Katharine Hepburn Brownies with Peanut Butter Cups

I have been getting some requests to make peanut butter cup brownies again because the last time they got such rave reviews. Of course, I always feel the need to always try new recipes, so I searched for a brownie recipe that I could add my peanut butter cups to.

I first read about the Katharine Hepburn brownies on this awesome pie blog, where the blogger bakes the brownies in a pie crust – yum. I found another version on David Lebovitz’s  where he uses 1/4 cup more sugar. So I used the ingredients from the pie recipe, and the baking time from Lebovitz, and addedthe peanut butter cups.

While this recipe is quite delicious, and everyone who ate it loved it, my very favourite peanut butter cup brownie is still this one that I made a little while ago. The main difference seems to be that it contains way more chocolate – you can’t go wrong with more chocolate!

What you need:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 16 good quality mini-peanut butter cups (I used Trader Joe’s)

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 9 x 9 inch pan with buttered or sprayed parchment paper, with the edges sticking up over the edges of the pan. (I use parchment instead of the suggested foil because I can put the paper in my food scraps bin – less waste!)
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler – you can do this by putting some water in a pot and heating it, then place a bowl with the chocolate and butter on top, but not touching that water. (see photo below)
3. Remove the melted butter and chocolate from the top of the double boiler and stir in the sugar, then the eggs and vanilla.
4. Stir in the flour and salt until it is just combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared, lined pan. Place the peanut butter cups on top of the batter. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool, and then remove them from the pan by pulling up on the parchment paper. Cut into squares before serving at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.