ooey gooey peanut buttery brownies.

These brownies were simply amazing…

I served them with ultra rich vanilla bean ice cream.  Shame on me.

And you thought this blog was all about eating nutritiously…

Also, here are the other names I considered for this recipe:

• Damn the calories brownies.
• Lava flow brownies (weird, right?).
• Buttery peanut brownies.
• Plain old peanut butter brownies.

This is the world I live in.  Where I spend 10 minutes pondering recipe names, carefully mulling my choice over while sipping a glass of red wine.  Welcome.

All the ingredients go into one saucepan for this recipe, which means LESS TO CLEAN UP!  Hooray!

Yes, that would be a stick of butter, and then some.

Don’t hate.

Whisk the ingredients together, then place in a baking pan and top with your oeey gooey peanut butter.

I had originally thought it would be fun to make some really beautiful and artistic work of art out of the peanut butter, like they do with the foam in my lattes at my favorite coffee shop Kean.  You can see how well that turned out…

And so here they are, and I finished them with a little sea salt.  Serve them with ice cream, with whipped cream, or with no cream at all – they’re spectacular.

Ooey Gooey Peanut Buttery Brownies

(Adapted from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)

Makes 12 large brownies (or 16 smaller)

10 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup natural peanut butter

sea salt, for finishing

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat.  Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Remove from the heat and set aside.  Stir in the vanilla and add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one.  When the batter looks thick and shiny add the flour and stir vigorously again with a wooden spoon or spatula.  Spread evenly in the prepared baking pan.

Place dollops of peanut butter on top of the batter and then swirl around with a fork or knife.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 25-35 minutes. Finish with sea salt.  Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.

TOTAL:  $4.03 or $.25 per brownie.

Wondering how on earth I arrived at these costs?  Take a look at my shopping guide to show see what I pay for items, per serving, etc.

Nutrition:

190 calories per brownie (based on 16 brownies)

11 grams of fat

22 carbs

4 grams protein

1.5 grams fiber

Mosey on over to Facebook and let me know what you think!