring you the ultimate chocolate and peanut butter dessert: The Buckeye Brownie.

It’s no big secret around here that I’m a huge, crazy, perhaps-my-life-is-affected-a-tad-too-much-by-them Ohio State Buckeye fan. I’ve mentioned it a few times.

Buckeye sports is a part of my childhood. I remember spending countless Saturdays watching football with my dad, most likely annoying the heck out of him with all my questions.

Wait…why are they stopping? What’s that flag for? What’s the yellow line mean? Hold on…who has the ball again?

Thankfully, dad must have known what his years of patient daughter/dad football watching would yield: a girl who loves football and loves her Ohio State Buckeyes.

I realize a nut may seem like a strange mascot for a college, but hear me out. I did a little reading on the history of the Buckeye tree and it turns out this hardy tree is a fighter. In 1833, Daniel Drake said this about the tree: “In all our woods there is not a tree so hard to kill as the buckeye. The deepest girdling does not deaden it, and even after it is cut down and worked up into the side of a cabin it will send out young branches, denoting to all the world that Buckeyes are not easily conquered.”

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a darn good mascot to me. Pluuuuuuus, it just so happens to make the most delicious, dense, decadent peanut butter chocolate dessert out there.

What? You’re not familiar with the addictive  candy confection that goes by the name Buckeye?

Your life is about to get thirteen times better. The Buckeye is essentially a ball of sweet, smooth, creamy peanut butter dunked in chocolate and made to look like a Buckeye tree nut.  See here. Drool a little bit. You’re welcome.

Anyways, this is my version of the buckeye in brownie form. It starts with dark, fudgy brownies. You can make this super simple and use your favorite box mix, or start with my favorite easy one pot fudge brownies. Next, a thick whipped peanut butter frosting gets spread on top of the brownies.

Let’s stop for a minute and talk about this frosting. It takes about five minutes to make. It’s outrageously good. You’re going to want to grab a bowl and eat it by the spoonful. But try, TRY to resist. I really want you to get the full Buckeye Brownie experience. But feel free to lick those beaters clean. And the mixing bowl too. I am soooo not judging.

So you’ve got your brownie and your peanut butter frosting. The last step? Chocolate glaze. Because of course this needs more chocolate. And ganache makes everything better.

Guys, these brownies are cah-RAZY good. Not that anyone is surprised, but these are ultra rich. A few bites will satisfy your craving…for five minutes. Then you’ll want a few more bites. Then you’ll seriously be done…really…until an hour later when you walk by the counter and spot them again. Just a few more bites, then seriously, you’re done. Except you’re not. Because these are so freaking addictive.

I’ve warned you. Don’t make these if your goal in life it to lose five pounds today. Make these if your goal in life is to find adoring friends who are utterly dependent on you to feed their peanut butter and chocolate addiction. They’re THAT good.

Psssssst! Don’t forget to follow my tailgating Pinterest board to get lots more great ideas for football munching!

Buckeye Brownies

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 box of your favorite brownie mix
• OR
• Use my one pot fudge brownies

For the frosting:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-3 Tablespoons milk or cream

For the ganache:

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Bake the brownies according to package instructions in a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Allow to cool.

For the frosting:

1. Place butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat with the paddle attachment until smooth and creamy.
2. Add powdered sugar in two additions, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
3. Add milk, a Tablespoon at a time, until frosting is smooth and thick, but spreadable.
4. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled brownies.

For the ganache:

1. Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream in a microwave or small sauce pot until nearly boiling. Pour cream over chocolate and allow to set for a few minutes then stir. Use a piping bag, plastic bag with a tiny tip cut from the corner, or a spoon to drizzle ganache over the peanut butter frosting.

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