Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Some people don't like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, but for the other 99% I've got a pretty awesome new way to eat it.



What appears to be a regular old delicious brownie...

...has a peanut butter cookie dough core! Like a giant, ridiculously good peanut butter cup, this treat has the best of both flavors and a fantastic texture.

Step 1. Whip up a batch of peanut butter cookie dough. I used this recipe and it was (in my opinion) the perfect texture and flavor for regular cookies and to use in this brownie. Refrigerate overnight.


Step 2. Prepare brownie batter (from scratch or Ghirardelli's Double Chocolate mix - it's so easy and makes brownies better than most).
Prepare muffin tin with cupcake liners, and divide brownie batter evenly among the twelve cups. Form 12 small balls of cookie dough and press into the center of each cup. You may have to spoon some batter over the top of the cookie to completely cover them.


Step 3. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the top of the brownies are cracked and the batter is set (just like normal brownies).

Step 4. Make 11 new best friends. Of course, one's for you.

Obviously, the leftover dough has to turn into cookies!

Peanut Butter Toffee Bites

 Sometimes experiments go horribly wrong, sometimes they're perfect, and sometimes they're not what you planned just as delicious! These cookies definitely fall into the latter category. I was trying to modify the traditional Chocolate Crinkle cookie recipe to work with new flavors, but adding peanut butter soaked up the powdered sugar and eliminated the "crinkle" part of the cookie! Not to worry, the final product was like a little crunchy, gooey, sweet peanut butter ball.

The texture was definitely not what I expected, but the flavors of toffee and peanut butter are a killer combination and the end result was met with much nodding and thumbs up while chewing. I'm sure you could make these crispier if you prefer, but why would you want to miss out on the chewy goodness of slightly under-baked peanut butter?


Peanut Butter Toffee Bites
Makes about 20 cookies


2 eggs
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, you know which one you like!)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
~1/2 C chopped Heath toffee bar (about 3 bars)
~1/2 C powdered sugar

Directions: Beat eggs and sugar together in an electric mixer until thick, pale and fluffy. Then beat in vanilla extract and peanut butter until completely combined. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl, then stir into peanut butter mixture until just combined, adding toffee bits just before it's done. Refrigerate dough for about 1 hour until firm enough to shape into balls. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Roll a small amount of chilled dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll in powdered sugar until thoroughly coated, then place on baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until dough is solidly set (they taste great a little bit under-baked).

Peanut Butter Cup(cakes)

I've always maintained that the most genius combination of flavors ever discovered is peanut butter and chocolate. Some may call it unsophisticated - but I call it delicious! This last week, I was lucky enough to receive a little sis in my sorority, and lucky for me (and her), her favorite candy is Reese's peanut butter cups. What better project for me to undertake than to recreate it in cupcake form?

The peanut butter cupcake comes from a previous recipe I used from Martha Stewart, and it is just plain fantastic. It gets dry and crumbly if you bake it just a little too long, so make sure you bake them just until the top of the cupcake springs back to the touch. Also, be sure to use homogenized peanut butter (not the kind that has the oil separated on top) because otherwise it will separate in the batter too.

As for the frosting, I found a recipe for a dark chocolate ganache frosting that is absolutely divine. It hardens to a ganache texture when it cools because there is so much chocolate in it, so if you're looking for a soft creamy frosting this isn't it. However, it tastes like the inside of a truffle - and that on top of a peanut butter cupcake is hard to beat.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes
See my PB&J Cupcake post!

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
From How Sweet It Is


For ganache:

12 oz. milk or dark chocolate  (I can only use dark!)
1/2 cup heavy cream

4 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

For frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3-4 cups powdered sugar

Directions: In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate almost completely, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir until fully melted.  Gradually add the heavy cream and stir to incorporate into the chocolate until smooth. Allow to cool to touch, about 30 min. When cooled, gently stir in softened butter 1 tbsp at a time.  Stir in vanilla.  

Allow to cool for a few hours. Whip butter in bowl of a stand mixer, then add chocolate ganache.  If it's too thick, slowly reheat in the microwave until it's smooth.  Slowly mix the two on low speed. Gradually add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Late night inspiration

There were a few days there when I was having a lot of trouble staying asleep. For some reason, I started waking up around 2am - and I think everyone can agree that at 2am your body is hungry... In one of these instances I started brainstorming something that would be wonderfully decadent and incorporate the bananas we had sitting on our countertop. The result was kind of a hodgepodge of different recipes and ideas and I think it was entirely successful!
If you don't like chocolate, bananas or peanut butter, this is not the dessert for you. But if you love a crisp peanut butter cookie crust with a soft, chocolate banana filling on top of more peanut butter cookie, this is what you've been waiting for.

For this recipe, make the dough/mixture for the three layers first and then follow the instructions at the end. It's easier when everything's laid out in front of you! 


Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Bars

Peanut butter cookie layer
From Joy the Baker 
 1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk
3/4 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 

Directions: Cream butter, sugars and peanut butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Beat in milk, egg and vanilla. Sift together the flours, baking soda and salt, then gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 

Chocolate banana layer 
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 C chocolate chips or chopped chocolate 

Directions: Beat butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add mashed bananas and blend well. Gradually beat in flour, baking soda and salt mixture, then chocolate. 

Dark chocolate ganache layer
Melt 1/4 C butter and 1/4 C chopped dark chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. Cook for 30 seconds, then stir and repeat until mixture is liquid and well-blended. 

Assembling and baking the bar
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and nonstick spray an 8x8 baking pan.
2. Spread half of the peanut butter layer into the bottom of the pan, using your fingers to make an even layer that covers the entire surface.
3. Pour chocolate ganache on top of peanut butter layer, using spoon to spread it evenly. The recipe makes a lot so add ganache to taste - you probably won't use it all.
4. Spread banana chocolate layer on top of ganache, spreading it using your fingers and making sure not to stir up too much of the ganache layer
5. Because the peanut butter dough doesn't spread easily, crumble the remaining dough on top of the last layer, trying to evenly cover the surface. It will spread a little bit, and also allow some of the other layers to peek through (pretty!).
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is deep golden brown and the mixture is set when you slide the pan back and forth. Let cool completely - the middle will be a little soft. These are actually best eaten the day after, so you'll have to at least let a few pieces last till the next day!   
 

Chunky Monkey

My joy after finishing the quarter coincided perfectly with brown bananas to result in this fantastic recipe. I don't throw around this statement lightly, but I think I may have found something I like better than chocolate chip cookies...
What I love most is the very subtle banana flavor in these cookies - kind of like banana bread but even less so. I gave them to people without telling them they were banana, and it wasn't a "whoah, banana!" reaction but more of a "mm... these kind of taste like banana" kind of thing. The texture is also fantastic - they stay very soft even when fully baked, so you get the best of both doughy and dense. I didn't add nuts because I'm not a huge fan, but if you really want to go for crunchy, use chunky peanut butter and add nuts. An added bonus is that these can be "veganized" by using margarine, vegan chocolate, and soy milk (with added lemon juice). The absence of eggs also means that you can eat the dough raw without worrying (not that I ever do...).
But whatever you do, just make them. You won't regret it!

Chunky Monkey cookies
Adapted from Namely Marly

1/4 C buttermilk, (or 1/4 C milk with 1/4 Tbsp lemon juice added)
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C peanut butter (I used smooth, I know there's some diehard chunky fans out there though)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 C chocolate chips
1 C walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions: Heat oven to 375°. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add mashed bananas and beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture and then soy buttermilk mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

When life gives you peanut butter...

It turns out that I bought wayy too much peanut butter and jelly for the cupcakes I made a couple of days ago, so when I was looking for something to make tonight I was drawn to this recipe for obvious reasons. I can't just let those ingredients waste away in the fridge now, can I? 
I also had some mini white chocolate chips in the cupboard and decided that it would be an interesting experiment in taste combinations to throw them in with the jam and see what happened. The result was kind of awesome. These bars are super easy and SUPER yummy, and definitely captures the essence of PB&J.
 

PB&J Bars
Adapted from Ina Garten
Yields 16 bars

1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C natural peanut butter (smooth or chunky, I know this is a touchy subject)
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C jam
1/2 C white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl whisk together flours, soda and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients. Nonstick spray an 8×8 baking dish and put in two thirds of the batter, distribute evenly (I used my fingers). Spread jam on top of batter, sprinkle with white chocolate chips. Dollop remaining batter on top. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Peanuuuut, peanut butter. And JELLY!

When I was little, I didn't like peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter OR jelly were great, but not together. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but by the time I hit my teens I had realized the sheer genius of the combination. For adults, PB&J is definitely a comfort food - something about the salty, sweet, tart memories of childhood just makes a magical moment.

There's nothing like a sandwich, but this cupcake sure makes a rather lovely substitute. I can't promise you'll make it to the finished product, however - I had to physically separate myself from the bowl of batter so I wouldn't finish it all! I also frosted the cupcakes with straight peanut butter instead of PB frosting because I was too lazy. Delicious, but I felt a little bit like that dog in the got milk commercial...
 


PB&J Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Yields 18 cupcakes
 

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
3/4 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 C sugar
2/3 C natural, creamy peanut butter
3 large eggs
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Set aside. In another bowl, combine natural peanut butter and sour cream.  These will be your wet ingredients.  Set aside.

Cream butter and granulated sugar until white and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in three additions on low speed, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry.  Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.  Do not over mix.

Either line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.  Divide batter among muffin cups filling each 2/3 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool on wire racks.




Filling and frosting:
Once cooled, take a small paring knife or apple corer and make a small hole in the center of each cupcake. Make sure you don't poke all the way to the bottom of the cupcake - you want the filling to stay in! Using a small spoon, fill the hole with jam. 
Frost with peanut butter or peanut butter frosting (recipe below), and add a dollop of jam on the top as well if you'd like. 





Peanut Butter Frosting
6 oz cream cheese
1/3 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 C creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C heavy cream

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt, then peanut butter, then vanilla. Beat cream in a separate bowl until soft peaks form, and then fold into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)