Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

I made these brownies to bring to a friend’s football party. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s Cookie Book. I’ve got to say, I’ve made a lot of recipes from this book now, and I think they’ve all turned out well. This book is definitely worth the investment if you’re interested in some pretty straightforward baking.

 I used my baker’s edge pan to make these, which is why the pan in the pictures looks a little odd. I did end up with brownies that were all edge pieces though.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Makes an 8x8 pan

For the Batter:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into small pieces 

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped 

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 

2/3 cup AP flour 

½ tsp baking powder 

¼ tsp coarse salt 

¾ cup sugar 

3 large eggs 

2 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

½ cup confectioner’s sugar 

¾ cup smooth peanut butter 

¼ tsp salt 

½ tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8x8 baking pan and line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhand. Butter the lining.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl. Stir until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Whisk the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add eggs and mix until smooth. Stir in the vanilla

. Add the flour mixture; stir well until combined.

4. Stir together all the ingredients for the filling in a separate bowl.

5. Pour 1/3 of the batter in the baking pan. Put tablespoons of the peanut butter filling on the batter, spread about an inch apart.

6.  Pour the remaining batter over the top, and smooth with a spatula.

7. To make the swirl pattern, place dollops of the remaining peanut butter mixture on top of the brownie batter. Drag a butter knife back and forth through the brownies and peanut butter to create a swirl pattern (see the pictures).