Take 5 Brownies

A fudgy brownie, topped with luscious peanut butter frosting, caramel sauce, pretzels, Take 5 Candy Bar pieces and chocolate ganache. These Take 5 Brownies are out of this world. They’re decadent, rich and definitely worth every single calorie.

If I had to choose one word to describe these Take 5 Brownies I don’t think I could because they’re decadent, amazing, unbelievable, rich, scrumptious, insane, etc.

I wish I would take credit for the brilliant idea of these Take 5 brownies, but I can’t. My cute friend RuthAnne posted them on her Instagram story several weeks ago and I happened to comment something about us loving Take 5 candy bars. Within a few hours she was at my door with a plate of Take 5 brownies. I seriously wanted to kiss her.

I sunk my teeth into one and thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It was incredibly rich, incredibly delicious and incredibly naughty.I texted her and told her I was in love and would definitely be making my own and posting them, giving her full credit of course for the fabulous idea. She thought it was a great idea. RuthAnne is seriously one of the sweetest, kindest, most talented people I know. Not only is she a great baker, she’s super creative and craftsy. She comes up with the cutest handouts and printables for YW, ministering, holidays, etc. If you ever need any cute ideas, check out her blog .

Now you might look at the long recipe and feel a little overwhelmed. I promise these are simple to make, especially if you plan ahead. I make the brownies the day before. While the brownies are baking I make the peanut butter frosting and the caramel sauce. I store them both in covered containers and keep them in my fridge. I pull them both out of the fridge a couple hours before I assemble the brownies, so they can come to room temperature.Just before I assemble the brownies, I make ganache and let it cool while I chop the Take 5 Candy Bars and pretzels.

See, easy peasy.

CAN I USE STORE BOUGHT CARAMEL SAUCE? Yes, you can definitely use store bought caramel. I used my homemade caramel sauce because it’s so simple and fast to make. I made half a batch and still had some left over that I kept in my fridge to use for ice cream. (The recipe I listed below is the amounts for a half batch.)

CAN I USE A BOXED BROWNIE MIX?  If you would prefer to us a boxed brownie mix, you certainly can. This brownie recipe I use for these brownies is really simple to make. I love it because it’s dense, fudgy and gets that crackly top. But like I said, if you’re all about convenience, you can use a box mix.

I love the sweet and salty thing going on with these brownies. Seriously, these are amazing and you really need to make them.

Take 5 Brownies

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• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 20 to 24 brownies 1x

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Ingredients

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Brownies:

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup each light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (milk or semisweet)

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 5 to 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Caramel Sauce: (*store bought is also fine to use)

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Other toppings:

• 1/2 cup pretzel pieces
• 10 to 12 fun size Take 5 Candy Bars, chopped into pieces

Chocolate Ganache:

• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

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Instructions

Brownies:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium size saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat whisk in brown sugar and granulated sugar.
3. Whisk in 4 eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and stir. Add the flour and salt and mix will. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread into pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let brownies cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

1. Cream butter in stand mixer until creamy.
2. Add peanut butter and mix until well combined. Add vanilla, salt, sifted powdered sugar, and cream and mix until smooth and creamy.  Add a tablespoon or more of cream if needed to thin down to a good spreading consistency.

Caramel Sauce:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium/medium-low heat.
2. Add brown sugar and whisk for 1 minute. Add the salt and cream and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Ganache:

1. Place chocolate chips a small bowl. Heat heavy cream to a simmer over medium low heat. Once it comes to a simmer remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips, swirling the bowl to make sure all chips are covered. Let sit for 4 minutes without stirring. Whisk until the mixture becomes thick and smooth.

Assembling brownies:

1. Once brownies have cooled frost with peanut butter frosting. Next drizzle with caramel sauce followed by pretzel pieces and then the chopped Take 5 candy bar. Finally drizzle with the chocolate ganache.
2. Put in fridge for about 30 minutes before cutting. Store in a cool, dry place.

Notes

• A boxed brownie mix can also be used in place of the homemade brownies.
• I like my brownies cold so I either keep them in my fridge and take them out about 10 to 15 minutes before eating them or I keep them in my cold storage room (this keeps them just cold enough that I can cut and eat them right away). Don’t get me wrong, they’re also fabulous at room temperature, I have just always liked to eat brownies and cakes when they’re chilled.
• The pretzels I used in these pictures are the Synders itty bitty mini pretzels. You can use any kind, but will want to chop them into smaller pieces if they’re a bigger size.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Category: Brownies & Bars

Recipe Source: Brownie recipe adapted from Food Network, Peanut Butter Frosting and Caramel Sauce from 5 Boys Baker.