Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Brooke the Cook in WI's Note:

First Place Winner in RSC#12! Super rich peanut butter dark chocolate brownies with a thick peanut butter topping accented with chocolate drizzle! Serving size will vary on tolerance for rich, sweet foods - the first time I made these, I cut into 20 bars and some of my guests thought that half the size would have been enough... I, on the other hand, had two!

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 24

Brownie

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I use 60% Cocoa Ghirardelli baking chips)
• 1/8 cup chunky peanut butter or 1/8 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup Splenda granular
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Topping

• 1/2 cup peanut butter (NOT chunky)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 -4 tablespoons evaporated skim milk (or milk)

Drizzle

• 1 tablespoon sugar-free chocolate syrup (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray 9x9 (recommended) or 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over low heat. Add baking chips and peanut butter, stirring over low heat until melted.
3. Remove from heat. Immediately stir in splenda, sugar and vanilla. Beat in egg and then the two egg whites.
4. Add the flour and stir for about one minute, until batter becomes smooth and glossy.
5. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
6. Spread into prepared cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes for a 9x9 dish or slightly more for an 8x8 dish - brownies are done when moist crumbs cling to a toothpick inserted in the middle. Don't overcook (toothpick will come out clean) or they will be dry.
7. Cool on a wire rack.
8. To make topping: using an electric mixer combine creamy peanut butter and powdered sugar until you have coarse crumbs. Scraping down sides when necessary.
9. On medium-high speed, beat in evaporated milk (or milk) one tablespoon at a time until mixture is smooth and spreadable, although not runny. This is not a frosting, the consistency should be rather thick and sturdy.
10. Spread over cooled brownies.
11. Plate brownies, then drizzle sugar-free chocolate syrup over brownie before serving for an elegant brownie dessert or drizzle onto uncut brownies, cutting will create a different look each time! Measurement is a guesstimate - I just squeeze it right out of the bottle.
12. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Reviews

[chocolatechick7]

yummm these are good. they taste exactly like reeses, especially the topping. i used normal caster sugar, white self-raising flour and didnt use the extra choc chips at the end. they are really gooey and also a bit fiddly and heaps of washing up which can be hard. and it didnt make 24-36, more like 16... but pretty nice :)

[free-free]

YUM! Super good recipe...slight subs and changes because of diet, habit and what was at hand :) like homemade nut butter, egg replacers, vanilla soy milk...and finely chopped chocolate instead of chips...whatever the case worked out delish...a peanut-butter chocoholics dream come true :) made for the "I Recommend Tag Game" and I so do recommend this recipe to anybody NUM YUMMY :) -Thanks for a big winner!!!

[Ms*Bindy]

Too sweet for our taste. The reason that I rate 3 stars rather than 4 is that after polling the family, although they were good, this particular brownie recipe is not one that anyone said that they would request again. I also didn't get anywhere near 36 servings out of a 9X9 pan. Those would be mighty-tiny brownies!