Thursday, September 16, 2010

Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips


Oh my God, these were intense! Not very sweet but VERY chocolatey - my kind of brownie! I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa which may have had something to do with how rich they were. The original recipe noted that the baker used 1/2 regular cocoa powder and 1/2 Special Dark. I think these would also be great with a cream cheese swirl, which I may try sometime in the near future! In fact, fall is here and I've been looking to try a pumpkin cream cheese swirl brownie....I may have to keep this brownie base for that recipe!

Adapted from: http://www.erinsfoodfiles.com/

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup PLUS 2 tbsp of cocoa powder (I used all Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1 cup of peanut butter chips


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and make sure rack is in the lower third of the oven. Coat an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. In a large heat proof bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt. Set the bowl in a large skillet of water and simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. The mixture will look slightly grainy. Remove from heat and cool until warm.
Add vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly after each one. When the batter looks well blended, smooth and shiny, slowly add the flour and stir until it's combined thoroughly, then stir vigorously for 30 strokes. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Pour into the baking pan and place a few more peanut butter chips on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then lift up ends of the parchment paper (if used) and transfer brownies to a cutting board where you cut into bite sized pieces.

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