Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
September 21st, 2011
Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
I am not quite sure what got into me that I decided to make these brownies. But let me just be clear. These are trouble…
Like really tight pants kind of trouble.
Rich, gooey, peanut butter+chocolate=my kryptonite.
I kept seeing these little mini peanut butter cups around.
And eventually, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I had to bake them into something!
So I folded them into this super rich brownie batter and slathered them in peanut butter chocolate ganache. nuff said.
Peanut Butter Cup Brownies, makes 12
1 ¼ sticks of butter, cut into small pieces
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 TBS AP flour
8 oz reese’s peanut butter cup mini’s
Peanut Butter Ganache:
2/3 cup cream
2 cups dark chocolate pieces
2 Tbs peanut butter
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare an 8×8” pan with tin foil (two sheets creating an x with a 2 inch overlap of foil) and then spray the foil with cooking spray.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter until no longer foaming and the butter has browned, about 5 minutes.
While you are waiting for the butter to brown, combine the sugar, cocoa, water, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a mixer.
Add the hot butter and scrape all of the browned bits into the bowl of the mixer and then whip to combine.
With the mixer on medium, add the eggs one at a time.
Then add the flour to combine.
Add the peanut butter cups and briefly mix in.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth with a dampened spatula.
Bake 25 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool.
When they have cooled enough to handle the pan, place it in the freezer at least 20 minutes.
To make the ganache:
In a small sauce pan, heat the milk and peanut butter until almost boiling.
Meanwhile, place the chocolate pieces in a medium heatproof bowl.
Dump the hot milk over the chocolate and leave for about 5 minutes.
When you have let the chocolate and milk sit and they look melted, whisk vigorously with a metal whisk until thick and glossy.
Let the ganache cool for a bit.
Spread the ganache evenly over the brownies. Place in the freezer for about an hour.
Use the foil to pull the brownies out of the pan (ignore the misleading picture. USE THE FOIL, or you will have a mess on your hands!!) and place on a cutting board. peel the foil off while the brownies are frozen.
Trim the edges off of the brownies.
Slice into pieces and enjoy!
I need this in my life. Yum!
4:52 am on September 21st, 2011
A woman after our hearts! We will never say no to peanut butter, chocolate, plus more chocolate. Never! These look AMAZING.
6:55 am on September 21st, 2011
lol!! isn’t that how everyone feels about this sacred combo!?
7:00 am on September 21st, 2011
Can you say “Death by brownies”? In a good way!
8:42 am on September 21st, 2011
Holy cow.
Way better than my chocolate/peanut butter recipe: Unwrap Ghiradelli dark chocolate square. Insert into peanut butter jar. Scoop up about a teaspoon of peanut butter. Eat. Repeat.
9:05 am on September 21st, 2011
I’ve been hiding a bag of these mini babies in the cupboard. Guess I know what I’m going to do with them now! :) Thanks for the inspiration Heather – as always.
9:06 am on September 21st, 2011
this could very well be the perfect after halloween brownie. take all that unwanted candy and re-purpose it into something totally fabulous! genius!
9:08 am on September 21st, 2011
Swoon!
9:24 am on September 21st, 2011
So Smart!! I had not even thought of that- I bet you can do all kinds of mix-ins (snickers, milkyways, etc)
9:38 am on September 21st, 2011
Thanks Heather- so nice of you :)
9:38 am on September 21st, 2011
lol! my desperate version is spoon of PB dipped in m&m’s!
9:39 am on September 21st, 2011
What brand of dark chocolate pieces do you use? I love their little saucer shape – like a big, flat chocolate chip!
10:02 am on September 21st, 2011
I am in my final week of pregnancy and brownies have been calling my name. These look amazing! I think I need to make them asap while it’s still ok to have a big belly..ha!
12:44 pm on September 21st, 2011
Loving the ganache-to-brownie ratio on these, Heather!! :-)
12:52 pm on September 21st, 2011
yeah! about 1×1!
1:02 pm on September 21st, 2011
So last night I thought those were hazelnuts not PEANUT BUTTER CUPS!!
I am so glad I didn’t know it was peanut butter, Charlie and I would have eaten all of them.
1:32 pm on September 21st, 2011
hahaha… you know me better than that! of course they were peanut butter cups! I thought that was pretty amazing restraint, especially being pregnato!
1:41 pm on September 21st, 2011
Can I please have a pan of these JUST FOR ME :) please….love!
1:54 pm on September 21st, 2011
Kryptonite is right. These brownies look absolutely heavenly.
9:05 pm on September 21st, 2011
These looks sinfully delicious!! I neve seem to be able to make ganache properly.. but maybe I will have to try again.
9:16 pm on September 21st, 2011
I’m practically speechless. These look amazing
9:22 pm on September 21st, 2011
But I just bought jeans 2 sizes smaller than I wore last year!
6:04 am on September 22nd, 2011
Those. Are. Amazing.
8:39 am on September 22nd, 2011
This looks sooo wonderful, I just love peanut butter cups… your girls must love when you cook :)
12:54 pm on September 22nd, 2011
they do, but it is really my husband and my dad who enjoy all these baked goods the most :)
1:06 pm on September 22nd, 2011
Those look so amazing. I cannot wait to try these.
6:57 pm on September 22nd, 2011
Whoa! These are big trouble. I am drooling over these images right now.
8:48 pm on September 22nd, 2011
wow…that looks AMAZING. chocolate and peanut butter?? sold.
10:12 pm on September 22nd, 2011
Oh my…this looks delicious, moist and adictive
6:33 am on September 23rd, 2011
What brand of chocolate morsels do you use?
8:44 am on September 23rd, 2011
Those chocolate morsels are Ghirard- but the price just went up 4$ to 17$ a lb!!! (what a price jump, huh?) So, I am going to switch to Dilletant bulk (a local Seattle Chocolate co.)
8:52 am on September 23rd, 2011
Heather, am I in love with you or the brownies? Man those look amazing! I think my wife would be mad at me if I made those. But I may have to risk it. ;) My 8 year old son Isaac grabbed a box of Hershey’s brownie mix at the store and made brownies from a box on his own today. I thought for a boy that was a great start. He was very nervous. OH! I almost forgot…. Check out my blog, I have pictures up of the appetizers I made for that networking event. I got a ton of compliments. Oh, and I was only asked to do the food, nothing else.
5:26 pm on September 24th, 2011
Can you check the butter measurment? I made these last night off the Tasty Kitchen website and they turned out awfully greasy. Bon Appetit recipe looks like 1 1/4 sticks of butter not cups of butter. Thanks!
8:44 am on September 27th, 2011
Pure trouble! But trouble that I would REALLY like to get in to…
6:14 am on September 30th, 2011
Oh my!
8:52 am on September 30th, 2011
These are so tasty! Unfortunately, in your recipe you didn’t state when the eggs are added in. I added them before the flour (but after the whole mixture had cooled a bit). Very nice!
2:51 pm on February 13th, 2012
Also, I use the heavy duty extra long aluminum foil and so only needed to use one sheet.
2:53 pm on February 13th, 2012
thanks Angie, but it says to add eggs one at a time after the butter! Glad they turned out well for you!
2:54 pm on February 13th, 2012
WOW! i have a gluten free website and i’m gonna try REAL hard to make these gluten free….. wish me luck! and also eggless
10:23 pm on April 9th, 2012