An Ice Cream Cake For My Long Distance BFF

Friendships have always been something that is super important to me – and as I get older (and in theory – wiser?), I am reminded just how much a good friend is worth. Sometimes it’s a lot of effort to maintain/cultivate friendships, and it can be even tougher when the friends don’t live near each other. Long distance relationships – whether they be romantic or just platonic friends – are HARD. For those of you who haven’t experienced it – you’re lucky – TRUST me!

A few snapshots of me and my Long Distance Bestie over the years

My best friend from college lives in Virginia with her husband and two kids, and I miss her every day. We are lucky enough to get to text, email, call, and FaceTime pretty often (thank GOD for Iphones, right?), and we also take turns traveling to see each other several times a year.

In fact, we just returned from a long weekend at their house – full of fun and crazy kids and laughter – and I wouldn’t have it any other way! We celebrated hers and her husbands birthdays while we were there – and when I was thinking about how to celebrate, I KNEW some kind of baking had to be involved – I just wasn’t sure what. Her favorite (and probably my LEAST favorite) birthday dessert is Ice Cream Cake. I hate it because it’s not even really cake – which means no frosting (a BIG no no for me – as what’s the point of cake with no frosting?), and she loves it because ice cream is awesome and it reminds her of her childhood as they always got them growing up. So – I can see where she’s coming from – and decided to make one for her – cuz I love her THAT much

Finding a recipe was not too hard – scrolling through Pinterest and This one caught my eye – using store bought brownie mix and ice cream – easy enough!

Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake
(Recipe Courtesy of Suburbia Unwrapped)
Ingredients
1 box brownie mix for 9 x 9 inch pan
1 container Blue Bunny PB N’ Cones ice cream
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
FOR THE TOPPING
peanut butter chips or chopped peanut butter cups

Instructions
-Make the package of brownies according to package directions EXCEPT bake in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan for 20 to 25 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Let brownies cool completely
-When you are ready to assemble: Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 20 minutes until slightly softened. Spread over cooled brownies and place in freezer.
-MAKE THE SAUCE: In a double boiler, combine the heavy cream, chocolate chips and peanut butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly. (SAVE 1/4 CUP FOR SERVING!)
-Remove the brownie/ice cream layer from the freezer and pour the chocolate sauce over the top. (don’t forget to save some!) Smooth it out and return to the freezer.
-MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM: In a mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
-Remove the brownie/ice cream/ sauce from the freezer and spread the whipped cream over the top.
-Sprinkle the peanut butter chips or chopped peanut butter cups on top and freeze for THREE HOURS before serving.
-Right before you serve, drizzle with remaining chocolate sauce that you have heated slightly.

I was lucky enough to have TWO tiny adorable kitchen helpers this time – my son and my BFF’s daughter helped with all the prep:

Brownie baking and Ice cream testing (both very important)

Whipping the cream and assembling the layers

“Decorating” the cake with Mini Reese’s Cups

The delicious finished product

I used Moose Tracks Ice Cream for this – which is basically vanilla with PB swirl, fudge and PB cups – but you can really use any kind you want for it – anything with peanut butter would work great! I also substituted the PB chips for the mini PB cups – I figured they would be more delicious

This was really easy to put together, and the kids had a blast helping! My BFF and her husband loved it so much that they didn’t even want to share it with their friends when we had them over for a Memorial Day BBQ the next day! And I can’t blame them – this was REALLY tasty – the chewy brownie, the ganache – YUM. While it in no way constituted a cake in my mind (what with it’s lack of frosting) – it was still a really delicious dessert, and I was glad to make it and get to enjoy it with my BFF (who I won’t get to see until July now – boo – but luckily, there’s FaceTime to get us through!)

These Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies Pack Some SERIOUS PB Punch (Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You…)

I have come across these Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies a few times now – on Pinterest and via Facebook recipe vidoes (which – these days – it seems most of my Facebook feed is made up of food videos – probably because I love food and Facebook knows that!) – and finally the other day I decided screw it – I am gonna make these bad boys!

I think what really pushed me over the edge into wanting to make these was the fact that there was a whole layer of peanut butter cups sandwiched between the brownie and crunchy fudge layers – I love Reese’s cups so much that I could eat them for every meal and snack forever. Seriously – that’s how amazing I think they are. So – these brownies were basically my destiny come to life, in dessert form

Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies
(Recipe Courtesy of Dinners Dishes And Desserts)

Ingredients
Brownies
2 oz unsweetened chocolate , melted
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2nd Layer
1 cup chopped peanut butter cups
Fudge Layer
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 Tbls butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup crispy rice cereal

Instructions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch baking dish. Or line with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.
-In a bowl combine melted chocolate with canola oil. Add sugar, and eggs. Mix until well combined. Stir in flour and salt.
-Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean.
-Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle peanut butter cups over the brownies. Let sit for 5 minutes, then gently use the back of a spoon and spread the melted chocolate over the brownies. Let cool completely.
-In a microwave safe bowl melt together chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter; heat for 1 minute, stir. Heat at 15 second intervals until smooth. Stir in vanilla and cereal. Pour over brownies.
-Place in fridge to completely set up before serving.

As usual – my tiny sous chef was ready to help out! Mostly with peanut butter and chocolate chip eating – but still – gotta take what I can get (After all -it’s hard to find good kitchen help these days!)

Brownie? Check. Amazing Peanut butter cup layer? Check!

While the peanut butter cup topped brownies are cooling, I prepped the top layer – crunchy fudge-y goodness!

The finished product – layer upon layer of yum

Overall – these were easy to make, and ingredient wise I had everything on hand so that is always a plus for me if I don’t have to run to the store before starting a recipe!

As for the taste – like I said in the title – these pack some SERIOUS PB power – so if you’re super into Peanut Butter, these are for you, but if you’re expecting to distinctly taste the Peanut butter cups and brownie layers – you might be disappointed.

I personally think the top layer of “fudge” overpowered the whole thing – it was all I could taste, and while it was good and I really loved the crunchy texture, I wanted more brownie and especially more peanut butter cup taste

If I was to make these again I think I would dial down the amount of fudge on top – about half of what the recipe calls for would still provide a decent layer, and it would allow the other tastes to come through

Oh – and I would add more peanut butter cups. A lot more. like double. Because – peanut butter cups are life.

Crazy/Slutty/Delicious Describes These (Slightly Insane) Brownies

I don’t know anyone who can say no to a warm, chocolaty brownie fresh from the oven – I know I can’t say no to one (or five…). As much as I love a classic brownie, I also love to mix it up and try new versions – like the Brownie Rubble, frosted brownies from scratch, and of course the Slutty Brownie – which might be one of the more ridiculous things I have ever made – that is, until I saw THESE

I pretty much religiously watch The Pioneer Woman on Saturday mornings on Food Network – I just love her and her family and her recipes make me drool – and last week she made these Crazy Brownies – and I am thinking that Crazy really is the right word for them! It’s a densely fudgy scratch made brownie with a layer of amazingness in the middle – in the form of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Rolos, pecans, and M&M’s. Oh, and then they are topped with powdered sugar and some more decorative M&M’s for extra added insanity. When I saw her make these, I knew they would be in my immediate future as well – or, well, some variation of them anyway.

I decided to combine the slutty brownie with the crazy brownie – making it a crazy slut? Kind of a controversial name – so I think we will just stick to “insane brownie/cookie treat” for now…

I kept the basic formula for the slutty brownie the same – cookies on the bottom and brownies on top – but the middle is where I incorporated some of the Pioneer Woman’s “Crazy-ness” – I have packed oreos, mini peanut butter cups, and M&M’s in there – yum!

I used pre-made cookie dough, and then just a boxed 8×8 pan size brownie mix, and then basically whatever candy I had on hand (the best kinds, of course) to create this super slutty slightly crazy brownie

Slid this creation in to the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes (until the brownie portion was set and no longer jiggly) and voila!

A cross section of the finished product – you can see the distinct cookie and brownie layers, and then that beautiful oreo in the middle! The candy is hard to see but trust me its there within that brownie layer!

My husband was my guinea pig (as usual!) and we both really enjoyed these – the layers weren’t too crispy and had a nice softness to them, and the candy and oreo gave each bite a different delicious surprise! These are a hit, and super easy to make, all you need to have is cookie and brownie mixes, and some kind of Oreo/candy to put in the middle (items that most of us probably have on hand anyway), so it’s a great one to get creative with and customize to your exact likings.

Oh – and don’t forget the milk to wash these down!