Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts

Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts by Dorie Greenspan
Slightly adapted……

The original recipe for these appeared in Bon Appétit, January 2007
(click here for original recipe)

I altered this to fit what I had on hand and to my own tastes.

PB and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts

For brownie:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (3/4 of a Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s), chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (1 square), chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt (I used more b/c I was using kosher salt)
4 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I only used peanuts for the top instead of adding them to the batter)

For Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Jif)
1/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
a little milk
1 tsp. vanilla

For Ganache and topping:

8 oz. milk chocolate
1/4 cup cream
chopped honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions:


For brownie:

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Remove from heat. Whisk in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in with a wooden spoon. Fold in the flour and peanuts, if using.

Prepare a 9 by 13″ pan by lining it with foil and buttering it well. Leave a little foil hanging over the edge of the pan for easy removal when the brownies are baked.

Bake the brownies at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. When you insert a toothpick in the center it should have some moist crumbs attached to it. Let brownies cool completely before assembling. (I put them in the fridge.)

For Peanut Butter Frosting:
Beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar and milk a little at a time until it is spreadable. Add vanilla. Set aside until needed.

For Ganache and topping:
Chop the milk chocolate and place in a double boiler with the cream. When chocolate starts to melt, remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Or you could also heat the cream and pour it over the chocolate–which is probably the better method of the two. Set aside, but don’t chill the ganache until ready to use.

To assemble:

Spread the peanut butter frosting evenly over the surface of the brownies. Chill for a few minutes to set. Pour the ganache over the top of the peanut butter and spread it evenly over the entire surface. Sprinkle with the roasted peanuts.

(I chilled it again at this point until I was ready to cut them into bars.)

Makes 30 bars.