Thanksgiving Week + Wisdom Teeth

Happy almost Thanksgiving!
I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday, all four of them. I'm still pretty loopy, and this post may reflect that :P

I made these brownies two weeks ago, for Chris's last football game. We've decided to start eating healthier, so these were our last hurrah- he requested "quadruple bypass brownies," and these were the most fattening I could think of.

These are my favorite brownies plus peanut butter yumness. If you're looking to mix it up this Thanksgiving, bring these to the table! I'm willing to bet you already have most of the ingredients in your house. I doubled the recipe and made a variety of sizes- one 9" round cake pan, a dozen mini cupcakes and a dozen regular cupcakes. Whenever I double recipes, I still make them in separate batches. Bad experiences... But it's your call! 

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

{Brownies}

Ingredients:

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups- 4-6 (up to you)

Unsalted butter- 1 1/4 c (2 1/2 sticks)

Sugar- 2 1/2 c

Unsweetened cocoa powder- 1 1/2 c + 4 tbsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Large eggs- 4, cold

Flour- 1 c

{Peanut Butter Frosting- adapted from allrecipes.com}

Butter- 1/2 c (1 stick)

Creamy peanut butter- 1 c

Powdered sugar- 2 c

Cream- 1/3 c

Directions:

1. Chop peanut butter cups into small pieces and stick in freezer (~10-15 minutes).

2. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Set over a small saucepan of barely simmering water (on medium heat) and stir until butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot.

3. Remove bowl from saucepan and let cool for ~5 minutes. 

4. Stir in vanilla with a spoon or spatula; add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. At this point it should look shiny and thick. 

5. Stir in flour until completely blended, then stir vigorously, ~40 strokes.

6. Prep baking pans. If using a cake pan, line with aluminum foil. If using cupcake tins, line with paper cupcake liners (give 'em a quick hit of Pam to make it easier to peel after baking).

7. Baking pans: spread batter evenly and press chopped up peanut butter cups into the middle. Cupcake tins: spoon batter 1/2 full of each tin, then press peanut butter cups in the middle, then cover with additional batter.

8. Bake at 325 degrees F for ~20 minutes (pan) or ~15 minutes (tins). 

{Peanut Butter Frosting}

9. Cream butter and peanut butter on medium speed in an electric mixing bowl. Gradually add powdered sugar, then cream, until you reach the desired consistency. I wanted mine to be thin so as not to overpower the brownies. 

Enjoy, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!