Peanut Butter Brownies (or Fudge?)

I'm tired of chocolate...to the point that I don't like the stuff very much anymore. It's weird. I guess as I get older, my love for chocolate wanes. Oh well, I thought I had had a hankering for chocolate and peanut butter once I saw the tempting photos and recipe about three days ago, and once I tasted the soft, gooey, chocolaty concoction, I surprisingly did not get overly excited. I'm certain that it's not the recipe's or ingredients' fault; I blame it all on my taste buds. For instance, almost all the Daring Bakers loved the Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milano Cookies from last month's challenge, and I didn't. So, I know it's just me.

Despite my negative and unusual reaction, I do suggest you make these if you still love chocolate, especially when paired with peanut butter. My brownies were more like fudge than a brownie. I highly suggest you drink cold milk (add a bit of ice to make it colder) or homemade vanilla ice cream.

As always, I halved the recipe, and I still have some more left in the refrigerator, and I made these a couple of days ago! Because I halved it, there was very little brownie batter. So little that I placed the batter in a bread pan, and it was still very thin. As you can see in the photo, the brownie layer doesn't look very thin once cooked, though. The peanut butter filling and second chocolate layer make the brownies/fudge thicker. If you're a chocolate/peanut butter lover, I am certain that you will enjoy these. They tasted like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in fudge/brownie form. This similarity in taste could also be because I used Reese's Creamy Peanut Butter!

Peanut Butter Brownies (full recipe below)

adapted from Blog Chef

Ingredients:
Brownie layer-
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
½ ounce semisweet chocolate (I used Guittard Extra Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips) ½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup AP flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Frosting-
1 ½ cups powdered (icing) sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup butter (softened)
2-3 tablespoons heavy/whipping cream

Chocolate Glaze-
1 ounce semisweet baking chocolate (I used the same chocolate chips mentioned above)
1 tablespoon butter (or margarine)

Instructions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small sauce pan melt semisweet and unsweetened chocolates and butter over low heat. Cook until mixture is smooth. Set aside and allow the mixture to slightly cool.
• In a medium bowl beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy and pale colored. Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add flour, salt and melted chocolate mixture. Stir to mix well.
• Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13” baking dish (Use 8x8", if you want thicker brownies). Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (do not overbake). You will want to bake into a toothpick comes out almost clean (the toothpick should come out with some crumbs on it). Remove from the oven, and allow the brownies to cool.
• While cooling, make the frosting: In a mixing bowl, add peanut butter and butter, and beat until combined and smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time). The mixture will become crumbly. Blend in cream until the mixture is fluffy and has reached your desired spreading consistency. Evenly spread and chill until firm.
• To make the glaze: melt semisweet baking chocolate and butter in a sauce pan until smooth (I microwaved the two ingredients in a bowl for 30 seconds, stirred, and then microwaved the mixture 30 seconds more. Stir again until creamy). Drizzle (or spread) over the brownies. Allow the brownies to chill for awhile before cutting.