Peanut Butter Brownies

Once upon a Tart is hosting the second round of browniebabe of the month, so I was provided with an excuse to make a batch of brownies. Darn, and I had to eat some too. I originally planned to make this decadent and heavenly looking Caramel-Peanut Topped Brownie Cake that I discovered while indulging my food fantasies browsing through Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. I still plan to give this recipe a try, as I am especially fond of caramel, but I wanted a quick fix the other night and settled upon the next best thing to caramel and chocolate, which is chocolate and peanut butter. These brownies are soft and chewy and literally melt in your mouth.

Peanut Butter Brownies

1/3 cup of butter
2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Butter a 8 X 8 inch baking pan. Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lightened in colour and stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, chocolate and sugar and egg mixture. Stir well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the baking pan, and prepare the topping.

Topping:

1/3 of a cup of chunky peanut butter
1 tablespoon of butter, softened
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of flour
1 egg

Combine the peanut butter, butter, sugar, flour and egg and beat until well combined. Scoop dollops of the peanut butter mixture over the brownie layer. Run a knife through the pan to spread the peanut butter throughout. Bake for about 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cool and serve.

Patience was a virtue that was lacking when I made these brownies, and I didn't allow them to cool for too long before indulging.