Peanut Butter Brownies
This delicious recipe from James Morton uses dark chocolate, which James found works much better than white. Ideally made with crunchy peanut butter with some extra peanuts too, this delicious combination of salty and sweet, gooey and crunchy, makes for one of the best brownie bakes you'll ever find.
From the book
How Baking Works
Learn to use the science of baking for great results
Simple, step-by-step recipes
Stunning, inventive cakes and bakes
Introduction
This recipe was inspired by the delightful Rachel Allen, who I believe created or at least propagated this simple method of making a brownie-like dessert. When I complimented her on her recipe, she recommended I didn’t bake them for any school fairs, because she had been knocked back due to the presence of peanuts in the past. Fair advice. Still, these are great to make in a hurry.
This version is a little different to hers, of course. After much experimentation, I found peanut butter works so much better with dark chocolate than white. You should ideally use crunchy peanut butter, but also add some extra peanuts too. Try to get the unsalted variety, though salted ones that have been washed and dried will be fine.
Ingredients
| 100g | softened, unsalted butter |
| 150g | crunchy peanut butter |
| 150g | caster sugar |
| 1 | egg, beaten |
| 1 tsp | vanilla extract |
| 100g | self-raising flour |
| 50g | unsalted peanuts |
| 100g | dark chocolate, chopped |
Essential kit
You will need an 8-inch square tin.
Method
Watch James show you how to make his delicious brownies in our video tutorial:
1. Preheat your oven to 170°C/150°C fan/Gas 3. Stuff a ripped-off square of baking paper into an 8-inch square tin.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until paste-like. There is no need to cream as you would for a cake.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Again, there is no need to develop air.
4. Add the flour, peanuts and chopped chocolate, stirring gently to combine. Dollop the mixture into your cake tin and spread out to the edges, for it should be quite tough.
5. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown on top and moderately resistant when pressed. A skewer inserted should come out clean.
