Peanut butter cup brownies

Confession.. I made these at the beginning of April. It's now the middle of May and I'm only now getting around to posting. Oops.

They are brownies baked in mini muffin tins with peanut butter and chocolate chips spooned into the middle. They are the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. They are bite size. They are adorable.

I originally was going to use a box brownie mix and then I realized the original recipe would have only made an 8x8 pan, while the brownie mix I grabbed would've made a 13x9 pan. That is a lot of brownies. I went with my heart and made the brownies from scratch.

Brownie batter: easy! I love one bowl recipes. So many less items to clean! The brownies collapsed in the middle--I've never seen a brownie do that to such a degree, but then again, I've never (1) tried to bake brownies in a muffin tin and (2) fill a brownie muffin with deliciousness. In any case, the craters were perfect for peanut butter and chocolate chips.

I shortened the baking time on the recipe since I was doing mini muffins.

The brownies: there seemed to be a magic time to get the brownies out of the pan. Too soon and they fell apart. Too late (e.g. the next morning) and they were stuck fast to the pan. Also, the brownies weren't super chocolaty.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

So what to do? Remake them the next day, of course. This time, I did 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup cocoa powder, then added in 2 tbsp oil to make up for the lost fat from the chocolate. I sprayed the pan with nonstick spray and floured them. Success! Because I wasn't using high quality chocolate chips, I filled the brownies in the pan, then popped them back in the oven to melt the chocolate a little and get rid of the white coating. If you fill the brownies in the pan, be aware that the PB will still be liquidy at that point, so handle carefully to avoid spilling PB everywhere.

Shiny!!

In the original recipe, it calls for chocolate and peanut butter chips to be mixed into the batter and sprinkled on top. I didn't, but you could. Also I didn't have peanut butter chips on hand, so I went without them completed. Once again, do it if you have them on hand or going to the store anyway.

PS--don't be mislead by the name. There are no actual peanut butter cups in the recipe. They just look like them.

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups

Adapted from Bake or Break

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or butter)
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup cocoa powder
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
About 1/3 cup chocolate chips for garnishing
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray/grease and flour 12 mini muffin cups. Tap the pans to get out excess flour.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, butter, oil, and water. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips and cocoa until melted. Stir in egg and vanilla extract. Add flour and baking soda, stirring until blended. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spoon batter by heaping teaspoons into muffin cups.

Bake for 11 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly wet. Place pan on wire rack. Centers of brownies will fall upon cooling. If not, tap centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole.

Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, then stir. While brownies are still hot, spoon about a tablespoon of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan.