Peanut Butter brownies
For those who like both peanut butter and chocolate, these peanut butter brownies are heavenly moist and delicious. Until there is a ready-to-bake mix for these brownies, you may have to contend with baking them from scratch.
Avoid mixing the chocolate batter with the peanut butter mixture. Chocolate has the best taste when it can maintain its neutral pH. Mixing it with an acidic ingredient such as peanut butter or cream cheese would lower its pH and result in an inferior taste.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
For the peanut butter layer
Cream cheese, at room temperature | 1 oz. |
Smooth peanut butter | 3 Tbsp |
Egg yolk, room T. | 1 large |
Sugar | 1 Tbsp |
All purpose flour | 1 Tbsp |
Cream peanut butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth.
Add egg yolk, sugar, and flour, one at a time. Mix well after each addition.
For the brownie layer
Unsalted butter | 5 Tbsp |
Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate | 5 oz. |
Eggs, room T. | 2 large |
Sugar | ½ cup |
All purpose flour | ½ cup |
Vanilla extract | 1 tsp |
Baking powder | ½ tsp |
Salt | ¼ tsp |
Coarsely chopped peanuts | 1 cup |
Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water (over low heat). Remove from heat and continue stirring until smooth. Then set aside to cool.
Cream eggs and sugar until the mixture turns lemon-colored and thick. Add the cooled butter-chocolate mixture and combine well.
Add flour, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
Pour half of the chocolate mixture in the prepared baking pan, then place dollops of peanut butter mixture over it. Don’t worry about covering the chocolate layer because it won’t. Add the remaining chocolate mixture.
Make a rough checkerboard pattern by gently drawing a table knife from right to left and from top to bottom. Finally, sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes. If you wait for the cake tester to come out clean, you will be overbaking your peanut butter brownies.
Allow the whole brownie to cool in its baking pan before removing it by simply lifting the aluminum foil. Cut peanut butter brownies into squares of any desirable sizes and enjoy.