Brownies and Lace
Peanut butter and chocolate brownies. There’s no shortage or recipes for this wonderful combination, but they mostly seem to add the peanut butter to an existing brownie recipe rather than make use of it as a key structural ingredient. So I made my own and I’m very pleased with how they turned out so I thought you might like to try them too. Without butter, although there is a little sunflower oil, and significantly less sugar, none of it refined, than a typical brownie they may not be low on calories but at least those calories aren’t all nutritionally useless. Mainly though they’re delicious without leaving me headachy from the rich, sweet overload.
Measurements in grams, because I got a new electronic scale for weighing packages and I was having fun measuring things oh so precisely. More on why I need such a scale soon.
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees c, I have a fan oven, so you might want to adjust upward for a normal one.
Beat together the following ingredients:
120g peanut butter - I use a crunchy one made from whole peanuts but I don’t see why whatever you prefer wouldn’t work, you may want to reduce the sugar if your spread of choice has some added, I also fell in love with hazelnut butter this week and I’m eager to try that in these
2tbsp sunflower oil - you might need to adjust this depending on how oily your pb is, mine was a new tub so it was pretty oily, for the thicker dregs at the bottom I’d add more oil
120g light muscavado sugar
30g agave nectar - I’d consider using more of this and less sugar, but I used all that was left in the bottle
3 eggs
100g melted good quality dark chocolate - I used G&B’s 70%, I like to melt the chocolate in a bowl in the pre-heating oven since it seems like the most fuss free idea
Fold into this mixture:
100g plain flour and 50g unsweetened cocoa powder
Line a dish with baking parchment and spoon in the mixture. You could use one about 20 cm square. I baked them in 2 of these Ikea food storage boxes, which nicely meant no messy transferring into other storage containers when they were done.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until they don’t seem quite done yet. Cut into squares once they’ve firmed up a little. I just let them cool in the boxes before sealing them up. Simple.
Here’s the lace I started when I got back from Monday’s beach trip. It’s growing so fast, even though I swear I’ve managed to tear myself away from it to get some other stuff done.
It’s a very grey day, so these don’t do justice to the richness of the colour at all, but the yarn is Old Maiden Aunt’s cashmere / silk 2 ply in Cherry and it’s beautiful.
Posted: May 21st, 2008 under knitting.
Comments: 20
Comments
Comment from sarah
Time: May 21, 2008, 4:23 pm
I was just thinking it was time for a choc brownie fix… i might stray from my favourite recipe and give these a try-peanut butter is just gorgeous afterall! thank you =) x
Comment from Cairi
Time: May 21, 2008, 5:45 pm
OOH those look so so good but I have to ask what is agave nectar? I havent heard of that, where vcan I buy it?
Comment from Genuine
Time: May 21, 2008, 6:28 pm
Omg. It is not funny to wave these under my nose. They look really nice, though, and since I’m weakly struggling towards eating more healthily, I should probably print off the recipe and try it out.
Comment from Judy
Time: May 21, 2008, 6:51 pm
I’ve heard of those other sugars but I can’t get them where I live. If you had to add white sugar to the recipe how much would you put in? Love the lace. Very summery with the open netting effect if you know what I mean.
Comment from Josiane
Time: May 21, 2008, 7:03 pm
The lace shawl you’ve started is really pretty! I love the stitch patterns you are using.
Comment from traci
Time: May 21, 2008, 7:16 pm
duh! i would never have thought to use hazelnut butter. it sounds delicious though. i may have to try that…
the cherry lace is working out very beautifully. i can’t wait to see it in all it’s completeness!
Comment from Katherine
Time: May 21, 2008, 9:29 pm
Those brownies sound delicious, I have several of your recipe posts saved in my Bloglines, I really must try making one soon!
Comment from hanne
Time: May 21, 2008, 9:35 pm
I would love to try your brownies, but I’m not sure what agave nectar is. Could you explain please???
Comment from Clare
Time: May 21, 2008, 11:37 pm
Great minds! I made some vegan brownies the other week that were tragically terrible - essentially a regular brownie recipe without butter or eggs (do brownies normally have eggs? I don’t know). They tasted soooo blah! I realised the butter adds a special something-something to baking recipes. Got up last night for a 3am snack and was staring at the peanut butter jar going “Hey… I wonder if the peanut butter could replace the butter in something…” And that’s pretty much what you did! Awesome!
Comment from Debbie
Time: May 21, 2008, 11:56 pm
Thanks for the recipe! What lace pattern are you knitting? It’s really pretty.
Comment from Jen
Time: May 22, 2008, 2:20 pm
MMMM, brownies! Just wanted to say thanks for mentioning melting the chocolate in the preheating oven. What a great idea! I think I’ll use some honey for the agave nectar, we’ll see how it goes. It’s chocolate, hard to get TOO wrong! :) And the lace is really beautiful.
Comment from Rachel
Time: May 22, 2008, 4:12 pm
sinful and beautiful. (chocolate and lace that is!) :)
Comment from Marie
Time: May 22, 2008, 4:21 pm
Mmmm chocolate and cherries! Always a great combo even when one of them is yarn!
Comment from Mizpah
Time: May 22, 2008, 11:08 pm
Those look so yummy! Clare, have you tried “Earth Balance”? It’s a vegan “butter” that tastes and works fabulous. I use it for all my baking where you would butter. :)
Comment from Joanny
Time: May 23, 2008, 12:22 pm
YUM! Having tasted the prototype, I can thoroughly recommend these to everyone. Yumyumyum.
Comment from Susana Minna
Time: May 23, 2008, 6:19 pm
Me encanta visitarte, tus tejidos son maravillosos…
Un abrazo desde la Isla de Chiloe…
Susana Minna
Comment from Heidi
Time: May 24, 2008, 4:32 pm
Hi Ysolda - Are you using a pattern for the Cherry Shawl? If so, could you share which one? Thanks!
Comment from Tumblina
Time: May 25, 2008, 1:43 pm
The first pic peaked my interest, the peanut butter had me musing - the idea about hazelnut butter??? Off the charts drooling!! I may have to save it for the holidays (hazelnut butter is a little steep…) but, man, that would make some heavenly brownies!!
Comment from Tanya
Time: May 28, 2008, 11:25 pm
I always love to see what you’re cooking. Everything always looks and sounds so very yummy. I only recently begun using agave nectar for my coffee and am anxious to try it in my baking. Thanks for the recipe!
Comment from Paola Pacheco
Time: September 10, 2008, 2:45 pm
Hi, Isolda!,
I love the Cherry Shawl, is there any chance i could get it?. It getting spring in here and it would be so nice to knit it.
Im from Chile and just today I found your nice blog.
Hope we keep in contact.
Cariños,
Paola
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