Tag: peanut butter swirl brownies

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

pbcheesecakebrowniesBrownies can be made with cocoa powder or various types of baking chocolate, usually the unsweetened kind. Unsweetened chocolate is essentially chocolate in its purest form after cacao beans have been roasted and the cocoa butter and cacao solids have been separated from their pods. You wouldn’t want to eat it because of the bitterness level, but when you mix it with butter, sugar, eggs, and other flavorings, you can get very tasty brownies.

This recipe comes from the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate package, and like most recipes you can find on the back of a box or bag, it’s a reliable one. The one surprise is that there’s no vanilla in this recipe, so if I make it again I’ll likely add some. Texture-wise, these are fudgy and soft, not unlike a cheesecake filling all around.

Ingredients

For the brownies

  • 4-ounce package Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
  • 12 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup flour

For the peanut butter cheesecake swirl

  • 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking tin with foil and spray with baking spray.

Melt baking chocolate and butter in the microwave or on the stovetop, stirring until smooth. Stir in sugar and eggs, then fold in flour Pour into prepared tin.

In a mixer, cream together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar; beat in egg until mixture is smooth. Pour over brownie layer and spread evenly, then swirl with a knife to create the marbled pattern.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool completely; lift out of the tin using the foil and cut into squares. Makes 24.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

peanutbutterswirlbrowniesI don’t usually have kitchen disasters (not to sound like The Most Interesting Man in the World), but when I do, I learn from them. Last week I baked peanut butter swirl brownies, and although the recipe said to pull them when they still jiggled in the middle, I ignored my baker’s instinct to discover, once cooled, that they were raw in the middle. Not gooey or fudgy like a brownie should be, but actually raw. Inedible raw. Food-poison-risk raw.

To the internet I went, in search of another recipe, and I found this one at Mike Bakes NYC. I’m pleased to say that this turned out very well, even if they are likely to spike your blood sugar in dangerous ways because they’re so rich. Seriously friends, it’s probably a good thing they only bake in an 8×8 pan.

Ingredients

For the brownies:

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the swirl:

  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 tin with parchment paper or foil; if using foil, spray with baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk butter, eggs, and vanilla; add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined; pour into prepared baking tin.

To make the swirl, whisk the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined. Drop by large spoonfuls onto the brownie batter and swirl with a dull knife.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in a non-swirl part of your brownies comes out with a few fudgy crumbs. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Store at room temperature. Makes 16.

“Healthy” Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

pb swirl browniesCan a “healthy” version of a dessert actually taste as good as the regular, full-sugar, full-fat version? This is a question I’ve pondered for some time, fascinated by the employment of applesauce and stevia and wheat flour in a variety of treats in lieu of higher sugar/fat/carbohydrate ingredients. For the most part, I envisioned healthy versions of desserts to be unfulfilling, tasting vaguely like their regular counterparts, but not quite as good.

My boss asked if I’d be interested in baking this Weight Watchers peanut butter swirl brownie, as many of us in the office have recently recommitted ourselves to healthier habits. I was more than happy to test this out, to see if a lower sugar, reduced-fat brownie could live up to my advanced sweet tooth’s expectations.

This recipe is very easy to make and put together, so don’t be intimidated by ingredients like apple butter and egg substitute. You’ll find other uses for them (stay tuned, as I’ll be searching for ways to use up apple butter in the coming days) and they behave pretty much exactly like the full fat, full sugar ingredients they’re replacing. The brownies were a big hit at the office today, and I have to admit, they actually taste like real brownies.

Peanut Butter Swirl

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces Neufchatel cheese
  • 3/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
  • 3 tablespoons half and half

Preparation

Combine Neufchatel and peanut butter in a mixing bowl and beat until well-combined.

Add egg substitute and beat until well-combined.

Add half and half and beat until well-combined and fluffy. You want a easily-spreadable texture.

Set aside while you prepare the brownie mix.

Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 box dark chocolate brownie mix (or regular mix if you prefer)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup apple butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup fat-free egg substitute

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

Spread half of the brownie mix in the bottom of the pan.

Top with dollops of about half of the peanut butter swirl mixture; using a spatula or knife, swirl to spread peanut butter mixture over the brownie mix.

Spread the remaining half of the brownie mix over the top, then follow with additional peanut butter swirl mix in dollops. Swirl peanut butter over the brownie mix.

Bake for 30-32 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. My brownies were slightly more fudgy in the middle than I would have liked, and I baked for 30 minutes, but I’d recommend adding a few extra minutes for a firmer center.

Cool completely; cut into 32 squares. One square is equal to 4 Weight Watchers points, for those participating in the program.