Fudgy Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Cups
I just spent the last five days in my car (which I affectionately call the White Stallion). Five long days driving from the hot and dry deserts of Arizona to the humid and lush Tennessee mountains. To say that it was a long drive would be an understatement. But, it was most definitely fun.
I peeked over the border in El Paso, I drove the back roads of Eastern Texas, I ate cajun food in Little Rock, I walked in Memphis, I sang my heart out to country music in Nashville, and then I finally made it home after five months.
And it was glorious.
I would say coming home for the first time after many months is like eating these brownies. They are comforting and familiar. But at the same time, when you hit the mini peanut butter cups, they offer a bit of a surprise that you weren't expecting. It's kind of like coming home to see that they built your favorite store really close to your house.
Or maybe eating these brownies is just like eating any other brownie and I just fail at creative analogies. Give me a break, I just drove in a car for over 30 hours.
Instead of using chocolate chunks, which were in the original recipe, I used a mix of chips and extra mini peanut butter cups (they are a little larger than a chocolate chip) from Trader Joes. Reese's is now selling extra mini PB cups, but I think you could chop up some of the regular minis (the ones that are about the size of a grape) and use those too.
If I had tasted the raw batter (which I totally didn't do), I would tell you that the uncooked version of it was amazing. But like I said, I didn't taste it, so I wouldn't know.
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One Year Ago: Pasta Puttanesca
Fudgy Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Cups
Makes 9 large or 12 medium bars
Ingredients
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2-1/2 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups extra mini peanut butter cups (or chopped mini pb cups) and chocolate chunks (milk or semisweet). I used about 1 cup of pb cups and 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks
- 1-2 tablespoons coarse sea salt for sprinkling, optional
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 pan with foil and spray lightly with baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine your melted chocolate and oil. Whisk in your eggs, sugars and vanilla until combined. Add in the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir until incorporated. Fold in your mini peanut butter cups and chocolate chunks. Spread in your prepared pan and sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired.
3. Bake approximately 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted 1-inch away from the edge comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.
Adapted from Cookies and Cups