peanut butter brownie trifle.

i love trifles. and i absolutely love my trifle bowl. it has held some of the most wonderful desserts i have ever made. and they are usually super easy to make which makes trifles even better. this week we had a potluck at work and i have been pretty busy with school this week (two tests & a paper due) that i really didn't want to make something super involved. i remembered my trifle bowl and knew that was the answer. matt's mom makes a trifle with brownies that is yummy but i had this recipe in my stash so i decided to give it a try. unfortunately, i didn't get to go to the potluck so i wasn't there to see the response but i did get a text from my coworker, christa, who told me that it was already almost gone! i guess that's a good sign, huh?? 

peanut butter brownie trifle + printable version
--slightly adapted from mel's kitchen cafe

brownie layer:

1 9X13 pan of your favorite brownie recipe (i just used a boxed mix)
10 ounce bag of peanut butter chips

prepare brownie recipe according to directions. add bag of peanut butter chips. pour brownie batter into a 9x13 pan lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. bake for required amount of time.cool completely.

pudding layer:

5 ounce package vanilla instant pudding mix
3 cups milk
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 cup cool whip, divided

whisk pudding mix with milk for 2 minutes, or until thickened. you may have to stick in the fridge for it to firm up all the way. add peanut butter and vanilla until creamy. carefully blend in 1/2 cup of cool whip into pudding mixture.

peanut butter cup layer:

24 regular sized (about 2 inches in diameter) peanut butter cups, divided

**i  used a bag of mini reese's & quartered them but next time i would probably chop them smaller.

roughly chop up peanut butter cups into whatever size you prefer. reserve about 1/4 c for garnish. 

when the brownies have cooled, invert onto cutting board and cut into 3/4 in pieces or really whatever size you feel like. 

layer half of the brownies on the bottom of the trifle bowl or whatever bowl you are using. top with half of the pudding mixture and layer half of the remaining chopped reese's. repeat with remaining brownie pieces, pudding, and reese's. use the remaining 1/2 c of cool whip for garnish and top with reserved 1/4 c of reese's.

 **ps...i apologize for my poor quality photos...it was late & i was too tired to care.