When is a brownie not a brownie?
What a silly question. But seriously, these brownies are beyond your normal brownie. These are super fudgy peanut butter brownies – and they are swirly, decadent, and dark like my cold, cold heart.
Right now I want to eat them all and lay on the couch for many hours, while life passes me by. Buuuuuuut…I am about to be international baby, and that demands action! In this moment those actions include buying new underwear (who else puts this errand off until it’s unimaginably embarrassing?), scheduling blog posts for while I’m gone, and going over and over my very type-A, neurotic-head-case packing/to-do lists.
But I’ve promised myself that once the laundry is folded, and all the chargers have been located, and dinner is in the oven (because we still gotta eat), that I will sit on the couch and queue up an episode of FRIENDS (probably the one where Joey and Rachel finally get together – gaaaah so good!), and quietly lose myself in peanut butter brownie heaven.
This may not be your exact Tuesday night. But I’m betting that after tackling Monday head on you could use a small reward by now. One of these ridiculous peanut butter brownies (I prefer mine cold from the fridge) is just the thing to luxuriate in for about seven minutes – until you have to feed the kids (cats), take out the recycling, or just engage your brain in some less than super fun way. It’s the little pieces of heaven, am I right?
So why are these peanut butter brownies so bonkers delicious?
Well the obvious things come to mind here – they’re chocolate, and peanut butter, with fudgy centers, chewy edges, and just a touch of that salty/sweet thing everyone’s so mad about. They also don’t call for heavy duty equipment (ie: you can make these with a couple bowls and a whisk), and even though peanut butter brownie perfection takes a little time, it’s mostly hands off.
So while I’m busy downloading podcasts to occupy me on the flight to the land of pasta, just imagine how nice a little private time with that brownie could be.
Super Fudgy Peanut Butter Brownies
These peanut butter brownies are chewy on the edges, fudgy in the middle, and packed with swirly peanut butter goodness. Although they take a small investment of time, it’s almost all hands off, and doesn’t require any heavy duty equipment to deliver you to brownie bliss.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 55 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 Brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
½ C smooth peanut butter
3 T unsalted butter
½ C powdered sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 C dark chocolate chips
2 eggs
½ C dark brown sugar
⅔ C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 T brewed coffee
⅔ C all-purpose flour
2 T cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 T instant espresso powder
½ C roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350° F.
Grease an 8×8 inch pan with butter or non-stick spray and place a piece of parchment so that it sit on the bottom of the pan and overlaps on two sides (this makes a sort of sling so it’s easier to get the brownies out of the pan later). Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and three tablespoons unsalted butter. Microwave for 30-45 seconds, or until the peanut butter becomes loose in consistency. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, microwave the butter and chocolate chips in 30 second increments, stirring between each one, until melted. This took me one minute total – it’s ok if you still have a few pieces of chocolate, it will continue to melt as you stir.
Let chocolate cool for five minutes. Then add the eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and coffee. Stir to combine, but do not whip too much air into the mixture.
Sprinkle over flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso powder. Stir just until there are no more dry spots.
Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Dollop half of the peanut butter mixture on top and using a dinner knife, swirl the peanut butter into the brownie batter. Sprinkle half the peanuts over the top.
Repeat with the remaining brownie batter, peanut butter mixture, and chopped peanuts.
Bake on the middle rack for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with some fudgy moist crumbs attached, but no liquid batter.
Cool in the pan, on a rack before cutting and serving.
Notes
For the fudgiest brownies, store these in the fridge.
Keywords: chocolate and peanut butter dessert, fudgy brownies
