Peanut Butter Brownies
What cake event is complete without a brownie on offer? Well that’s what I thought anyway. So when it was time for my cake bake for the Book Swap event (some months ago now), it was just a question of what type of brownie to go for. I’d noticed a lot of peanut butter and chocolate combinations on the blogosphere and I’d not used this pairing since I made peanut butter blondies over a couple of years ago and before that peanut butter cupcakes. Both had worked well, so peanut butter brownies it was going to be. I based my recipe on one I had seen on the BBC ‘s Good Food site. Since then of course, I’ve also made caramelised banana and peanut butter cake and peanut butter cookies.
This is how I did it:
- Melted about 2/3 of a 340g jar of non sweetened peanut butter in a large pan over a low heat.
- Added a good glug of roasted peanut oil.
- Added 300g dark muscovado sugar and stirred.
- Added 150g dark chocolate (G&B 72% Cook’s Chocolate) and left to melt.
- Stirred it all together until well combined.
- Beat in 3 duck eggs, one by one.
- Stirred in 100g wholemeal flour.
- Poured into a 9″ sq cake mould and leveled out.
- Melted a tbsp of peanut butter in a clean pan with a small glug of roasted peanut oil.
- Dribbled this over the top of the brownie mixture.
- Baked at 180C for 20 minutes.
- Melted 40g of milk chocolate (G&B 37% Cook’s Chocolate) and using a spoon, drizzled this over the top of the cooked brownie in a random fashion.
- Left to cool.
- Cut into 16 pieces.
They were indeed very good and proved to be popular. Luckily, I managed to save one for CT and snaffle one for myself.
This month’s random letter for Alpha Bakes happens to be P for Peanut Butter Brownies of course. Alpha Bakes is hosted this month by Caroline Makes and is co-hosted on alternate months by Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker.
Laura loves cakes
16th September 2012 at 8:28 amThere’s definitely lots of peanut butter and chocolate recipes about at the moment…but I have to confess I’ve never baked with peanut butter…perhaps I ought to give it a try! These look delicious and make me think of a snickers bar…I bet they were gone in no time! 🙂
Choclette
16th September 2012 at 12:09 pmThanks Laura. As long as your OK to eat peanuts and you like them, I’d say baking with peanut butter is a must try.
Charlotte Charlotte'sKitchenDiary
16th September 2012 at 9:39 amWow Choclette, these look absolutely delectable. As you know I have baked peanut butter blondies before, so very keen to give a dark chocolate version a go! Another of your lovely recipes is bookmarked here!
Choclette
16th September 2012 at 12:16 pmThanks Charlotte, these were really good, but I think the blondies might just win the contest 😉
Chele
16th September 2012 at 11:24 amOh Lordy! Going to have to keep this one a secret from Hubby or his diet will be right out the window …
Choclette
16th September 2012 at 12:45 pmHa ha Chele, dieting is a nightmare if you live with a good baker 😉
Chris
16th September 2012 at 10:43 amWhat shall I say. I luv it. Would try it right away, if I had all the ingredients at home.
Choclette
16th September 2012 at 12:17 pmAre you saying you have NO peanut butter or even worse NO chocolate Chris?
Rachel - Mozart's Girl
16th September 2012 at 11:07 amDelish! This is one of my favourite combinations….these are also gorgeous with about 100g roughly chopped salted peanuts stirred through (I use the ‘value’ kind as they are smaller & cheaper!) Lovely to be reminded, thanks – hope you’re having a great weekend! x
Choclette
16th September 2012 at 12:43 pmThanks Rachel. Good idea, will try that sometime. I have tried them with crunchy peanut butter which also gives a good crunchy texture. Having a good tidying up weekend. Just about to start cooking now as friends coming around for dinner.
At Anna's kitchen table
16th September 2012 at 12:03 pmMy favourite pairing ever is chocolate with peanut butter!! I’m not to be trusted around them. Seriously.
Choclette
16th September 2012 at 12:46 pmThanks Anna, they are very hard to resist!
Angie's Recipes
16th September 2012 at 12:48 pmo my peanut butter and chocolate..that’s just heavenly!
Choclette
17th September 2012 at 7:53 pmAngie, it’s such a hard combination to resist.
belleau kitchen
16th September 2012 at 2:32 pmthey just look so good… we’ve just been to the Harrogate flower show and they had some wonderful ideas for brownies such as Terry’s Chocolate Orange and Malteser but none where a patch on these… gorgeous!
Choclette
17th September 2012 at 7:54 pmDom, you are such a charmer – it works too 😉
Kath
16th September 2012 at 5:40 pmMmmmmm, heaven.
Choclette
17th September 2012 at 7:56 pmNow why is it Kath, that as much as I love veg, heaven generally the word I associate with them, but brownies – you’ve got it in one.
thelittleloaf
17th September 2012 at 6:33 amPeanut butter and chocolate is such a classic combination – these look absolutely delicious.
Choclette
17th September 2012 at 7:58 pmI’m having a bit of a love affair with peanut butter and chocolate at the moment.
mylittleitaliankitchen
17th September 2012 at 12:39 pmDo you know I have never tried peanut butter and you really tempt me here. Wonderful looking brownies.
Choclette
17th September 2012 at 8:35 pmAlida, that is astonishing. It’s such a common thing to put on toast over here, I guess it’s not in Italy?
Recipe Junkie
17th September 2012 at 12:50 pmI do love the good food website – I get loads of inspiration there. These look gorgeous. I love peanut butter
Choclette
17th September 2012 at 8:36 pmYou’re right, it has loads of good stuff there, but I so rarely think to look.
All That I'm Eating
17th September 2012 at 3:17 pmI love chocolate and peanuts together but haven’t tried brownies, yours look lovely.
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:04 amPeanut butter in brownies or blondies should be tried at least once 😉
leaf (the indolent cook)
17th September 2012 at 3:27 pmI’m loving the ingredients in these brownies. The use of duck eggs in particular sounds like it would make it extra rich and luxurious!
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:21 amI try to bake with duck eggs when I can get them. They are quite seasonal though and I’ve been unable to get them for a few weeks now.
Kit @ i-lostinausten
17th September 2012 at 7:51 pmYUM! Great combo that just makes me melt! I just can’t say no to PB! 🙂
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:23 amThanks Kit, PB seems to be a very popular ingredient.
Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce
17th September 2012 at 8:52 pmPeanut butter in brownies sounds heavenly – I don’t know why I have never tried it before. Your finishing touch of drizzled chocolate has made these look beautiful!
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:26 amThank you Hazel. Drizzled chocolate usually adds a touch of elegance, even on a good old fashioned brownie!
laura@howtocookgoodfood
17th September 2012 at 8:57 pmI am interested in the roasted peanut oil, need to find some. Does it have a good pea nutty smell?? I happen to love choc & peanut butter together . Such a perfect combination xx
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:29 amThanks Laura. Yes the peanut oil is quite strong and has an excellent peanutty smell. I used Cooks & Co which I reviewed here
http://choclogblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/cooks-speciality-oils-review.html
Phil in the Kitchen
17th September 2012 at 11:13 pmDelicious – that’s a taste combination I’d never turn down. I love peanut butter in baking, but, for some reason, I can’t stand it on its own.
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:41 amI don’t think you are alone their Phil. It’s probably something to do with the oily quality which can make it seem too rich, but is absorbed when incorporated into baking?
Zoe
17th September 2012 at 11:27 pmThese PB wholemeal brownies look superb and heavenly. Yum!
This is my first time visiting your blog and I’m now “lost” in your wonderful collection of baking recipes. I’m now following at your blog, Twitter and Pinterest.
Zoe
Choclette
18th September 2012 at 8:45 amThank you for your kind comment Zoe and thanks for following everything too. I usually make brownies with wholemeal flour as it’s lost in the dense chewiness and it makes me feel as though I’m getting some goodness out of a decadent treat.
Miss C Flash
19th September 2012 at 3:36 pmPeanut butter and chocolate is a wonderful combination, nothing quite beats is. Your brownies look delish x
Choclette
20th September 2012 at 2:09 pmThank you Miss F, I believe it’s a hard to beat combination.
Caroline
23rd September 2012 at 12:02 pmI love peanut butter – actually, I’m not that keen on it on toast but in baking and especially paired with chocolate it’s delicious! So I was very pleased to see this in the Alphabakes inbox!
Maria Zioga
30th September 2012 at 3:25 pmJust two words : Pining Them!!! 🙂
Maya Russell
16th February 2013 at 7:17 amPeanut butter and chocolate is the best combination ever!
mummy24
10th March 2013 at 9:20 amGreat combination- these would be amazing!