Go Nuts: Peanut Butter Blondies with Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe

CakeSpy Note: This is a guest post and recipe from Cake Gumshoe Julia, a 26 old wife, exercise fiend, and baking enthusiast. Her writing can be find at her site, Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.

 Do you love peanut butter?

Did you know I love peanut butter?

I mean LOVE peanut butter. Not in a romantic way, but in a mouth watering, makes my taste buds sing kinda way. As I am getting older, not old, just older, I'm growing out of the idea that a dessert has to be based around chocolate. I now understand that a freaking amazing, mouth watering, makes you jump in the air with excitement, dessert can be based on something other than chocolate: peanut butter.

Saturday morning I woke up super early with lots of excitement and anticipation about what I would bake that day--and I realized it must be Blondies. And I could add peanut butter and make them extra delicious. I felt content with my decision. And after you make these, you will understand why I was so content. I can't say I am in love with these, because I am in love with my husband (ahh, how romantic of me). But I can say, with confidence, that these are one of my all time favorite desserts.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Frosting

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

 Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

 Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and set aside.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until smooth.
3. Remove from the heat, and stir in the peanut butter.
4. Allow to cool while combining the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the brown sugar and peanut butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.
6. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared dry ingredients, and stir to create a thick, smooth batter.
8. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the pan.
9. Sprinkle with the milk chocolate chips, lightly pressing them into the batter.
10. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan.
11. Mix all the frosting ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer. Beat for about 2-3 minutes; until all the ingredients are incorporated. Spread onto the cooled blondies.
12. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Cut into 15 large squares, serve and enjoy with a glass of ice cold milk!

These are rich, dense, and simply delicious!

Comments

[Jenny]

These look DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing!

[Alex]

I am going to make these tonight!! Thanks!

[The Courteous Chihuahua]

I am so glad I didn't give up chocolate and/or peanut butter for Lent! I was planning on making red velvet cupcakes this weekend, but they just got bumped for this recipe. THANKS!

[Dave -nibbleanibble]

The equation is simple:
Peanut Butter + Chocolate Chips = Awesome.

[Cassandra]

I made these tonight and they were just as awesome as you said. My husband loved them!

[Diane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com}]

yum! They look delicious. I love her blog name and checked out her blog-so great!

[Steph]

These look amazingly delicious!! I follow Julia's site and have tried some of her recipes and they are always YUMMY!!!!!

[CC_Kristi]

Ah, the marriage of peanut butter and chocolate. May they live happily ever after. I am so makin' these tonight.

[Vanessa]

Just got these out of the oven and tried them.
Delicious!
However, I would reccomend using MILK chocolate. I only had semi-sweet on hand so I used those and they were ok. Milk chocolate would have been much better. Also, I mixed the chocolate chips into the batter as opposed to just putting them on top. The chips melted wonderfully into the bars. I opted for no frosting and they still tasted wonderful.

[Betsy @JavaCupcake]

oh my heavens. these look divine!!! :)

[julia]

I'm so encouraged by all of your responses. I am stoked for those of you who made it and LOVED them. Thanks for all the compliments.

[Jen]

I made these today. They smelled SO GOOD coming out of the oven. I can't wait to try one later! :)

[Cakespy]

I'm so glad they're coming out well for people. However, just so that I can be sure that you're not just saying that, I respectfully ask that you each send me two dozen to sample.

(kidding!)

(sort of)

[Jackie]

Made these last night and they turned out great! Sadly, I used natural pb for the frosting which didn't turn out so great. No matter, because the bars on their own are delicious!

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

Yum... I loved these when I made them the first time, but never would have thought to add frosting. Brilliant! Glad everyone is enjoying them. :)

[p90x price]

With the development of tecnology and economy, more and more people tend to pay more attention to their body. They want to have better shape and healthier body. Here, I will introduce a good program to you—p90x price. from America.p90x price is classic training DVD which covers all manner of fitness methods. It include 13 p90x price and beachbody complete training for 90 days. Please image that you will hve your dreamed body and shape in 90 days.There are also many other fasion sports included in p90x. they are waiting for you to find.How can you learning languages without Rosetta Stone Spanish dvd. Here, I am not point the real stone in British Museum. The real rosetta stone is a stone that has Greek, Egyptian script and the words popular during that time.
If you want to learn another language to improve yourself, you can choose this useful software
Rosetta Stone Spanish dvd to enhance your level of languages.
mens watches
breitling navitimer
rolex datejust
breitling Navitimer
panerai watches
bvlgari watches
breitling
annahappy
babylady
annahappy

[Sparrow]

i baked these yesterday for my boyfriend who is a peanut butter fiend. i opted out of making the frosting and added butterscotch chips to the top in addition to the chocolate one. he loved them and kept picking at them as i was trying to portion them out (half for him to take to work, half for me to take to one of my meetings). the frosting will go on the next go round!

[Heather]

On step 5 it says to add eggs but in the ingredients it doesn't say anything about eggs.... So how many eggs?

[Cakespy]

hi - somehow the eggs had migrated to the same line as another ingredient. I adjusted. can you see it now? 2 eggs :-)