By the Batch - Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

You may think I'm cheating by including a brownie recipe in a feature about cookies but I promise you that these Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies (and several others) are featured in the Dense & Cakey section of Martha Stewart's Cookies! Those of you without stand mixers will appreciate this recipe since all the mixing is done by hand.

According to Martha:

Dollops of peanut butter filling are spooned onto brownie batter; pulling a knife back and forth through both results in a marbleized look.

Ingredients:

FOR THE BATTER 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
2 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
FOR THE FILLING 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter lining (not overhang).

Make batter: Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Whisk granulated sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.

Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.

Pour one-third of batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling (about 1 tablespoon each) on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart.

Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining filling on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

According to Sarah:

These brownies are easy and delicious. The only real tip I have is to work quickly because the batter with the melted chocolate will firm up quickly. I thought I was moving at a good speed but there was no chance my batter was going to "drizzle" which meant I didn't get the cool marbling effect throughout the brownies. Despite this, I think they still present really nicely and the peanut butter filling is sweet enough that you don't need any icing. These will definitely be made in my house again.

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