I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I call those Things That Are Meant to Be Broken. In other words, keeping to goals aren’t my best feature. Waaay back I said sis and I should come up with the following week’s recipe plans after we’re through with the current week’s cooking. Be prepared instead of deciding what to do at the last second. It’s never worked out that way, but so far we’ve still managed to sniff out great recipes to try. Maybe it’s a case of don’t fix what’s not broken. This week’s last minute recipe hunting found us these brownies and oh. MAN. Killer, people. Killer stuff.

Guess what? There’s chocolate in these here things. I mean, YAY, right? YES.

Guess what’s NOT in these brownies? Oil. There’s always oil in those box mixes. Blechity Blechville, I say.

Looks like a chocolate tongue, doesn’t it?

It all goes pretty smoothly from here on out. Wait for it…

You smooth on the (albeit crunchy) peanut butter frosting and…

Then comes the smoothing on of the ganache. Get it? It’s all going smoothly?

OK, obligatory sorry goes right here: SORRY. Moving on!

Oh, but just look. Look at how beautifully all that smoothing went. So beautifully that one can’t help but wonder if they taste as good as they look. So…

*CHOMP*

Oh yeah. These are the stuff. Moist. Definitely almost fudgey in the chocolate brownie layer. The peanut butter frosting and ganache are heaven-sent when combined with the brownie layer. These make for some happy tongues. The recipe makes plenty, and one of these rich beauts is really all you need, so be prepared to share.

Or, you know, not.

Peanut Butter & Fudge Brownies

from Peanut Butter & Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts by Dorie Greenspan, Bon Appetit, January 2007

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes plus Cooling & Chill Time Level: Easy Makes: LOTS

For the brownies

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

For the frosting & ganache

• 1 cup chunky peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For the brownies:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving long overhang; butter foil or spray with nonstick cooking spray (we did the latter).

Place 3/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan. Add both chocolates; stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt, then eggs, 1 at a time. Fold in flour, then nuts. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; cool.

For the frosting and ganache:

Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter in medium bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar, salt, and nutmeg, then milk and vanilla. Spread frosting over brownies.

Stir chocolate and 1/4 cup butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Drop ganache all over frosting; spread to cover. Chill until set, about 1 1/2 hours. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, transfer brownie cake to work surface; cut into squares. Bring to room temperature; serve. Store leftovers covered in the fridge, but bring to room temperature sitting on the counter for best taste results.

Notes:

Be sure to check on your brownies in the oven before time’s up. Your oven may need to cook them for less time. Ours turned out good, but I probably should have still removed them a little sooner than I did.

Despite the powdered sugar in the frosting, it’s not sweet at all. I worried this would be a bit bland as a result, but it turned out great as is.

The only way I could imagine these things being any better are some whole chocolate chips thrown in with the brownie batter before baking.

Have milk at the ready to serve with these. YUM. They’re pretty rich little things. And they taste even better the next day, so they do make for a great do ahead recipe. Enjoy.

Had to come back and comment on the servings this puts out - they’re brownies, so they can be cut into whatever size you need to make the stretch. Being they’re so rich, small cuts would probably work fine. I cut ours about two-3 inches square and that was almost too much - they ARE that rich. Judge for yourself what size you’d like to cut them, but being they’re in a 9×13 pan, the recipe makes quite a bit.

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