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End of the Road Recipes:
If you love chocolate and peanut butter, I have the brownies for you. Even if you don’t consider yourself a baker, you will want to clip this recipe. These simple treats are based off of the gluten-free three ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe that went viral about a decade ago. With a few extra mix-ins and by baking them in a pan instead of rolling into balls, they take little time to make. You don’t even need to haul out the mixer!
The original cookie calls for 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and 1 large egg. The dough is rolled into balls, flattened, and baked at 350 for 8-10 minutes. My first attempt with a jazzed up cookie version was a dense, crumbly flop, because I cut the amount of sugar in half and added the acidic ingredients; brown sugar and cocoa powder. The flavor, however, made me think this recipe would be even better as brownies.
For my second attempt, I added one teaspoon of baking soda which reacts with acidic ingredients, resulting in a lighter texture, plus an extra egg for stability and a bit of cakiness. You can change up the mix-ins to whatever you have in your pantry, such as m&ms, crumbled cookie bits, or crushed pretzels. If you don’t have dark cocoa powder on hand, regular cocoa will work. The brownies will have a more subtle chocolate flavor and color.
Flourless Chocolate Covered Peanut Brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag (6 ounces) chocolate covered peanuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a lightly greased 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease the paper as well. In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda with a wooden spoon or stiff rubber scraper. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. The batter will be thick. Gently mix in the chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. Press the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan. If desired, dust with powdered sugar. Carefully pull up on the parchment paper to lift the brownies out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into 12 slices.
Yield: 12 servings
