Tag Archives: chocolate and peanut butter

Feb 10

Double Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Warning: If you don’t enjoy crazy, indulgent treats, stay away from these brownies. They really are kind of insane. But in a very good way.

I was craving that chocolate-peanut butter combo but couldn’t decide whether to go for a brownie with peanut butter chips or a peanut butter blondie with chocolate chips. And then I thought, hey, why not combine the two? And that’s how these brownies were born. The bottom layer is a rich, dark chocolate brownie with peanut butter in the base and peanut butter chips generously intermingled, while the top layer is a moist peanut butter blondie studded with semisweet chocolate chips.

Although these brownies do essentially mean making two recipes in one, each batter is really quick and easy to throw together, and the end result is pretty impressive. So even if you’re short on time, if you’re craving chocolate and peanut butter and want something truly over-the-top, go ahead and make a batch of these.

crazybrownies

Double Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients:

For the brownie layer:

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 cup peanut butter chips

For the peanut butter blondie layer:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

For the brownie layer:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside. (You can also use a 9×9 pan – your brownies won’t be quite as tall, but that’s okay.)
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Stir in peanut butter and melted chocolate, then set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until well-combined.
  5. Stir in the peanut butter chips.
  6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan, using an offset spatula to smooth out the top.

For the peanut butter blondie layer:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars.
  2. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well-incorporated (you can do this with a whisk or even a fork).
  3. Stir in the flour and salt, mixing well.
  4. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. Using a offset spatula, spread the peanut butter blondie layer over the brownie layer.
  6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs.
  7. Let the brownies cool in the pan before cutting and slicing. I recommend holding out two hours if you can, but make sure to leave these for at least a solid hour to set up.
Jan 14

Chocolate Chunky Peanut Butter Brownies

I just love me a good brownie. And I also happen to be a big fan of the whole chocolate-peanut butter combo. So basically, if you’re me, these brownies are a very good thing. They feature a rich, fudgy chocolate-peanut butter base with a chunky peanut butter filling. Talk about yum.

Incidentally, my work schedule recently changed (read: got more demanding) and so I haven’t been posting (or baking, for that matter) quite as regularly as I normally would. I wonder if this new schedule will have a positive effect on both my wallet and waistline…guess we’ll have to see what happens.

chunkypb

Chocolate Chunky Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, smooth peanut butter, and vanilla. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until well-combined.
  5. Pour half of the batter into your prepared pan.
  6. Spread the chunky peanut butter on top of the base layer using either the greased back of a spoon or an offset spatula.
  7. Spread the remaining brownie batter on top.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least an hour before slicing and serving.
Sep 8

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies

Wowsa. It’s been over a month since I’ve posted on here, so now that the weather is cooling down, I’ll have to get myself back into the swing of baking. I know I’ve mentioned before that I tend to bake less frequently during the summer, and I basically spent most of August avoiding the oven and indulging in frozen desserts instead. But just this past week, the weather suddenly turned cooler, and in a really nice way. And it was just enough motivation to get myself back into the kitchen and do a nice amount of baking.

While I tackled several different recipes over the past week, the first one I’d like to share is something simple yet tasty. These brownies are really a cinch to whip up. As is the case with most of the brownie recipes I like to make, this batch requires nothing more than a couple of mixing bowls and some basic ingredients. There’s no need to bust out the fancy tools or spend more than 15-20 minutes putting everything together. Plus, these brownies are really adaptable to a variety of mix-ins, so if peanuts and pretzels aren’t your thing, feel free to substitute something else.

Here’s to what will hopefully be a busy month of baking and a glorious start to fall.

pbpretzbrowniepic

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
1 stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
¼ cup peanut butter, plus more for topping
½ cup crushed pretzels
½ cup chopped peanuts

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cooled melted butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in egg.
4. Mix in ¼ cup peanut butter, then slowly incorporate the flour and cocoa mixture, mixing well until fully blended into the wet ingredients.
5. Stir in the pretzels and peanuts.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it will be thick). Using the back of a spoon, swirl additional peanut butter on top of the brownie batter as desired.
7. Bake for 27-32 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool completely in their pan (at least 60 minutes but better to wait two hours to be safe) before cutting into them.

 

May 23

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

We’ve had a bit of a heat wave lately here in New Jersey. And for the record, I knew this was going to happen. See, most years we get at least a little taste of that wonderful season called “spring.” You know, when the sun comes out and the temps are warm enough for you to walk around outside in a t-shirt without being too hot or too cold. Well, this year we basically had cold, often-rainy weather up until a couple of days ago. Then it turned hot. Really hot. I’m talking 85-degree, smog in the air hot. It’s the type of weather where my naturally curly hair doesn’t stand a chance (not that I’m above pulling it back into a bun or slapping a baseball cap on top of my head, but there’s just something about massive, uncontrollable humidity-induced frizz that makes my self-esteem take a bit of a hit) and the simple act of walking down the street is enough to make you reach for a Gatorade.

In weather like this, all I ever really want to eat is yogurt, cereal, and ice cream. And the last thing I want to do is slave over a hot stove or even contemplate turning on my oven. But alas, my desire to put something in my stomach other than pure dairy got the better of me, and so I decided to bake up some quick oatmeal bars.

The good thing about this recipe is that it’s just about the easiest thing ever. You don’t need fancy equipment or a ton of ingredients, and your oven stays on for only a short amount of time. While some people might refer to these babies as oatmeal cookie bars, to me, they’re more like candy bars. The only downside to making them smack in the middle of a heat wave is that the tops have a tendency to melt if you’re cheap and stubborn like me and refuse to run your air conditioner (though I eventually caved). In fact, you’ll definitely want to store these in the fridge, no matter the season. But if you like chewy, chocolate peanut butter candy bars, you’ll definitely want to whip up a batch of these. Just be careful offering them up to neighbors, coworkers, and friends—you may be surprised at what little you have left for yourself.

oatmealcandybars

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

For the base:
4 cups of quick-cooking oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup corn syrup

For the topping:
1 cup milk chocolate, chopped (it’s okay to use chocolate chips)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Method:

For the base:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside. Using a wooden spoon, combine the oats, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup.
2. Press the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.
3. Allow the base to cool completely (at least 30 minutes) before adding the topping.

For the topping:
1. Combine the chocolate and peanut butter in a small bowl and melt in the microwave at 50% power for 30-second increments, stirring in between each. Once the mixture is smooth, immediately stir in the peanuts and then use an offset spatula to spread the topping over the base.
2. Place the bars in the fridge to set, at least one hour.
Keep these bars stored in the fridge, not at room temp. They happen to taste really good cold, but if you’d prefer them a little warmer and chewier, just take them out about 15-30 minutes before you want to eat them. I don’t recommend microwaving them to warm them up, as the topping has a tendency to melt quickly.

 

 

Apr 29

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I just adore chocolate and peanut butter together. Whoever first came up with the idea to marry the two in dessert form deserves some of medal or prize. And since I needed something to bring to a potluck dinner this past weekend, I decided to whip up some super-rich, ultra-decadent chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.

Now let me warn you: These cupcakes aren’t for the faint of heart. There’s a lot of chocolate and a lot of peanut butter in there, which means these babies are in no way, shape, or form even remotely healthy. But they’re so delicious it almost doesn’t (shouldn’t) bother you.

Putting these cupcakes together takes a bit of time—time I really didn’t have but managed to come up with in the form of foregone sleep. (Again, worth it. ) Each of the steps involved is fairly easy, but the batter can be a bit tricky to work with (see below), and of course it just plain takes time to individually frost 24 cupcakes. (It takes even longer when you keep stopping to sample the frosting while refilling your piping bag.) But the end result is a pretty, indulgent treat that’s the perfect reward for all that hard work.

chocpbcup

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream
Cupcake recipe slightly adapted from Alida’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups AP flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (the original recipe offers a lighter option, but I decided to go all in)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk (the original recipe calls for skim, and I’m sure that would be fine as well)

For the frosting:
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 and 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon milk (I used whole)

Method:

To make the cake:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with liners and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, water, milk, oil, and vanilla. Fold the wet imxture into the dry ingredients until just moistened. Note that the batter will be pretty thin.
4. Fill prepared muffin cups halfway with batter and set remaining batter aside.

To make the filling:
1. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, and milk until combined. Divide the filling evenly amongst the 24 cups, dropping a spoonful of filling in the center of each.
2. Cover each cup with the remaining chocolate batter.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
4. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan; then move the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.

To make the frosting:
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter together on medium speed until the mixture gets nice and smooth.
2. Add the confectioners sugar and beat on low for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Add the tablespoon of milk and beat on medium for about another minute. If needed, add a little more confectioners sugar if you want your frosting to be thicker.
4. Use a spatula or piping bag to top your cupcakes once cooled.
5. Garnish with chopped miniature peanut butter cups if desired.

A few notes:
1. As mentioned above, the chocolate cupcake batter is pretty thin, which makes getting it cleanly into your muffin cups a bit of a challenge. I suggest using a batter/ice cream scoop but having a teaspoon ready underneath to catch stray drips.
2. I don’t tend to like tons of frosting on my cupcakes, and since these cupcakes are quite rich to begin with, I found that a small amount worked perfectly. But if you’re the type to pile on the frosting (and there’d be nothing wrong with that), you’ll probably want to make one and a half times the amount referenced above.

 

Apr 17

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Ah, chocolate and peanut butter. That classic combination draws me in every time. This week, I decided to unite my chocolate and peanut butter in fudge form. I saw this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker, one of my favorite blogs, and decided to give it a shot.

Now normally I’m not the biggest fudge fan. Well, I shouldn’t say that. I happen to think fudge is delicious, albeit kind of insanely sweet. But usually I’ll go for a brownie or cookie or (generous) slice of cake before opting for fudge. Still, something about this recipe called out to me, so I figured I’d mix things up a bit.

The fudge itself didn’t take long to prepare, but let me tell you, I got a bit of a workout while making it thanks to Step #5 below. But it was still totally worth it. And besides, this way I felt justified helping myself to an extra piece.

pbfudge

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

2½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
½ cup unsalted butter, divided, with 2 tablespoons set aside
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:
1. Butter an 8-inch square pan and line the pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, evaporated milk, and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the 2 tablespoons of butter into the mixture and stir until the butter melts. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and continue to let the mixture cook, without stirring, until it reaches 234 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove the mixture from the heat and, without stirring, add in the remaining butter, peanut butter, and vanilla. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
5. Using a wooden spoon, beat the fudge until it thickens and begins to lose its gloss. This took me about 6-7 minutes, though the original recipe states that it can take up to 15. Um, yikes, considering that my arm felt like it was about to fall off at the 3-minute mark. You can also use a stand or hand mixture to tackle this step, but you have to be careful not to overbeat.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Allow the fudge to come to room temperature and then cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until it sets (at least 2 hours).
7. Use the parchment paper to lift the fudge out of the pan. Slice and enjoy.

Feb 10

Triple Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

So the blizzard they predicted didn’t turn out to be a blizzard after all. It was more like a respectable snow storm, dumping a good 8-10 inches on us before making its way out. My husband was happy because he got to use his new toy—the mega snow blower—and I was happy because it meant the roads were just bad enough to give us an excuse to stay inside together all weekend long. During the day, we chased the baby around the house (he’s just starting to take his first steps) and played fun little infant games (think peek-a-boo and a really low-key version of hide and seek). And at night, once the baby went to bed, my husband and I got to cuddle up, pop in some good movies, and enjoy being stuck indoors.

Now I even though I made my blizzard brownies right before the storm, I did have to take advantage of the extra at-home time and whip up a second batch of deliciousness, this time in the form of triple layer brownies.

These brownies are really rich. Imagine a moist, chocolate brownie bottom with a layer of buttery peanut butter cookie dough resting above it. Top it off with a generous coating of chocolate ganache, and you’ve got a recipe for one indulgent dessert.

IMGP1657

Triple Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients:
For the brownie layer:
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate, chopped
One stick of butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup AP flour
2 and ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

For the peanut butter cookie dough layer:
½ cup butter
1 and ½ cups AP flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 and ¼ cups smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking power
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the ganache topping:
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 and ½ teaspoons confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon milk
¼ cup heavy cream

Method:
For the brownie layer:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving enough for an overhang (you’ll need this to get the brownies out later).
2. In a microwave, heat the chocolate and butter on 50% power until melted. (I recommend doing this in 45-second intervals and stirring in between.)
3. Whisk in sugars and salt until smooth. Then, whisk in the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Add your flour and cocoa powder to the wet mixture and stir until well-combined.
5. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. While the brownies cool, you can move on to the next step.

For the peanut butter layer:
1. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then, add in the peanut butter and beat on medium for 2-3 minutes, or until well-combined.
2. Whisk together your flour, salt, and baking powder; then add to the peanut butter mixture and beat at low-medium speed until well-combined. Add your vanilla and mix well.
3. Once the brownies have been cooling for about 30 minutes (they don’t need to be completely cool, just not right out of the oven), spread the peanut butter cookie dough on top of the brownie layer. The top might start to sink in, and that’s okay. Put your pan back in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top turns a nice golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
4. Let the brownies cool for about an hour, then make and add the ganache.

For the ganache topping:
1. Combine the chocolate, confectioners sugar, peanut butter, and milk in a bowl. Heat the mixture in the microwave at 50% until somewhat (but not totally) melted.
2. In a small saucepan or microwave, heat the heavy cream until it just starts to boil. Immediately whisk it into the chocolate mixture until it looks nice and smooth.
3. Pour the ganache over the peanut butter cookie dough layer and resist the urge to cut into these babies until the topping has enough time to set. I recommend waiting at least an hour with the brownies in the fridge, or two hours if you decide to leave them at room temperature.