Peanut Butter Brownies

Swoon. I am in love. Not just with the boy, but also with anything that contains both peanut butter and chocolate. Oh, it makes me weak at the knees. If peanut butter and chocolate could spoon me and fix my computer, than I think the boy may have a run for his money. Just kidding, cutie!Anyway, Friday night, run-girl-run was coming to visit and, when she talked to roomie she said "so does Amy have any yummy baked goods lying around?"

If I were a normal college kid, roomie's obvious response would have been "no, why?"

But...I'm me. So the response was "surprisingly no, you want me to drop a hint?"

And she did. And, gosh darnit if I did not immediately try to find a recipe to whip up. I went to smitten kitchen's blog, looked under desserts, and lost my breath when I saw peanut butter brownies. I clicked on the link and thought I was in heaven. They looked so dense and fudgey and peanut buttery. And they were.Like some readers who commented on smitten kitchen's blog, I had an issue with the edges getting a little too dark and crunchy before the inside cooked. I think this was partly to do with my oven which I am now discovering seems to run high, but I think the recipe would also be bettered by a slightly lower temp. I will try setting my oven to 330, which is likely 320 on a normal oven.

Even with the slightly burnt outsides, it was GREAT! The inside was dense and fudgey. I even liked the burnt outer rim because it contrasted the fudgeyness to the crispyness. Really good. All the girls loved it. The boy wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole (pb and chocolate does not have any appeal to him...so my affair with it would have to be a secret). But, despite the boy's thoughts, it was swoon worthy. Oh, come to me brownie goodness.I used 3/4 of a can of prepared chocolate frosting instead of the ganache because I had no ingredients for it (I had neither extra chocolate nor the cream). I really liked it as it was, and it was super easy, but next time I will try it with the adult-like ganache. I am posting the recipe below as it was on SK, even though I didn't use the ganache.Peanut Butter Brownies
For brownies
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 ounces)
½ teaspoon salt

For ganache
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 ounces)
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Make brownies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then line bottom of pan with parchment paper and butter parchment.
Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer sped to low, then mix in flour until just combined.
Mix in chocolate chips (1½ cups) then spread batter in baking pan, smoothing top. (It will be thick, almost like cookie batter.)Bake until brownies are deep golden, puffed on top and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with some crumbs adhering, 40 to 45 minutes (mine took about 35-again, hot oven).Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1 ½ hours.

Make ganache: Put chocolate chips (1 ½ cups) in a heatproof bowl.
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate chips and let mixture stand for one minute.
Gently whisk in butter until it is incorporated, chocolate is melted, and a smooth mixture forms.
Spread ganache on cooled brownies and let stand until set, about 15 minutes.