Chocolate Peanut Fudge Bars (Midwest) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Crust
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
Filling
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons milk
Topping
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation

In a medium bowl combine the crust ingredients, mix well.
Press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Refrigerate crust for 20-30 minutes.
In another medium bowl, combine filling ingredients, and blend at low speed for 30 seconds, and then on medium high speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Spread over crust.
In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. (You can also microwave the chips at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until smooth).
Stir in peanut butter, blend well. (If using microwave method, you might want to microwave for 30 seconds to melt the peanut butter a bit after adding it to the chocolate).
Stir in peanuts.
Spread over filling.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours, store leftovers in the refrigerator as well.