Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

The Husband accuses me of always picking deserts with cheesecake or Oreos in them. And so I would like to take this time to point out that the first two recipes on this blog do not have Oreos in them, and do not involve cheesecake in any way. So there.

However, the Husband loves peanut butter, like A LOT, and so occasionally I try to choose deserts with peanut butter in them. I mean who are we kidding, I don't hate peanut butter. For his birthday I made these peanut butter cup bars (which rocked and were totally delicious, by the way. You should make them.) So when I saw the words peanut butter in the title of this desert I automatically saved it for trying.

 

I will warn you of two things about this recipe: it is very rich, and it takes a long time to make. But it's worth it. The chewiness of the brownie layer balances the creaminess of the peanut butter filling and the ganache and it's just... yum.

Your ingredients. Pretend that the half and half is heavy cream, and let's get on with our lives. Also, I recommend natural peanut butter in every possible part of your life.

First, your brownie ingredients get mixed together and poured into your pan. If I made this again, I would skip the parchment paper. Sure it makes for an easier cleanup and the brownies come out of the pan easier, but look at that parchment paper. It's obnoxious. Anyway. While your brownie layer is baking, make your peanut butter filling.

It'll look something like this when you're done. Spread it over your brownie layer once it's done cooling. Add more milk to it if you're having trouble spreading. (A WORD OF WARNING- let your brownies cool completely- if you get impatient like me, your brownies will not take the spreading very well and it'll get a little crumbly)

(Here you can pretend there's a picture of me making the ganache, because I had slight baking difficulties this week and there is not an actual picture of it.)

After you've made your ganache, just pour it on top of the peanut butter filling and refrigerate! It's fairly easy, but each step has to cool and set and it takes a while. But you get this:

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Very slightly adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen 

Brownie Layer

 1 cup butter, melted

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Peanut Butter Filling

1/2 cup butter, soft

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

4 tsp milk

Ganache Topping

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Preheat your oven to 350°. Liberally grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar, stir until well mixed. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract until combined. Mix in the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the all-purpose flour and stir until combined- until no pockets of flour remain. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

While your brownies are cooling, make the peanut butter filling by combining all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. You can use an electric mixer, it's easiest, but you can also do it by hand. Once the filling is smooth and the brownies are completely cool, spread it over the brownies.

Put the pan in the refrigerator so that the filling can set while you make the ganache (make sure it sets at least 30 minutes). In a double boiler, combine the ganache ingredients and cook over medium high heat until melted. Or you can put them in a bowl in the microwave and melt them together. Pour the ganache over the peanut butter filling, then just put them in the refrigerator to set!