Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

I tend to brag about the area I live in to my family and friends who live near where I grew up. You see, I grew up in an area that had all of the basic restaurants, lots of pizza places, etc. But it lacked (and still does) diversity. I can go out for Indian, Middle Eastern, Thai, Japanese, Italian, or really anything you can imagine and be at a restaurant within 5-10 minutes of leaving my house. We also have tons of Italian delis/markets. I just love my area! (And yes... because of food... you shouldn't be surprised...)

However, there's one store we're missing. Trader Joe's. I LOVE Trader Joe's, but the closest one is about 20-25 minutes away and I just rarely go. Every time I go I spend a ton of money and stock up on all types of stuff. I also tend to buy way too many impulse buys at Trader Joe's. My latest? A little tub of mini peanut butter cups. It was definitely one of those "I'm pregnant and you can't stop me! I can buy a tub of candy and not feel guilty!" moments. Well, the fact of the matter is even 8 months pregnant I don't NEED a tub of peanut butter cups so I decided to make something using them. Something John would eat. Something that would prevent me from housing a whole tub of candy. These blondies were perfect. They were really good too. We both liked them. Next time though I'd add more peanut butter. I like a bold peanut butter taste and didn't feel it came through enough, but that could be just me! A great base recipe though, especially since in a week we'll all have lots of Halloween candy hanging around.

Source: The Cooking Nurse

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup chocolate chips
4 peanut butter cups, chopped, or 1/2-3/4 cup mini peanut butter cups

Directions:
1- Preheat over to 375. Spray a 9x9 square baking dish with spray.
2- In a large bowl combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Stir and set aside.
3- In a separate bowl combine the peanut butter, butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs. Stir well to combine
4- Pour the wet into the dry, mixing well until evenly incorporated. Don't over stir.
5- Add the chocolate chips, stir, and pour into the baking dish. Top with the peanut butter cups. Bake 19-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with slightly moist crumbs.
6- Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then cut and serve.