Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies... that may be slightly misleading, or a slight misnomer, take your pick. What makes them pb “cups” is that peanut butter is poured into an indentation in the top of a chocolate brownie. Then they are topped with peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Oh, come on, can there be anything better than that? Well, maybe the real Peanut Butter Cups by Reeses. But we won’t go there just at this moment.

I'm giving credit to Baked Perfection for this dreamy, creamy recipe. She in turn gives credit to a couple of other sites, but I’ll let you read about it in her notes. Meanwhile, if you are fans of “Grey’s Anatomy”, think McDreamy and McSteamy, put them together, and then imagine... Okay, I think you’re getting the idea!

No change in the ingredients in the original recipe (Baked Perfection’s version), but I did end up sprinkling green decorator’s sugar and white nonpareils on top in honor of the approaching Christmas season.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES

Ingredients...

1 box brownie mix
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I think I used less than a half cup)

Directions...

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Spray or grease mini-muffin cups (or use cupcake papers).

2. Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed. Spoon batter evenly into mini muffin cups (she says 1/2 tsp. I say 1-1/2 T.).

3. Bake 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into center comes out slightly wet.

4. Remove from oven and wait for centers to fall (or not; or do it yourself).

5. Microwave peanut butter for 20-30 seconds. While brownies are still warm, spoon about 1/2 tsp. into center of each brownie. Top with chips. Cool completely in pan (unless using papers; then okay to remove before decorating)

My notes...

*BP suggested heaping 1/2 teaspoon batter per brownie. I ended up using 1-1/2 tablespoons each, which meant I had to up the baking time. I went for her maximum, then tested them and went a few more minutes, and so on, till they were ready. I ended up with 48 Peanut Butter Cup Brownies!

*Almost immediately I took them out of the pan and left them on the cooling rack with a large piece of parchment paper underneath to catch drizzles and drops.

*I realized after the first batch that I should have cooled them a bit longer before adding the peanut butter and chips ‘cause everything was melting together. The melted pb should be cool (lukewarm), too!

*After realizing that mine weren’t going to have a sinkhole, I first experimented with pushing the top in with a small melonballer. Then I decided to just drizzle the pb back and forth across the top, so no hole. Ended up doing it both ways, equally easy.

*I used mini cupcake papers, so no greasing problems. After they’d cooled a bit, I tried one (well, two) (three?)(they’re small!). Most of the brownie comes out of the paper, but some of it stays stuck. I’m not shy. I turned the paper inside out and ate out the remainder. Oh, my!

I took the inexpensive way out this time and bought the store brand (Wegmans) brownie mix and went to their bulk section for the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

The peanut butter? My favorite -- Jif. The sprinkles? Wilton.

Let me know how these came out for you. Looks. Taste. Time to bake, etc.

A Zillion Zucchini

It’s still early in the season (here in New York State) for zucchini, but if you grow it yourself or have friends, relatives or neighbors who grow it, you need to start planning now. Contributions will be forthcoming. One little seed will produce numerous (maybe a zillion!) zucchini. Such a prolific plant!

Continuing my quest for great recipes from those I’ve saved on Pinterest, I found Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices which tastes yummy with Zucchini as the “crust” even if you are not on a gluten-free diet. My other successful find was a recipe for Zucchini Bread. So many of those on Pinterest, so I read through several and settled on one which I changed up a bit and I must confess, it is absolutely delicious.

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GRILLED ZUCCHINI PIZZA SLICES
Go to Kalyn’s Kitchen for the recipe

*Instead of canned or bottled pizza sauce, I make my own. I simmer tomato paste with water to thin it to the consistency I wanted, then added (fresh/dried) herbs.
Try this or vary herbs according to your tastes:
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 3 ounces water
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- light shake of garlic powder (my stomach reacts badly to fresh garlic)
- a tiny pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- pinch of salt (optional).
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to simmer, lower heat and let cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until reaches desired consistency.

*Use 3 times as much fresh herbs as dried. For example, if you usually add 1 teaspoon of dried oregano to a recipe, add three teaspoons of fresh.

*This time I used veggie pepperoni and Six Cheese Shredded Italian.

*Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices can be made on a grill. Since I don't have an outdoor grill, I used a George Foreman tabletop grill for the initial grilling of 3/4-inch zucchini slices brushed with EVOO. After adding toppings, I put them under the oven broiler for few minutes.

*Very large zucchini (not uncommon in home gardens) work best. However, if want to serve as appetizers, go for the smaller ones, approximately 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

CHOCOLATE CHIP-WALNUT ZUCCHINI BREAD
(based on a recipe from Savoring Life with Anna Costa)

Ingredients...

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2-cup whole wheat flour
1/2-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2-teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
1/4-teaspoon baking powder
1/4-teaspoon nutmeg (even better when you grate your own from whole nutmegs)
1 beaten egg
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup grated zucchini, unpeeled (do not squeeze out excess liquid)
1/4-cup cooking oil
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4-cup chopped walnuts

Directions...

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Grease bottoms and sides of a loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg.

3. In another bowl, combine egg, sugar, zucchini and oil.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

5. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

6. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

7. Bake 50-60 minutes, until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. You may see melted chocolate on the pick. As long as there is no batter, the bread is done.

8. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

9. Wrap securely and store in refrigerator.

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