Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Confession: Yesterday I had a super, duper, giddy girly moment. Ladies you know the kind of moment I’m talking about right?

One of those moments where you literally just can’t possibly contain all your happiness, and your excitement escapes you body in high pitched squeals and very awkward, frantic, body flailing movements. We’ve all been there –  no need to be embarrassed. We’re all friends here.

So what was is exactly that possessed me to turn into a squealing, arm flailing spazoid yesterday? Well it may have had something to do with when Food52 featured the picture of my Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies their instagram feed –  well actually it had everything to do with that…

Please allow me to preface this by explaining that I am a total Food52 stalker. I am constantly creeping their instagram feed, liking their facebook posts, re-tweeting their tweets, reading their blog posts, oogling all the pretty kitchen & housewares they sell on their website {but that I also can seriously not afford}…

So yeah, to sum up… I’m pretty much the definition of Food52 obsessed, and when I saw that they had featured one of my pictures on their feed, I pretty much lost all of my cool in about 0.1 seconds flat. And, when I say I lost all of my cool, I mean I lost allllll of my cool.

Fortunately the only one in the house with me to witness my antics was our kitty Katniss. Now I don’t speak cat, but judging by the disgruntled look on her face, I can only assume she was more that a little bit miffed at being so rudely disturbed from her afternoon nap by my incessant screaming.

I just couldn’t help it! The idea that Food52 would even contemplate re-gramming one of my posts is mind boggling to me – So the fact that they actually did it totally threw me for a loop. I was {and still am} over the moon excited.

But enough about my excitement – let’s get back to the good stuff. Namely these Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies,  ja’ feel?

So these brownies are pretty much my idea of perfection – Solely because they combine two of my greatest food loves in life; Peanut butter & chocolate.

Now because you are reading this post, I can only assume that we are on the same page about the whole peanut butter & chocolate combo situation… and the title of that page would be PERFECTION. Agreed? Alright, we’re officially soul-mates.

I created this recipe last year for our appearances at the Haney Farmers Markets and these brownies were by far our number one seller.

It wasn’t long before our fellow peanut butter addicted market patrons soon became regulars. They would return bright and early every Saturday to make sure they got their peanut butter brownie fix because they knew that by the end of the day we would be totally sold out.

Psst….  just between you and I… these were my favourite people {shhh}. Not only because we bonded over a shared intense love for peanut butter and chocolate – but also because they all felt comfortable enough with us to actually request specific slices from the brownie tray.

Some people might have found this whole requesting a specific slice business to be annoying – but as a girl who knows her favourite slice in the brownie tray… I understood their feelings and it only made me love them even more.

We had customers who swore by their center pieces and the customers – who like me – were all about the corner pieces. So for all of you like minded peeps out there, who swear by a specific slice of the brownie… just know that you are not alone.

Alright I’m officially rambling, so I’m going to cut to the chase…

Gooey, fudgy brownies swirled with creamy peanut butter … these brownies are the real deal. The cat’s pajamas; The bees knees! Okay so, I’m not really sure where those phrases originate from, but you know what I mean… they frigen rock.

And the best thing about them – {apart from being frigen irresistible that is } – is that they are so super simple to make; Like you only need a pot and a wooden spoon to make these bad boys. Don’t even break out your handheld electric mixer because we’re kickin’ it old school today.

Honestly the hardest part in the process of making these brownies, is finding the will power to not eat them immediately after you remove them from the oven – Seriously … this struggle is sooo real. 

I won’t tell you the exact number of times that I have burned my hungry fingers on molten hot peanut butter brownie goodness {because it’s been way too many times than I care to share}… but I will say this…  it’s a lot.

Anyways I’m still rambling – so here is the recipe lovelies and I hope you enjoy!

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Makes: 9 brownie squares

Things you need…

Fudgy Brownies
3/4 cup butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp espresso powder {optional}
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Swirl
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, softened
1-2 tbsp milk

How to make…

Fudgey Brownies
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a 9×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt the butter and the chocolate over low heat until smooth; remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Next, whisk in brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined. Next stir in vanilla and espresso powder.

Use a wooden spoon to stir in flour and salt until smooth, scraping down the sides of the pot to get all the floury bits incorporated.

Peanut Butter Swirl
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients and 1 tbsp of milk until smooth and creamy. If your peanut butter swirl mixture is too stiff, add the additional 1 tbsp of milk.

Assembly
Pour the brownie batter into your prepared pan and use a spatula to press out to the edges of the pan. Use a spoon to drop heaping teaspoons of the peanut butter swirl randomly over the top of the brownie batter, leaving about 1/2 inch in between each blob.

Insert a thin knife about 1/2 way into the batter and begin to swirl the peanut butter blobs in with the brownie batter. I typically work vertically and then horizontally. ** See swirling note below… 

Place in the center rack of your oven and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until the edges & center are set and there is no jiggle in the middle.

Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack to cool.

Now if you are like me – you will probably be tempted to eat these immediately after you remove them from the oven. But if you can, allow them to cool for at least a good 3o minutes if you want to serve them slightly warm; Or allow to cool completely for a couple hours before cutting them into individual squares.

Swirling Note: Less is more when it comes to swirling so try not to get carried away. I usually only run my knife through the swirls vertically & horizontally twice.

So there you have it peeps! A recipe for the brownies that will officially change your life.

Just remember that It’s easy to go overboard with your swirls so don’t be discourage if your swirls aren’t perfect the first time around. At the end of the day,your brownie will still be delicious – despite whether or not you have perfect swirls.

P.S I have definitely overdone it with the swirling many a times – so don’t beat yourself up. You just made Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, so your life is officially the best.

Happy brownie baking <3 <3

KP xoxo