Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies - made May 29, 2017 from Martha Stewart's Cookies

Fudgy brownie, peanut butter batter swirled and baked into the brownie. Not much more to say here except “break out the mixing bowl and turn the oven on” if you like peanut butter chocolate combinations.

These turned out better than I expected in the sense that the brownie portion was nicely fudgy with my preferred chewy-soft, rich taste and texture and the peanut butter swirling throughout added a complementary flavor while not interfering with the chewy texture.

I made these for work by request and they went over pretty well. If you want some crunch in them you can use chunky peanut butter instead of creamy and/or you can sprinkle chopped up bits of toasted peanuts on top before baking. I prefer an unadulterated smoothness in my brownies so no peanut bits here but to each her/his own. The great thing about brownies is they’re pretty forgiving if you want to do a little experimentation. The only things they won’t survive are sub-par, low quality ingredients and overbaking.

Batter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8" square baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Brownie: Melt butter and chocolates together in the top half of a double boiler set over hot, barely simmering, water. Whisk until smooth and completely melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Whisk granulated sugar into melted chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture in smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well combined.
5. Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
6. Pour one-third of the batter into the prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling on top of the batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Drizzle remaining batter on top and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining peanut butter filling on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.
7. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45 minutes. Cool completely.