Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Peanut Butter Brownies

peanutbutterbrownies

So here's the recipe I've kept you waiting for for a few days. Don't worry, it's worth it. The photo sucks - I packed half of these to give away and tossed the rest in the freezer, meaning to arrange them nicely for a photo before eating. Well, I forgot about that, took the bag to work, and just managed to snap this photo before they were all gone. That should tell you how very popular they were, despite not looking incredibly pretty.

The recipe comes from The Boastful Baker, but I've made a few minor changes - no espresso powder, less sugar.. slightly different measurements.

So. For this recipe you have to have Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Yes, I know they're hard to find in Sweden, but it isn't impossible. My local ICA has them, and so does most City-Gross stores I've ever been to. Talk to your local store if they don't have them in stock. You'll be needing about four packets, which means eight cups. And if you've never had them before... buy an extra packet and try them with a glass of milk, they're really quite good. (I suppose, in a pinch you could make your own peanut butter cups first, but it would be quite a bit more work.)

Oh - and keep these small. They're really, really, really quite rich.

Peanut Butter Brownies
makes about 36 small pieces

240 g chocolate (mostly dark, I used 200 g dark and 40 g milk chocolate)
115 g unsalted butter
4 tbsp cocoa powder
3 large eggs
250 g sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (you can use vanilla sugar instead)
4 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
150 g flour
200 g Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (about eight cups)

Start by peeling off the paper from the Peanut Butter Cups and freeze them in a plasic bag for a few hours. Then chop into coarse pieces.

Heat the oven to 175°C. Butter a pan or line it with baking paper - mine is about 20 cm square so use something similar in size to that.

Dice the chocolate and butter and melt together in the microwave or over a waterbath. Stir in the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add cocoa powder.

Beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla and salt and add the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour and last, the chopped Peanut Butter Cups.

Spread into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean, but don't overbake them, either. Leave to cool completely before cutting into small squares. Keep them cool, I recommend freezing them.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordnötssmörbrownies

12 comments:

Katie said...

Oh yum these sound delicious. Can't get peanut butter cups in the UK so would have to stir in some peanut butter but I expect it would work. I actually love to eat brownie straight from the freezer - it gives it a more chewy texture and I love how it seems to melt in your mouth. Shh.

Rosemary said...

These look yummy to me. Will be trying.

Anonymous said...

Seem really comforting and delicious. I love chocolate and peanuts, so these will absolutely be tried. You seem like a creative and nice person Anne, I like your blog!

Anonymous said...

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my husband's favorite candy and I buy them almost weekly to satisfy his ever-present sweet tooth!! He also loves brownies!
Brownies made with PB cups--this will be a winner in my home:)
Thanks! Aimee

Anonymous said...

Men guuud så gott det där ser ut!! Det måste jag absolut prova, med hur/var får man tag på Peanut Butter Cups? Ha en toppen-fin dag!

Anne said...

Kryddburken - min Ica maxi har faktiskt, om din affär har något sortiment från Grays så borde de kunna ta hem, för det är de som är grossister :)

FoodJunkies89 said...

They looks amazing!
We recently made brownies which tasted delicous but looked no where near as nice as yours do...and they werent cut into perfect little squares either!
Im not even a fan of peanut butter but I'd try it anyway because they look so nice.
Good job!

Karin said...

Jag tittade faktiskt efter dem på ICA Maxi igår men de kostade 15 spänn för ett tvåpack så jag lät det vara. Nu funderar jag på om man inte kunde hacka ner snickers eller nåt annat godis i smeten.

Anne said...

Karin, det kan man helt säkert göra, det tror jag blir jättegott :)

Anonymous said...

wow, det smakade riktigt gott :) jag gjorde som du med mjölkchoklad och mörkchoklad blandat, halva atsen hade jag bara i vit choklad, det blev jättebra det med :) Gillar din blogg jättemkt! Ha en bra dag :) Kram!

Elin said...

I am the bearer of incredibly good news... You can make your own peanut butter cups - and trust me, they are much better than the stuff you buy in the shops!!
You need to melt 12 oz of chocolate (milk or plain). In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of peanut butter with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. With 2 teaspoons, make a small ball of the peanut butter mix and place in the centre of a small muffin cup. Flatten a little, but not so it touches the edges as this will allow for the peanut butter to be encapsuled by chocolate. Then, pour some melted chocolate over the peanut butter mix and let it cool till hard.
And: Voila!!

Anonymous said...

Made these today for fika at work...OMG...absolutely amazing!!! Were gone in 2 mins...fantastic and quick and easy to make. Thank you. Kate