Peanut Butter Brownies

I know I've mentioned my weakness for chocolate and peanut butter before, and these brownies were no exception. They are thick, moist, cake-like, and heavenly!

I made these for a coworker's birthday. She has always been super supportive of my baking, so I asked her what her favorite dessert was (so I could bake it for her) and without hesitation she said brownies. :) I knew I had this recipe marked on my "to bake" list, and she had no objections to trying something new.

If you're not a huge fan of peanut butter, there is plenty of batter to make regular chocolate brownies (and it would definitely stand well on it's own!). I would just bake them in a slightly smaller pan for a thicker brownie because that's what I loved about these... there was a whole lot of baked goodness in each bite!

Taste tested and coworker approved. These brownies were delightful!

Ingredients

Yields 20 brownies

3 eggs

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Filling:

2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp 2% milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13in x 9in baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. 

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs, butter and vanilla until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve 1 cup of batter for topping. Spread remaining batter into prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and milk on low speed just until combined. Carefully spread over batter. Drop reserved batter by tablespoonfuls over filling. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack. Chill until serving.

Source: Taste of Home Fall Baking Cookbook magazine