Black & White Peanut Butter Brownies

June 20, 2010


To all the dads out there, and to those who are not longer with us, Happy Father's Day! My dad was French, so when we moved here it took him a while to grasp the concept of having an entire day, aside from his birthday, dedicated to him.
He loved loved peanut butter (that apple didn't fall very far), and I would always bake his favourite peanut butter cookies on Father's Day.

During World War II his home was occupied by the Germans (I think my dad was only 5 or 6 years old at the time). When the Americans soldiers arrived, they not only got rid of the Nazis, they introduced my dad and his cousins to peanut butter. One of the GI's showed them how to use the oil that collected on the jar's surface as a bicycle lubricant. Since then he always had a soft spot for Americans...and a love affair with peanut butter.


My dad died in 1995 but every year I still try and make something with peanut butter. Instead of doing cookies, this year I made these incredible brownies. They have just about everything; Dark chocolate, white chocolate, and peanut butter. They are super chewy and undeniably rich! As you may or may not know, I'm a chocolate snob. I'll take a good quality dark over milk any day. So white chocolate is not even worth a slight nod of recognition (harsh, I know), but these brownies fit right into my bourgeois chocolate world. The white chocolate was not even detectable, it just offers a slight creamy flavour and smooth texture. No worries, dark chocolate lovers. I'm still in your club.


Black & White Peanut Butter Brownies (recipe adapted from KAF) Print

Ingredients
1 cup of good quality chopped white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli, white chocolate can be fussy.)
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, cut into pieces (this makes it easier to melt)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/4-1/3 cup of smooth peanut butter (Use as little or as much as you like. I didn't really measure mine. If you prefer chunky, go for it.)
1 1/4 cups of unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup bittersweet chunks or chopped chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil, allowing the it to hang over the edge for easy removal. Lightly grease or spray the foil.
Place the butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water (double boiler style.) Once the butter has melted, remove it from the heat and add the chopped white chocolate. Keep stirring until the chocolate softens. If you need to, place the bowl over the simmering water again but be careful. White chocolate is sensitive to scorching and you don't want it to separate from the butter. Stir in the sugar until well blended.
Add the vanilla and salt. Mix well. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Add the peanut butter and beat till incorporated.
In a separate bowl, Whisk together the flour and baking powder.
Stir into the egg mixture.
Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chunks. Spoon the batter into a greased 9" square pan, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chunks over the top.
Bake the brownies for 25 minutes, until they're light golden brown and the edges pull just slightly away from the pan.
Remove from the oven, and cool completely before cutting.

Makes about 12-16 brownies.

22 comments:

  1. I loved this recipe and when you talked about your Dad, it reminded me of my own Dad who is not well at the moment. Thank you for sharing.

    Luv Lisa. xx

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  2. ils sont magnifiques ces brownies et ont l'air très gourmands
    j'aime beaucoup
    bonne soirée

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  3. These look incredibly delicious! I think I'll be dreaming of these tonight. :)

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  4. It really does look heavenly!!!Im super hungry now!

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  5. Love the story and the brownies look delicious! Just bookmarked this recipe, can't wait to try it out.

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  6. I have to make these! I myself am a chocolate snob too I love dark chocolate and not to fussy about the rest, these look awesome! I cant wait to have them in my oven :D

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  7. These look lovely, as does the recipe adaption with the addition of peanut butter. I am going to make these this week.

    Your blog looks wonderful, the recipes and pictures look enticing. I look forward to peeking around a bit more later today after I get my baking done.

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  8. These look amazing! I LOVE peanut butter too. I will be making these very soon!!

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  9. Great recipe, I'll save this one for later. The bars look so nice and gooey, mmm!

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  10. I love this post so much, Valerie. What wonderful stories about your Dad. :-) These brownies are fantastic!!! Everything I love in one delicious morsel. :-) So excited to see what doors open for you in Alaska. :-)

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  11. Those look divine! I can't wait to try these! YUM!

    xxMK
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  12. Lesapea, I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. I hope it's nothing too serious.

    Merci, Fimère!

    Jessica, It's good to know I'm not the only chocolate snob out there. :)

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  13. OOOhh. I didn't realize you wanted to find a chef type job at Dutch Harbor. That is actually an excellent idea. I think the boat chef idea sounds brilliant, actually. :)

    And ohmygoodness. These brownies look so amazing. I don't even want to look at the picture anymore. Too good.

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  14. Okay, these look unbelievable! I can't believe I somehow missed this post, Valerie. I might have to make these this week-seriously. I'm going to look at the list of ingredients more closely...

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  15. Hey Valerie, I just read through more carefully, and I'm making these. Your story about your Dad is so very sweet too.

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  16. Dear god! I can't remember that last time I saw something so decedent and marvelous! Must try these!

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  17. bookmarked this! i'm really into brownies at the moment, and these look pretty good!

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  18. I'm a chocolate snob AND a PB lover...guess we're two of a kind. These brownies sound amazing! So sweet of you to make them for your dad even now that he is gone. I'm sure he's looking down and appreciating it!

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  19. I made this today for some coworkers and it was delicious! I used a heaping 1/3 cup of creamy PB. I think I made one mistake of using salted butter in addition to the 1/2 tsp salt since it was a bit salty. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks!

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  20. Valerie, I just made these today, and this recipe is outstanding! Love the combination of flavors, and these are some of the best brownies I have made. Thank you for sharing. (And my coworkers will no doubt thank you as well, since I will be bringing some to share at work tomorrow!)

    That is a wonderful story about your dad. Thank you for sharing that as well.

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  21. Jean, I'm so glad you liked these! Hopefully your coworkers will feel the same. :)

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  22. I absolutely adored these Valerie! They may have been my lunch one day :) I've tried to make white chocolate brownies before and always failed but this recipe unlocked the secret. Thanks!

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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