Peanut Butter Toffee Cheesecake Brownies

So, I was cleaning out my bookcase a couple weeks ago and this recipe fell out of one of my books. My mom had clipped it from a newspaper for me several years ago, thinking that I would probably love to try it. Peanut butter, cream cheese, and brownies? Yeah, she knows me pretty well! Anyways, I had tucked it away and forgotten all about it but once I found it, I wasn't going to risk losing it again. I decided to make them immediately.

They were, of course, delicious, but with those ingredients, how could they not be? What makes them so great, is that you start with a simple brownie mix as your base and then just dress it up with a delicious peanut butter cream cheese topping. I could have eaten the cream cheese filling with a spoon it was so good.

Recipe Source: Unknown Newspaper article
Yield: 9x13 pan (about 20 generous brownies)

1 (19.5 oz) package fudge brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup milk chocolate baking chips
3 Tbsp. whipping cream
3-4 Skor bars (or about 1 1/2 cups of chopped chocolate covered toffee bits... you can buy them in a bag)

1. Heat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water, and eggs about 50 strokes, until well combined. Spread batter into greased pan.

3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on medium until nice and fluffy. Add milk and peanut butter; beat until smooth. Now do your very best to spoon the mixture over the brownie batter in the pan. I'm not gonna lie... it's not easy. I was not able to spread it evenly AT ALL. Just do your best and try to get it to cover the majority of the brownie base. It's OK that it's uneven. We cover it with chocolate later!

4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until cheesecake layer is set and the edges are light golden brown. I inserted a toothpick all the way down to my brownie layer and had to bake it a little longer so the brownies were a bit more down. Cool for at least 30 minutes and then refrigerate it for another 30-40 minutes.

5. In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and cream uncovered 40 to 60 seconds or until melted; Stir until smooth. Spread over cooled cream cheese layer. Again it won't be perfectly smooth because your peanut butter layer probably wasn't smooth. That's OK because we're still going to top it with toffee bits!

6. Roughly chop the Skor bars (Or just grab your toffee bits) and sprinkle over the melted chocolate. Cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!