Naptime. This is a very magical word for any hands-on parent of toddlers. Last weekend, after a couple of hours of playing matching games, making play doh cupcakes, and conversing with a babbling 1-year old, it arrived: naptime.
I generally reserve this 1-2 hour heaven sent period of time for laundry, catching up on e-mails, or finishing some design work. However, last weekend I dedicated some time to these chocolate chip peanut butter brownies. OMG.
35 minutes. That’s how much time it takes to make these rich, chewy, brownies. (I love desserts that you can simply mix, slap in a pan and pop in the oven. So easy.)
I used chunky peanut butter in this recipe to give a little more crunch. The overall addition of peanut butter makes these brownies very rich and so soft even after baking.
I was worried that the smell of these baking brownies would awaken my 3-year old, but instead she must have had some sweet dreams.
Given the richness of the peanut butter and chocolate, you might want to consider cutting these brownies into smaller squares. I found that just a bite of a standard size brownie was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth!
This was such a productive naptime for me! And, not only did I quickly whip up some heavenly brownies, I managed to have some time left over for a little mommy-break. Perfect.
- 1 cup melted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (can substitute creamy)
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and line with parchment paper (optional).
- Mix softened butter until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add sugars and mix well. Add each egg, one at a time, until mixed thoroughly.
- Add peanut butter.
- In a medium bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter/sugar mixture in parts until combined well.
- Add chocolate chips to mixture until combined well.
- Transfer the mixture to the 9 x 13 pan and flatten so that batter rests evenly in the pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.