Another day during National Chocolate Week, another recipe – but this time, here’s something a little bit different, a little more indulgent…
I’ll make it clear that this recipe is only suitable for the die-hard peanut butter fans out there. Why? Because these brownies are packed AND topped with homemade Peanut Butter Cups. THAT’S RIGHT. More calorific than my usual recipes (although still gluten-free, dairy-free and no refined sugar), I can say they are totally worth every bite. Because life’s too short to not enjoy this cheeky partnership, right?!
LET THE FOOD PORN COMMENCE!
Ingredients:
For the peanut butter cups –
Chocolate layer:
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil (I used Lucy Bee)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 7-8 tablespoons cacao powder (I used Lucy Bee)
Peanut butter layer:
- 4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (I used Pic’s)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut or almond flour (I used Sukrin)
- Make the chocolate part: place the coconut oil and maple syrup in a small pan and heat gently. Whisk in the cacao powder until you have a smooth, glossy chocolate sauce.
- Spoon a little of the chocolate sauce into individual silicone muffin/cupcake liners (6 in total, sat in a metal cupcake tray). Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to harden slightly.
- Mix all of the peanut ingredients together in a bowl to form a soft but pliable dough. Divide into 6 balls and flatten with the palm of your hand.
- Bring the muffin tin out once your chocolate base has hardened, then place a portion of the peanut dough on top of each to cover. Repeat with each one.
- Now pour over the remaining chocolate sauce to cover the peanut layer and return to the freezer for at least 4 hours.
For the brownies –
- 3 tablespoons runny smooth peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar (I used The Coconut Company)
- 2 eggs (I used The Happy Egg Company)
- 1/2 cup almond milk (I used Alpro)
- ½ cup gluten-free flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 4 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4-5 of your Peanut Butter Cups, chopped into 4-6 pieces each (keep frozen until the last minute!)
Get baking!
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line a deep brownie tray.
- Whisk together the peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, coconut sugar, eggs and almond milk in a jug.
- Mix together the flours, cacao/cocoa powder, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Pour in the wet ingredients and fold in to form a chocolate batter.
- Spoon half of the mixture into the tin to cover in a thin layer. Scatter over ½ of the chopped Peanut Butter Cups chunks evenly.
- Spoon over the rest of the brownie mixture evenly to cover, then top with the remaining Peanut Butter Cups (depending where you will be cutting the slices) and push in gently.
- Bake for a total of about 20 minutes, perhaps covering halfway to prevent burning, until nice and baked.
- Leave to cool for at least 1 hour then slice up. ENJOY!
Keep any extra brownies in the fridge for up to 2 days.