Peanut Butter Marbled Rich and Chewy Brownies
[u]Candied Peanut Topping[/u] (optional):
1/4 to 3/4 cup peanuts, whole roasted (salted or unslated)
maple syrup or any sugar (plus water if dry), enough to coat [u]Brownies[/u]:
1/2 cup peanut butter, any kind
1 tablespoon molasses
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chips or chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup vegan margarine, cut into squares
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1-1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup tofu, any kind
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
[u]Candied Peanut Topping[/u]If using the optional peanuts and syrup/sugar, see bottom and make this topping first.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.
2. Toss peanuts with enough maple syrup to coat in a small bowl. If using dry sugar, add a little water to moisten and coat the peanuts. You need a moist sugar to get a nice crunchy caramelization on the nuts.
3. Spread the nuts on the baking sheet in 1 layer and bake until crunchy and candy-like, up to 20 minutes. Cool.
4. Chop candied peanuts and sprinkle evenly on prepared peanut butter brownie batter and proceed with baking the brownies.
[u]Brownies[/u]:1. Generously grease an 8" square baking pan with vegetable oil. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, molasses, and almond extract and set aside.
2. Melt semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolates and vegan margarine in a double boiler or microwave on 50% power, stirring often. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.
3. Puree the sugar, tofu, and vanilla together in a medium sized bowl (or add to after the fact depending on your method of puree!). Whisk in the melted chocolate-butter-cocoa mixture.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the all-purpose and wheat flours and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly to all corners.
5. Dollop the peanut butter mixture all over the brownie batter. Using a butter knife, drag the peanut butter through the batter up and down, rotate the pan and repeat. Or just swirl however you like. Bake on the middle rack for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the brownies cool for about 2 hours in the pan. Now you can slice and serve. To get the 64 small squares, cut the brownies into 1" squares.
These are SUPER RICH, my idea of a perfect brownie. Hope you enjoy!
Source of recipe: This was inspired by and adapted from Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies in The Complete America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I was skeptical after I mixed these up. The peanut butter was very thick and the batter was ALSO very thick, so there was no real mixing/swirling. For a few hours after they came out of the oven, they were super crumbly and ... I was disappointed in the mediocre flavor and the crumbly texture. I almost tossed them! I left them out overnight and this morning, they were a little more dense, and I was glad. They were good.
BUT - this afternoon I stuck them in the refrigerator as someone mentioned above, and tonight I just got them back out, and OH MY GOODNESS. They are amazing. Totally. They are very dense and chewy, like fudge (also as mentioned above)! Very delicious. I will try to tweak things so that I can really mix the pb in instead of it being in a layer on top, but otherwise, wow. Great fudgey brownies.
These turned out absolutely beautifully. They were delicious right out of the oven in that warm, crumbly, gooey way, but if you refrigerate them for the next day--they are AMAZING cold out of the fridge. Essentially, I wonder if I ever need a fudge recipe again because this is sooo perfectly fudgey and rich and not too sweet! I LOVE these and I will never make another brownie recipe again. period.
I'm SO happy you enjoyed these, Whitenoise. Happy Belated Birthday!!! And sorry about the oven temp not being clear for the peanut topping alone. Yup, it is the same as the brownies. :)
:)>>> This worked oh so well and is oh so tasty! Too often recipes call for cocoa powder and egg replacer and/or try to make it more healthful. No. No. No. No. No.
This uses baking chocolate melted with EB over a double boiler. Brownies are a treat which means pull out the stops and throw caution to the wind when making them. The flavor and crinkly top are the homemade brownie I grew up on. Thank you!
Two notes: The flavor and consistency of the brownies developed after sitting a couple of days. I have noticed this in many chocolate vegan baked goods.
Also, I wasn't sure if the oven temp was just for the peanuts but used it for the brownie anyway and it was the right one (I have an idea that brownies are cooked at a higher temp) I did use a glass baking dish though.
Thank you again. Brownies are a favorite of mine and because of that I am easily disappointed. This was an early birthday present!