Buried Bunny Brownies

Did you take my advice from Facebook last week and stock up on the discounted Easter candy? Let’s hope so because I have a fun and super easy treat for you!

Peeps can be found just about year-round, but the bunny Peeps are only out at Easter. And they look very afraid.

Don’t worry. You can’t hear their screams as the cold, steel blade slices through them. (You did know that rabbits scream, right? Fortunately, these ones are mute.)

Oh, geez. That’s a lot of bodies to take care of. Better hide the evidence.

Yup. Nobody will find them now.

What now? I know! 350 degrees for 30 minutes–that’ll do the trick!

It looks like some of them may have been buried alive and clawed their way out. I can certainly find no evidence of this one now…

Guess I have no choice but to eat it…

In all seriousness, Buried Bunny Brownies are nothing new. Before Easter, news of this treat, dubbed “Peeps-Stuffed Brownies,” was rampant. Even though I rarely keep box mixes on hand, I didn’t have a favorite brownie recipe to try them with either. So I dragged my butt on down to the grocery store, picked up a box of Fudge Brownies mix and a package of bunny Peeps, and eagerly rushed home to the kitchen to see what the buzz was all about.

For those who haven’t experimented with marshmallows in baking before, they basically disappear in the process. Another popular Easter treat, involving putting marshmallows in canned biscuit dough, is an Easter treat specifically for the marshmallow’s tendency to disappear–they’re supposed to gesture toward the empty tomb after Jesus pulled a zombie move and rose from the dead. Here, too, there is little evidence of the Peeps left in the brownies, yet there is a sticky moistness that remains, sometimes even with the hint of roasted marshmallows, that is crave-worthy. How could something so simple make such an impact? Yet, it does.

So grab those Peeps you scored for 50% off and some brownie mix and get to work! It may seem a bit morbid cutting all those bunnies in half and burying them, but you’re doing them a favor. They’re not all that great on their own anyway.

Buried Bunny Brownies

• 1 box of your favorite brownie mix (or your favorite brownie recipe)
• ingredients for the boxed brownie mix preparation
• 1 package bunny Peeps

Preheat oven to the box directions. Select your pan (whether it’s 8×8, 9×9, 9×13, or the brownie pan) and grease or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, prepare the brownies as directed. On a cutting board, cut the Peeps in half through the middle so you end up with 2 bunnies for each Peep. Note: the number you’ll need will depend on the size of your pan.

Spread half the brownie batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay out 1 layer of Peeps halves. Spread the rest over the top, burying the bunnies in brownie batter. Bake per box directions for the size pan you’re using.

Cool completely before cutting. These will keep up to 3 days at room temperature.