Peanut Butter Cup Belgian Brownies

Rich, chocolately, filled with peanut butter – these brownies are perfect. I made them into two-bite brownies (or three or four, depending on the size of your bite). I found the Belgian brownie recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and then added the peanut butter cups.

The recipe is very easy to make; you simply melt the chocolate and butter, and just stir in the rest of the ingredients. The hardest part is waiting for them to bake and cool down enough to remove from the pan.

What you need:

• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 or 72%), roughly chopped
• 7 ounces (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• enough mini peanut butter cups to put one in each brownie (I made a dozen, then used the rest of the batter to make a brownie in a bread pan)

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Spray a mini muffin tin well with non-stick spray.
3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring.
4. Remove the butter and chocolate from the heat and stir in the sugar.
5. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the salt and flour.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 1/2 hour at room temperature.
7. Fill each muffin tin with batter, then place a peanut butter cup on top, pressing it in only a little. It will sink in on its own.
8. You can either make another pan of peanut butter brownies, or you can spray a loaf pan and bake the rest in that.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes, then test by inserting a toothpick into the brownie part, and the toothpick should come out with some crumbs clinging to it. If you’ve made a pan of brownies it needs more like 40 minutes.
10. Allow the brownies to cool for about half an hour before removing from the pan.

Allow the brownies to cool completely, then they can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for a few months.