Friday, March 27, 2009

Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 8 comments » / brownies and bars, dessert

As I mentioned in my meatloaf post, one of my good friends was coming down to visit me. One thing I love about this girl is SHE EATS. Calories schmalories. First thing she did when she walked in my apartment was grab some Peeps and chow down. Not long after she got there we opened some wine and started to prepare dinner. We ate dinner and settled in to watch some NCAA basketball. After watching our Hilltoppers lose to Gonzaga in the last seconds of the game, we needed chocolate to recover. I asked her what she wanted for dessert, and she gave her “typical” response, a shrug of her shoulders and said “I don’t know, whatever you think is good.” I had some peanut butter chips in my cabinet that had been calling my name for a while, so I googled “Brownies & Peanut Butter Chips”. I think there’s a reason this was the second link that came up. These were gooooood. Mmmm… fudgy & gooey, rich & delicious. Wow. I definitely recommend these. It’s hard to eat just one. They were the perfect accompaniment to the girly movie we watched when the games were over.

Now, I know I’ve just subjected you to food porn at it’s finest, if you’re watching your calories, or trying to eat healthier, consider trying these Fantastic Fudgy Brownies from Cooking Light I’ve made in the past. They will DEFINITELY hit your chocolate spot without breaking the calorie bank. But if you are in the mood to indulge (and I was, I had a good workout that morning!), then go ahead and make these!

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Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips

from For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:

1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup PLUS 2 tbsp of cocoa powder (I used about 1/2 Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, and 1/2 regular cocoa, to intensify the chocolate flavor)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1 cup of peanut butter chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and make sure rack is in the lower third of the oven. Coat an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.

In a large heat proof bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt. Set the bowl in a large skillet of water and simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. The mixture will look slightly grainy. Remove from heat and cool until warm. Add vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly after each one. When the batter looks well blended, smooth and shiny, slowly add the flour and stir until it's combined thoroughly, then stir vigorously for 30 strokes. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Pour into the baking pan and place a few more peanut butter chips on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then lift up ends of the parchment paper (if used) and transfer brownies to a cutting board where you cut into bite sized pieces. Enjoy.