It is Valentine’s Day and I didn’t get my husband anything. Yikes. Last year I had a love coupon book made and printed professionally for him. Wanna know how many he has used? Zero! All that means is I keep giving away favorite dinners, back rubs, foot rubs and date nights of his dreams away for free. Whatever he knows I love him.
Since we have all five kids for dinner tonight and White Castle was all booked up with reservations (do not knock this until you try it – I mean it), I preordered the clichéd heart-shaped pizza from Lou Malnati’s – everyone’s favorite. Everyone of course, except myself. Not a fan of so much mozzarella cheese that you could choke to death on one bite. Since there will be no fancy romantic homemade feast for me to present Jim today I can’t think of a better way to show love than chocolate and peanut butter for dessert. Except Jim and all five kids don’t really like peanut butter and chocolate desserts. Well too damn bad for them. Cause I do…so I am showing myself a little love today post-pizza – and wolfing down at least two of these. They are that f’ing good.
I am a brownie connoisseur. Well, a connoisseur in as far as I eat the shit out of all brownies when presented to me. Box brownies, dark brownies, brownies with frosting, brownies with nuts, brownies swirled with cheesecake and brownies swirled with a peanut butter batter that is oh so dreamy.
Show your family a little love today – and especially yourself – chance are you deserve it.
Chocolate Peanut Butter swirl brownie
the brownie
10 tablespoons of butter
1 ¼ cups of sugar
¾ cup of good cocoa powder
tablespoon of vanilla
teaspoon fine sea salt
two eggs
two teaspoons of water
1/3 cup flour
the peanut butter swirl
one cup of peanut butter – I use regular smooth peanut butter – and I cannot guarantee the results with the natural stuff
2/3 cup of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
teaspoon of vanilla
one egg
Preheat the oven to 325.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and immediately add the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and water and stir to combine. Let it sit for about 10 mins to cool a bit.
Meanwhile whisk the peanut butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and eggs in a separate bowl and set aside.
Back to the brownie batter – add the eggs one at a time to the pan stirring in completely after each one. Then mix in the flour until just incorporated. Spread about 2/3 of the mixture into an 8×8 baking pan with the bottom greased (I put foil in the pan and spray it).
With a small cookie scooper scoop the peanut butter mixture on top of the brownie batter. Drop the remaining brownie batter around the peanut butter scoops.
With a butter knife or a toothpick swirl the peanut butter batter into the brownie batter – but not too much, it should look like a marble of peanut butter and chocolate.
Bake for roughly a half hour or a touch less. It should be set when you gently touch the top center. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.
