Mountain Mud Pie Dessert

Peanut Butter
Caramel Mountain Mud Pie By Amy Jensen, P&P Recipe Contributor

THE favorite
summer ice-cream dessert!  Let me introduce you to our FAVORITE family ice-cream dessert!  We make this EVERY summer, especially when we have a crowd of cousins coming for dinner.  This Peanut Butter Caramel Mountain Mud Pie has a famous peanut butter caramel layer between smooth, creamy layers of chocolate and vanilla ice-cream plus a yummy brownie bottom.  

This famous peanut butter caramel was
actually an ice-cream sundae topping accident! 
You see, we like to have our neighbors over to our house each summer for
“Sundaes on Sunday”.  We bake several
pans of brownies, grab a couple gallons of ice-cream, and invite our neighbors
to bring a favorite topping for a cold summer treat.  One such Sunday, I realized I had forgotten
to grab extra toppings…just in case…and I had no ingredients to make chocolate
sauce!  Yikes!  I did, however, have chunky peanut butter and
Karo syrup in my pantry.  So…I thought,
“Hmmm, if I stir a bit of corn syrup into some peanut butter, we could call it
an ice-cream topping!”  I went for it,
hoping for the best!  I tasted my simple
concoction and thought it tasted delish….so I put it out on the dessert table
and watched as my unsuspecting neighbors piled on their toppings.  By the end of the night friends were scraping
the last final sticky bits out of the bottom of the bowl and begging for the
recipe!  HA!  I was shocked!  A favorite topping was born.

So, really, our
mud pie is just a good ol’ brownie sundae with peanut butter caramel in the
middle!  The brownie bottom layer is
dark, dense, and chocolaty, chewy bliss! 
The ice-cream layers are creamy and rich….the peanut butter caramel is
the perfect consistency of cold, smooth, crunchy, caramel heaven! 

Just before
serving, drizzle rich chocolate ganache over the top and sprinkle with chopped
peanuts.  AAAAAAH!  This will be a favorite at your house!  You’ll want to eat this for dinner…or sneak
some for breakfast!  I promise!  ENJOY!  

Love and chocolate, Amy J

Let’s make our
mountain:

Make a box of brownies
according to package directions, bake in a greased 8 to 9 inch spring form
pan.  Cool completely.

Stir together peanuts, corn syrup, and peanut butter until well
combined.

Add extra bits
of water as needed to make a soft caramel sauce consistency that can easily be
poured.  Set aside.

Get ready to
build a mountain!

Scoop ALL chocolate ice cream into a nice layer on top of
the brownie layer in the spring form pan. 

Pour peanut butter
caramel mixture over chocolate ice-cream.  Spread peanut
butter caramel to the edges. 

Scoop ALL vanilla ice-cream and lay on top of peanut
butter caramel layer.  Cover with plastic
and freeze at least 4 hours….I usually make this a day ahead and freeze
overnight.

Just before
serving:

Heat up the cream
in a glass bowl in the microwave until boiling. 
Remove from microwave and stir in chocolate.

Whisk until
smooth.  Simple.  Amazing. 
Ganache.

To serve:  Drizzle ganache over top, sprinkle with extra
peanuts.  Dive into a cold creamy
mountain of chocolate, peanut butter heaven! 
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter
Caramel Mountain Mud Pie

1 favorite box
brownie mix

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ cup peanut
butter

½ cup chopped
roasted peanuts…PLUS extra to
sprinkle on top

2 tsp water

½ gallon light
vanilla ice-cream

½ gallon light
chocolate ice-cream

½ cup semi
sweet chocolate, good quality

¼ cup cream,
boiling

*Make brownies
according to package directions, bake in a greased 8 to 9 inch spring formpan.  Cool completely.

*Stir corn
syrup, peanut butter, peanuts and water until well combined.  Add extra bits of water as needed to make a
soft caramel sauce consistency that can easily be poured.  Set aside.

*Scoop ALL chocolate ice cream into a nice layer on top of
the brownie layer in the spring form pan. 
Next, pour peanut butter caramel mixture over chocolate ice-cream and
spread to the edges.  Scoop ALL vanilla ice-cream and lay on top of peanut
butter caramel layer.  Cover with plastic
and freeze at least 4 hours….I usually make this a day ahead and freeze
overnight.

JUST
BEFORE SERVING:

*Heat up cream
in glass bowl in the microwave until boiling. 
Remove from microwave and stir in chocolate.  Whisk until smooth.  Drizzle over top of pie, sprinkle with extra
peanuts and serve.  TO DIE FOR!

NOTE: You can
also make this in a greased AND
FLOURED 9X13 pan.