#96) Peanut Butter Cookie Brownies with Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

Move over "Plain Jane" brownies, there's a new "Queen B." in town!

I have professed, often and loudly, my love for brownies here on the blog and anyone who has perused my past recipes would have picked up a somewhat blatantly obvious adoration for any possible chocolate and peanut butter combination.  What you probably wouldn't pick up on is that this pure love of brownies, chocolate, and peanut butter is a family thing, meaning my dad, my brother, and my son also love this addictive combination.  (My mom is on the fence about it, so we are on the fence about her... Joking mother!)  So it goes without saying that when we are all together there really is no other option for sweet treat flavor combos.  If you'd like to check out some of our past chocolate and peanut butter sweet treats, click here.

Now on to the details behind the new "Queen B." of the brownie world - a chewy brownie made with 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate filled with pockets of barely baked peanut butter cookies slathered in a dreamy peanut butter chocolate frosting and sprinkled with crushed salted peanuts!  Are you hooked yet?

There are a few steps involved and it takes great restraint to not eat the batter and lick every utensil you use along the way, but it will be well worth it when you take an all-encompassing bite of the finished product :) So dive in and give them a go, you'll be glad you did!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Steps

- Mix together butter, sugar, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Stir in peanut butter.

- Add flour and baking powder.  Mix until incorporated.  Cookie dough will be loose.

- Refrigerate 15-30 minutes, until firm and can be rolled into balls.

- Roll chilled dough into balls (1 tablespoon per ball); you should get 11 total.  Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for 30 minutes.

*While cookie dough balls are freezing, clean up those dishes and make the brownie batter :)

Chewy Brownies

Ingredients

1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp butter or margarine

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp flour

Steps

- Line 8"x8" baking pan with foil and coat with spray oil.  Preheat oven to 325°F. 

- Melt chocolate and butter together in microwave-safe bowl at 25 second increments, stirring well after each interval.  Set aside.

- Beat eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla with hand mixer until pale.  Stir in melted chocolate and butter.

- Gently fold in flour, mixing just until no white streaks remain.  Do not over mix.

- Pour batter into prepared pan.

- Remove peanut butter cookie dough balls from freezer and place 9 of the balls in the brownie batter, evenly spaced.  Cut the last two balls in half and fill any voids in the batter.

- Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out with some sticky batter remaining.

- Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then, using the foil edges, lift the brownies out of the pan and let cool completely on cooling rack.

Now on to that frosting...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter or margarine, softened

1 tbsp peanut butter

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup icing sugar

2 tbsp milk

Steps

- With hand mixer on low, mix together butter, peanut butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla.

- Add icing sugar gradually.

- Add milk until you reach the desired consistency - spreadable :)

- Spread evenly over top of cooled brownies

*To have a smooth surface to spread the frosting over I inverted the brownies onto a platter and spread the frosting over the "bottom" of the brownies.

- Sprinkle with 1/4 cup crushed, salted peanuts.

And there you have it, ladies and gentleman.  The "Queen B." of brownies...  or maybe that should be "Queen PB" :)

#79) Peanut Butter Blondies

This past summer has been quite important in my life - a perfect wedding day, an amazing honeymoon, a new SUV, and our first home.... Needless to say, with all the important things going on in our lives recently, my husband (oh that is so fun to say!) and I haven't had a lot of down time, and that means I haven't been in the kitchen a whole lot lately...

But, once we bought the house we decided we should make the kitchen somewhere we would go out of our way to spend time. How are we doing this? A new floor, a fresh coat of paint, and most importantly, a new stove... But not just any stove - this, my dear friends, is a CONVECTION OVEN! For those of you who are scratching your head and asking yourselves what on Earth I am talking about, let me tell you I was in the same state only a few months ago, until I started doing some reading about these amazing ovens. The fan in the back of the convection oven cirulates all the hot air in your oven so you get more even baking in less time. Still not convinved? What if I told you I baked 3 sheets of my chocolate chip cookies at one time and each sheet was perfectly baked to perfection? No burnt bottoms, no undercooked centres - just perfect crispy edges with chewy centres! Seriously, a baker's dream :)

Now on to the blondies - I cam back from our honeymoon in Quebec City with lots of neat ingredients to play with, but one of my favorite was the Belgian milk choclate chips I got at La Fudgerie. If you are ever in the area, it is well worth your time to stop in for a look. (The creme brulee fudge is out of this world!) So I toyed around with a couple of ides for these bad boys, but then decided it was about time for yet another peanut butter and chocolate combo. These bars are kind of like a peanut butter blondie dotted with creamy milk chocolate - are you drooling yet? I thought so!

Now I bet you wanna scroll down for the recipe, don't ya????

Well, I must confess that I have "misplaced" the scrap of paper this beauty was scribbled on, but I am sure all my wonderfully creative friends out there in cyberspace (yes, you!) can whip up something equally as good, or even better in fact!

Happy Baking :)

#66) Strawberry Almond Brownies

I recently started a Facebook page and I have been using this page to get suggestions from my fans about what to bake next. Strawberries seemed to be the theme this week, so I paired that suggestion with my craving for brownies and these tasty creations were born. Now that they are finished I would have to admit I would change a thing or tow next time around:

I used a little too much cake filling - I should have used just enough to fill the centre, leaving about an inch edge so that the brownie layers could have baked together more.

Also, they taste very rich, as in like dark chocolate, and most of the people I share my treats with like milk chocolate more so I should have stuck to white sugar and upped it a little, I think. But if you prefer dark chocolate, like me, they are great!

So please give them a try and let me know what you think! And if you want to join my Facebook page just click the badge in the sidebar :)

Strawberry Cake Filling

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries, cut into halves
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Steps

-Boil strawberries, water, and sugar until most half the water has evaporated. Reduce to low heat.
-Mix together cornstarch with enough water to make a runny paste. Add to strawberry mixture, constantly stirring, until strawberry mixture begins to thicken.
-Continue to cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Let cool slightly.


Brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (white will be fine)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup almonds, chopped

Steps

-Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 8x8 inch pan.
-Mix together butter, sugar, and vanilla.
-Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
-Add cocoa. Beat until blended.
-Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat well.
-Stir in half of almonds. Reserve rest for later.

Assembly

-Pour half brownie mixture into prepared pan.
-cover with cake filling (I would suggest using just enough filling to cover the brownies within one inch of the edge).
-Sprinkle chocolate chips over top.
-Cover with remaining brownie batter.
-Sprinkle remaining almonds over top.
-Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely.

#64) German Chocolate Chewies

I know, I know... The topping on these suckers looks less than appetizing, BUT it sure does taste good!

These little things were made as a treat for a cousin of mind who has a sweet tooth just as big as mine :) They are quite similar to one of my favorite cakes, German Chocolate Cake, but the bite-sized version is even better. The brownie cookie is great on its own, with a chewy texture and chocolately flavour, but the gooey crunchy topping adds a great new twist!

Brownie Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet and milk)

Steps

-Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-Beat together brown sugar, shortening, water, and vanilla. Add eggs. Beat well.
-Combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Add to shortening mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
-Drop by rounded tablespoonful and bake for 7-9 minutes.
-Cool completely.

German Topping

Ingredients

1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 cup shortening
1/8 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Steps

-Combine evaporated milk, sugar, shortening, butter, and egg yolks in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until thickened.
-Remove from heat. Add vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Cool completely.
-Frost cookies.

*Makes 3 dozen cookies.

#61) PB Brownie Bars

Ok, I have a couple of apologies to make:

1) I am sorry to those of you who have come here looking for those super-duper healthy sweet treats I keep promising to experiment, but the baking demands of my brother always include chocolate and peanut butter, and although I use light pb, it still isn't very healthy... I am sorry if you feel misled :(

2) Apology #2 is for my future actions - or lack thereof... I am heading back to university for the summer, but there is a considerable amount of moving involved for an extra bout of teaching practice and classes so I will not have my "own" kitchen for quite some time... Although I will try my best to get some sweet treats up here for all my lovers - I can't make any promises :(

Now that that's over on to better and chocolate-ier things :)

This bar is a new take on my brother's favorite treat - Peanut Butter Balls. The brownie bottom is, I hear, excellent, seeing as it isn't "safe" for me... and the peanut butter looks so ooey, gooey that it must be amazing :) Please give 'em a try and let me know what you think!

Brownie Bottom

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate (I used milk)
1 1/2 cups sugar
Dash salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa

Steps
-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9x9 pyrex dish with foil and spray.
-Melt butter and chocolate together. Let cool slightly.
-Add sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
-Beat in eggs one at a time.
-Mix in flour and cocoa just until combined.
-Turn into dish and bake for 35-45 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Peanut Butter Filling

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
Dash salt
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Step
-Beat together until well combined.

Chocolate Topping

Ingredients
1 cup chocolate (I used milk)
1/4 cup butter

Steps
-Melt together.
-Pour over cooled brownies and chill for at least 2 hours.

#47) Minty Midnight Bars

I have mentioned before my uncontrollable craving for brownies, and this past week has been no exception. I guess knowing that I am off the whole week for March break has convinced my baking conscience that I can spend all day in the kitchen whipping up sinful treats... Too bad my hips don't have a conscience :)

Anyway, back to the bars - they have a surprisingly chewy brownie base covered with a minty buttercream, then the whole thing in encased by a delicious chocolate shell.

I used food colouring in the buttercream to highlight its minty flavour (from extract), but next time I want to leave it white and use fresh chopped mint. I know that sounds like a mild request, but in Goose Bay finding any fresh herb is a challenge, never mind one like mint HaHa.

I know, I have gabbed enough. Here is the recipe!

Brownie Base

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder

Steps

-Grease 8x8 dish. Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Melt butter. Add sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
-Add eggs and beat until mixed well.
-Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended.
-Pour into prepared dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
-Let cool in pan completely.


Minty Buttercream

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tbsp water
3 tsp mint extract
4 drops green food colouring

Steps

-Cream together all ingredients until smooth.
-Spread over cooled brownies.
-Refrigerate until cold and set.


Chocolate Shell
Ingredients

4 tbsp butter
1 cup chocolate chips

Steps

-Melt together in double boiler.
-Let cool slightly.
-Pour over frosted brownies.
-Refrigerate until chocolate hardens (about 1.5 hours).
-Cut in squares and enjoy :)

#44) Fudgey Brownies

As much as I love cookies, cakes, and cupcakes, brownies are my true favorite - the fudgier the better :)

It is a well known fact I am a true chocoholic, and these rich and chewy brownies are like heaven on a plate. Made with decadent 70% cocoa chocolate the flavour is divine, and the reduced amount of flour allows the batter to bake into a chewy, fudgey brownie that will stick to your teeth! YUMMY!

Ingredients

1 cup 70% cocoa chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp flour

Steps

- Line a 9" baking dish with foil and spray with oil. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. Set aside.
- Beat eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla until pale in color (2 minutes). Whisk in chocolate mixture.
- Fold in flour, mixing as little as possible. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the centre with a small amount of sticky batter on it.

*Any brownie is better with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce :)



PS - Don't forget to vote for my Caramel Macchiato Cuppas here! Thanks :)

#43) Minty Brownie Drops

Since I started this blog I have tried dozens of new recipes.... leaving some old favorites behind. I guess with precious time to spare in the kitchen I find repeating recipes boring.

However, today I had an undeniable craving for my minty brownies, but did not want to spend my baking time with an already-accomplished recipe. So, I took that brownie recipe and tweaked it to come up with a matching cookie recipe.

And the result? Well let's just say I am home alone, and the cookies are almost gone :)

Ingredients

2/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups brown sugar (I used dark but light would be fine)
1 tbsp water
1 tsp mint extract
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips (I would have used mint chips if I had had any)

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Cream shortening, sugar, water, and extract. Add eggs. Beat well.
-Stir together dry ingredients and add to sugar mixture in three additions. Mix well.
-Stir in chips.
-Drop by tablespoonful onto lined baking sheet (I used a silicone sheet, but parchment paper would do).
-Bake for 10 minutes.
-Let cool on wire rack.

#34) Brownie Bites with Mocha Glaze

This recipe came from a great cookbook my parents gave me for Christmas... Seriously, I have bookmarked nearly every recipe :) This is the first one I have tried and it was quite a success... Other than the glaze not really living up to expectations, the brownie was chocolatey deliciousness!!!

Brownie Bites

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 egg whites
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°and spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray.
-Melt butter and set aside.
-Beat egg and whites until foamy.
-Add sugar and beat until thick.
-Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add to egg mixture. Beat until blended.
-Add melted butter and beat until blended.
-Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
-Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completey on wire rack.

Mocha Glaze

Ingredients

1/4 cup icing sugar
3/4 tsp cocoa
1/4 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp hot water
1/4 vanilla

Steps

-Stir together icing sugar and cocoa.
-Dissolve coffee in hot water. Add to cocoa mixture.
-Add vanilla. Mix until smooth.
-Drizzle over brownie bites.

#29) Strawberry Truffle Brownie Cake

Do you like truffles? I do. Have you ever made truffles? I haven't even attempted them until today, and now I know why...

I have been toying with the idea of making truffles for a while now and seeing as my aunt sent me a bag of beautiful strawberries I decided I should make truffles with a fruit twist. What in the world was I thinking?????

I found a recipe for strawberry truffles here and am quite confident I followed it to the letter, but for some reason my filling would not set to a point where I could roll it into balls... What was I going to do????

Well, I tried using my truffle mold instead, but that just created one BIG mess so that was a no go...

So here I am in the kitchen with this delicious bowl of strawberry truffle-ish mixture and no idea what to do... Then it came to me - brownies plus this concoction would be delicious. So I whipped up a brownie batter and baked it....

Now that sheet of brownie looks kinda big, I thought. Brilliant idea #2 - make a layered brownie cake!

Turns out I piled on way too much of the "filling" and ended up with more of a "frosting" effect.

Say what you will about it, but this sweet treat took every bit of creativity and energy I had to offer!

It is far from my best attempt in the kitchen (it is messy, too sweet, and overloaded with chocolate) but not too bad of a save considering my amateur nature. If you have any suggestions about where I went wrong with the truffles in the first place, please let me know :)

Strawberry Truffle Mixture

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries (divided into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp syrup
8 ounces chocolate
1 cup whipped cream (not part of original recipe, but part of my attempted save)

Steps

- Puree (thawed, if frozen) strawberries. Stir in cream, vanilla, and syrup.
- Melt chocolate in double boiler and add to strawberry mixure. Mix well.
- Fold in whipped cream and 1/2 cup of whole strawberries. Set aside.

Brownie Layers

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 10X14 pyrex dish with parchment paper.
-Add sugar and vanilla to melted butter and beat.
-Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
-Add cocoa. Beat.
-Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat.
-Pour into pyrex dish and bake for 20 minutes.
-Remove from dish and let cool. Trim edges and slice into two equal sheets.

Combination

-Cover one brownie sheet with truffle mixture. Add second brownie sheet and repeat.

Try to enjoy :)

#18) Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

If your tastebuds are anything like mine, then the combo of chocolate and peanut butter is heaven in your mouth. I am also a brownie lover, so a peanut butter swirl brownie just sounds too good to be true.... Although this brownie is a little gooey for my taste, it is still a sweet treat I wouldn't turn down :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour + 1/4 cup flour, divided
dash salt
1/3 cup peanut butter

Steps:

- Melt chocolate and butter together. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Beat 2 eggs with sugar. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate over top.
- Sift flour and salt over chocolate. Fold until blended.
- Pour all but 1/4 cup batter into greased 8-inch pan.
- Add peanut butter and remaining egg to the 1/4 cup batter. Mix until combined.
- Spoon dollops of peanut butter mixture into pan. Run knife through to create desired design.
- Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes.

#14) Birthday Brownies

Even students have to take a break for their friends' birthdays, right? And you can't celebrate a birthday without mouth-watering sweet treats, right?

Well if you answered yes to these two questions, you are officially in my good books. :)

It is my new roomie's birthday tomorrow, so I decided to whip up a nice batch of dense, chocolately brownies.... What women doesn't appreciate a chewy brownie? *Be honest ladies! :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

Steps:

-Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x8 inch pan.

-Place butter in microwave-safe bowl. Melt in microwave (about 1.5 minutes).

-Stir in sugar and vanilla.

-Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

-Add cocoa. Beat until blended.

-Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat well.

-Pour into greased pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until brownies begin to pull away from sides.

-Cool completely then cut into squares.

*Makes about 16 brownies.

*This recipe is easily doubled, but be sure to use a 9x13 pan.

#4) Beautiful Brownies

When it comes to sweets I have many loves, but if I was forced to choose just one sweet treat to have for the rest of my life, it would would be the brownie, without a doubt! I love brownies for many reasons: first of all, I am a chocoholic with a severe dependence on all things cocoa; second, I am a sucker for anything chewy and gooey; finally, a good brownie recipe hands itself over body and soul to a countless number of flavour mash-ups. This recipe is an A+ in my opinion, resulting in a pan of gooey, rich, satisfyingly chocolately brownies :) (The brownies pictured were my minty experiment...... DELICIOUS!)

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
2 tsp vanilla

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Sift together sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add chocolate chips.
-Add melted butter, eggs, water, and vanilla.
-Pour batter into a 13x9 inch greased pan.
-Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out slightly covered in brownie (all ovens vary so be cautious and check often within the last couple of minutes).

*I baked these for 19 minutes, but the boyfriend said they could have baked another minute or so for a better texture.

Flavour Ideas:

-Mint: mint chocolate chips + mint extract
-Terry's Chocolate Orange: rough chopped chocolate orange + orange extract
-Savoury Southwest: monterey jack cheese slices over top of batter

Tip:

-Let your imagination be your only limitation and have fun with it :)