Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies.

These Chocolate and Peanut Butter brownies are without a doubt the most AMAZING brownies I have ever concocted and possibly... even the most AMAZING brownies I have ever eaten in my entire life. Yes, in my ENTIRE life! And yes, I am being deadly serious so I do apologize for tooting my own horn but, needs must and I really must emphasise that anyone reading this blog post MUST run into their kitchen right now; bake these brownies immediately and gobble them up straight away without leaving a single chocolaty crumb! They have such a fudgy, moist, decadent centre with the richest most intense chocolate flavour and a subtle essence of peanut butter. There is really nothing more you could ask for of a good brownie. It is also optional to serve these warm with the simplest, creamiest, most peanutbuttery peanut butter ice cream the world has ever seen if you so desire but, honestly the brownies speak; or more so scream and shout from the rooftops; for themselves as they are utterly delicious and I have eaten enough of them now to pile on plenty of extra cocoa and peanut butter filled pounds to keep me all snuggly and warm through Autumn and Winter. 

Recipe

Makes one 27 x 20 cm tin full of sweet, luxurious, squidgy chocolate peanut butter brownies to make your mouth water and get your teeth stuck into!

For the Brownies:

100g unsalted butter

100g crunchy peanut butter

200g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa

4 large eggs

350g caster sugar

100g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

For the Topping:

50g smooth peanut butter, I love Skippy!

50g dark chocolate, melted

Salted peanuts to scatter, some crushed and some whole

Edible gold dust, optional

For the Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough Ice Cream:

340g smooth peanut butter, again Skippy is delicious!

300ml condensed milk

250ml natural yoghurt

300ml double cream

150g ready made chocolate chip cookie dough, broken into small pieces (this is available in the chilled section of both Tesco and Sainsburys alongside the ready to roll pastry)

A handful of Reeses mini peanut butter cups to stir through, optional

Salted peanuts, whole and crushed to decorate

Method

Note. If you would like to try the ice cream or serve it alongside the warm brownie then prepare the ice cream at least the day before baking the brownies so that it has time to freeze and set. This is a very scrumptious and very simple ice cream recipe with a strong peanut butter flavour which requires no churning as it uses condensed milk which helps to prevent ice crystals forming as the ice cream freezes. 

1. To prepare the ice cream, whisk the peanut butter, condensed milk, yoghurt and double cream in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer until thick, smooth and creamy. Delicately fold in the Reeses mini peanut butter cups if using and the chunks of cookie dough. Pour into a freezable container and scatter with crushed and whole salted peanuts and some more cookie dough chunks. Cover and freeze preferably overnight.

2. To make the brownies; heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan and grease and line the brownie tin with baking parchment.  Place the butter, peanut butter and chocolate into a small saucepan and heat over a low heat until fully melted, stirring now and again until smooth. Allow this to cool.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and caster sugar together with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale, has doubled in volume and leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted. Gently stir into the cooled chocolate and peanut butter mixture and sift over the flour and cocoa, folding together until fully combined.

4. Pour the brownie mixture into the lined tin and melt the 50g of topping peanut butter in the microwave briefly. If it melts you can drizzle it over the top however, my peanut butter did not melt completely so I just swirled my softened peanut butter into the top of my brownie using the back of a teaspoon which looked quite nice. Bake for approximately 35 mins and then cool in the tin until cold before drizzling with the melted dark chocolate; scattering with the salted peanuts and cutting into squares. A dusting of edible gold lustre also makes the brownies look lovely and fancy and would be the perfect edition if you decided to package these up as a gift for somebody's birthday or Christmas present. I actually packaged a stack of 4 brownie chunks into little cellophane packets for my brothers birthday on Monday which looked gorgeous and rustic tied with a bow of brown string.

Thank you for reading!

Thai Peanut, Butternut, Red Pepper and Spinach Curry.

Well, October is now well and truly upon us and my goodness has it turned chilly outside. To warm up last week I tantalised the old taste-buds with this very delicious Thai peanut curry which just so happens to be the perfect autumnal recipe to tuck into over the coming week as it is National Curry Week and there really is no more scrumptious dish to celebrate with. A creamy, subtle peanut sauce packed full of lovely butternut squash chunks, red pepper pieces and bundles of spinach; served alongside Thai jasmine rice and scattered with fresh coriander leaves and crushed salted peanuts. Perfection.

Recipe

Makes one piping hot pan full of Thai peanut curry to dive into and enjoy!

200ml boiled water 

2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tsp. tomato purée
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. light soy sauce 
1 tsp. light brown sugar
Small handful fresh coriander
2 red chillies, halved and deseeded
4 garlic cloves
1cm piece fresh ginger
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
300g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks (not too big!)
200g red pepper, core and seeds removed
100g frozen spinach
400ml tin coconut milk

salted peanuts to garnish

Method

1. Stir the peanut butter into a jug containing 200ml hot water until it dissolves, then stir in the tomato purée, lime zest and juice, soy sauce and brown sugar and set aside.

2. Remove the leaves from the coriander and set aside as well. Chop the stalks as finely as you can and chop up the chilli, garlic and ginger nice and small too.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or good-sized pan and fry the onions quite briskly for a few minutes, so that they catch slightly. As soon as this starts to happen, add the butternut squash and red pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes. 

4. Stir in the chilli, garlic, coriander stalk, garlic and ginger mixture for 1-2 minutes, then add in the lovely creamy coconut milk. Stir once more, then add the peanut butter mix and cook at a brisk simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding the frozen spinach half way through, until the sauce has thickened slightly, the spinach is cooked and the butternut squash is tender. 

5. Finally, serve alongside some Thai Jasmine rice and garnish with the reserved coriander leaves and some finely chopped salted peanuts. All done and dusted, now sit back, relax, snuggle up under a blanket, stick on the telly and enjoy!

Thank you for reading!