Peanut Butter Brownies with Milk Chocolate Ganache

It must be said, my kids would not eat these.  I know, right?  Chocolate and peanut butter.  They wouldn’t eat them?  Are they crazy?  I’m blaming it on the post-holiday sweet overload.  My husband and I greatly enjoyed this yummy little bars.   (This is pre-detox, of course.)

I cut them into bars and put them between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container in the fridge.  I thought it would help me forget all about them.  The next morning I woke up and the first thought that came to mind was one of these with its thick milk chocolate ganache and how good it would taste after I drank my green juice.  ‘Cause I’m healthy like that.

Remember those chocolate peanut butter bars from school lunch?  These are better.  They are more substantial and the chocolate ganache on top could take that thin, runny stuff the cafeteria ladies called frosting around to the back of the school and give it what-for.

I love making cookies until I remember how much time it can take to bake them. And because I have three small children and a husband with a voracious love of cookie dough, I usually spend far less time baking the cookies than I think.  But still, sometimes I just don’t want to be tied to the oven rotating and alternating.  You know the drill.

I get a little impatient. Lately I’ve turned to baking the whole batch in one go. Maybe you’ve heard
of those things called blondies?  They were starting to be the new cupcake for awhile there with all sort of variations.

For lack of a better name, I’m calling these Peanut Butter Brownies because I want to and I can. They are good as is, sans chocolate ganche. But if you do, be prepared to reach for another and another.

Peanut Butter Brownies
slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking:  From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

For brownies:
8 oz. butter (2 sticks or 1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter, preferably not natural
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large whole eggs
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (you can do all white or half-and-half w.w. and a.p. flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

For ganache:
1 bag (12 oz.) good quality milk chocolate chips (I used Guittard)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter

Instructions:

For brownies:
Butter a 9 by 13″ baking dish.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat butter and peanut butter together until creamy.  Add the sugars.  Beat until well combined and add the eggs.  Continue beating until light and fluffy.  Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat together on low speed until combined.

Press the dough into the prepared baking dish.  Bake for about 30 minutes, checking after 20, until top is golden brown and edges are a bit darker.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

For ganache:
In a large, microwave safe bowl, place chocolate chips and heavy cream.  Microwave on 50% power at 30 second intervals until chocolate has melted.  Whisk until smooth and add the butter.  Pour the ganache over the top of the peanut butter brownies and spread to the edges.  Let cool at room temperature for several hours before cutting, or in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen good-sized bars.

(You’re welcome.)

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16 Comments

  1. Oh gosh LIndsey, these could easily become a weakness for me! How gorgeously delicious looking! I love peanut butter and chocolate anything! xx

  2. OMG! I love those bars. I even liked the ones at school lunch! I will be trying these very soon! Thanks Lindsey!

  3. These would make my 17-year-old sister so happy – I might make them next time she gather up with her friends (I guess that will make me pretty popular among the girls, don’t you think?) ;)

  4. I tried these with about 40% whole wheat flour. I didn’t have straight milk chocolate chips, but I did have a bag of Nestle milk chocolate and peanut butter morsels, which worked pretty well. They’re tasty (I’m a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter in any combination) but I won’t die if I never get to make them again.

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