Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Brownies
Apparently I haven’t added a brownie recipe to this site since 2016!! WHA-A-A-T!!!!! Excuse me while I take a break from typing to breathe into a paper bag to stop the hyperventilation!
Guys, how can that be so? Especially ‘cause brownies might just possibly be my most favorite dessert of all times (you’ll notice I said might—I have commitment issues when it comes to sticking with my favorite treats) but still. Really? A huge sorry to all of you! And me too! Because no one’s been getting enough brownie around here.
Fortunately, that stops today. And what a way to end the hiatus. These are not just ordinary brownies. No sir! These have peanut butter and chocolate and they’re all swirly and nubby and exciting.
And chewy! Can’t forget about that!
And despite the fact that there is layering and dolloping going on, these are not hard to make at all.
Kinda fun, actually.
Once you’ve made the two batters and alternately spooned them into the pan, you swirl them around to get that marble-y affect.
When they emerge from the oven, you get tender fudgy brownies that really are a marriage of that classic Reese’s combo. Every bite is a swirly peanut butter and chocolate lovers dream! You’ve got to try these!
And now I raise my right hand and solemnly swear that I will never, ever again allow that much time to go between brownie posts. Maybe as penance, i should do a week devoted to them. Oh, what a punishment that would be!!
On a side note—we’ll be doing a bit of college traveling this weekend (we’re almost through) so probably won’t post again till next week. Hope your favorite bball team winsHave an amazing weekend,
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Brownies
Makes 12 brownies
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the peanut butter batter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional softened butter for greasing the pan
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (don’t use natural here, something like Jif or Skippy will work best)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
For the chocolate batter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/4 cup unbleached, all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and butter an 8x8-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper so that there is an overhang and grease the bottom of the paper. Set aside.
2. To make the peanut butter batter: Place the butter and the peanut butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan with a couple of inches of barely simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water) and let it melt together, stirring often. Remove the bowl from the pan and whisk in the sugar well. Then whisk in the egg and the vanilla. Sift the flour and baking powder over the top and use a rubber spatula to fold all the ingredients together just until no flour is visible. Set aside.
3. To make the chocolate batter: Place the butter and chopped chocolate into a separate heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water and melt together, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl and use a clean whisk to combine the sugar, egg, vanilla and coffee. Sift the flour and cocoa over the batter and use a clean spatula to fold together. Then add in the chips and fold gently.
4. Scoop out generous portions of each batter, alternating them so that a peanut butter scoop is between two chocolate ones as much as possible. Now use the handle of a wooden spoon to swirl the flavors together as much or as little as you want, making sure the batter is evenly distributed in the pan all the way to the edges and corners.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. These are good a little underbaked. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Then use the overhang to pull the entire block out and peel away the paper, inverting so that they are right side up. Use a sharp knife to cut into 12 squares and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. If you want to make a bigger batch, these double well. Just bake in a 9x13-inch pan instead.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe by Alisa Huntsman. I cut the recipe in half and used espresso powder instead of the ground coffee beans.
