Peanut Butter-Nutella Brownies
You can also make a simple icing of milk and confectioners sugar, drizzling it over the brownies, sprinkling them with mini chocolate chips.
You can also make a simple icing of milk and confectioners sugar, drizzling it over the brownies, sprinkling them with mini chocolate chips.
- Carbohydrate 22.2794622916667 g
- Cholesterol 196.603333333333 mg
- Fat 14.042274375 g
- Fiber 0.579972924875096 g
- Protein 6.63288708333333 g
- Saturated Fat 7.692597125 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (78g)
- Sodium 141.886854166667 mg
- Sugar 21.6994893667916 g
- Trans Fat 1.3353528125 g
- Calories 240 calories
Step-by-step
- In a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour, cocoa (sift this in to get rid of lumps), baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Over low heat, melt butter and stir in sugar and vanilla extract until well combined.
- To the butter-sugar mixture add eggs, one at a time. With a wooden spoon vigorously mix in each egg until well-combined.
- To the butter-egg mixture whisk in the cocoa mixture until fully combined.
- In a microwave safe bowl add Nutella and peanut butter. Heat in the microwave in 20 second intervals until it reaches a runny consistency. Stir this mixture into the batter.
- Pour the batter into a glass 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Let brownies cool completely before cutting.
Ingredient weights and measurements provide a baseline, but they rarely convey how temperature influences emulsion stability when mixing batters containing high-fat spreads. Room temperature eggs prevent the melted butter and sugar mixture from seizing prematurely, maintaining a smooth emulsion before the dry components enter the bowl. Sifting the cocoa powder removes compressed clumps that otherwise resist hydration, ensuring uniform distribution throughout the flour matrix.
Combining peanut butter and hazelnut spread introduces significant oil loads that alter structural setting times during baking. Heating these spreads in twenty-second intervals until fluid allows them to disperse evenly without creating pockets of heavy, unbaked fat. Weighing the all-purpose flour at four and one-half ounces per cup prevents excess density, keeping the crumb structure tender rather than dense or rubbery.
Historically, American home bakers adapted classic chocolate squares by incorporating regional pantry staples like peanut butter, merging candy bar flavor profiles into baked slab desserts. Modern variations substitute commercial hazelnut spreads to balance the salinity and roasted qualities of dense legume pastes. This dual-spread approach requires careful management of the oven heat to prevent scorching the delicate sugars present in the cocoa and nut spreads.
Allowing the baked slab to cool completely inside a glass nine-by-thirteen-inch pan solidifies the fats before slicing, yielding clean edges on all twenty-four portions. Cutting into warm brownies damages the structural integrity, causing the interior to drag against the knife blade. Storing the finished pieces in a sealed container preserves moisture levels for up to three days at room temperature.
