Peanut Butter Ganache-Filled Brownies
By Morgan BollingPublished on December 20, 2020
Time
1¾ hours, plus 5¼ hours cooling
Yield
Serves 12 (Makes 12 brownies)
Ingredients
Brownies
⅓ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) bittersweet chocolate chips ⅓ cup (1 ounce/28 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder ½ cup boiling water 2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar ⅔ cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ⅓ cups (6⅔ ounces/189 grams) all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon table saltGanache Filling
1 ⅓ cups (8 ounces/227 grams) milk chocolate chips ½ cup creamy peanut butter ⅛ teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon Maldon sea saltBefore You Begin
We suggest using parchment muffin liners to avoid the brownies sticking to the liners. We developed this recipe using Ghirardelli 60% Premium Baking Chips, but you can use semisweet chips in the brownie batter, if you prefer. We developed this recipe with a high-fat Dutch-processed cocoa powder. We used a shot glass to make the indentations in the brownies, but some spice jars and the ends of tapered French rolling pins will also work; they should be about 1¼ inches in diameter. It is important to press the indentations into the centers of the brownies 15 minutes after they come out of the oven. For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a kettle of water to a boil and then measure out the desired amount. The color of your muffin tin will affect baking time. If you use a dark-colored muffin tin, the baking time in step 3 will be closer to 30 minutes but if you use a light-colored muffin tin the brownies will take about 40 minutes.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners. Generously spray liners in muffin tin with vegetable oil spray.
- Place chocolate chips and cocoa in large bowl. Add boiling water and whisk until chocolate chips are fully melted. Whisk in sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Gently whisk in flour and salt until just incorporated.
- Using ¼-cup dry measuring cup, portion batter into prepared muffin cups; evenly distribute any remaining batter among cups. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Let brownies cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 15 minutes. Spray base of 1¼-inch-diameter shot glass (or other object with similar diameter) with vegetable oil spray. Keeping brownies in muffin tin, press base of glass into center of each brownie about 1 inch deep, respraying glass as needed. Remove brownies from muffin tin and let cool completely on rack, about 1 hour.
- Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and table salt in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring frequently with rubber spatula, until melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Distribute ganache evenly among indentations in brownies (about 1 heaping tablespoon each).
- Let sit until ganache is set, about 4 hours. Sprinkle ganache evenly with Maldon salt. Serve. (Alternatively, brownies can be transferred to refrigerator and will set in about 1½ hours; let come to room temperature before serving.)
for the brownies
for the ganache filling
Time
1¾ hours, plus 5¼ hours coolingYield
Serves 12 (Makes 12 brownies)Ingredients
Brownies
Ganache Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Brownies
Ganache Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Brownies
Ganache Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The ganache-filled brownies at Lauretta Jean’s Pie Bakery in Portland, Oregon (read about our visit here), look almost like muffins—squat, chewy little cylinders full of chocolate flavor, with a surprise in the middle: soft, rich chocolate ganache. Inspired by these brownies, we started our version by making a stir-together brownie batter and dividing it among muffin cups. For a fun twist, once the brownies were baked and cooled, we filled them with a milk chocolate–peanut butter ganache—a simple mixture of melted chocolate, peanut butter, and salt. We found that the best way to create a little space to receive the ganache was to press a shot glass, lightly greased on the outside to minimize sticking, into the just-baked brownies. A sprinkle of Maldon sea salt on the top sealed the deal. UPDATE: This recipe has been slightly reformulated to be more foolproof since its initial publication. The revision you see here was published in January of 2021.
Before You Begin
We suggest using parchment muffin liners to avoid the brownies sticking to the liners. We developed this recipe using Ghirardelli 60% Premium Baking Chips, but you can use semisweet chips in the brownie batter, if you prefer. We developed this recipe with a high-fat Dutch-processed cocoa powder. We used a shot glass to make the indentations in the brownies, but some spice jars and the ends of tapered French rolling pins will also work; they should be about 1¼ inches in diameter. It is important to press the indentations into the centers of the brownies 15 minutes after they come out of the oven. For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a kettle of water to a boil and then measure out the desired amount. The color of your muffin tin will affect baking time. If you use a dark-colored muffin tin, the baking time in step 3 will be closer to 30 minutes but if you use a light-colored muffin tin the brownies will take about 40 minutes.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners. Generously spray liners in muffin tin with vegetable oil spray.
- Place chocolate chips and cocoa in large bowl. Add boiling water and whisk until chocolate chips are fully melted. Whisk in sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Gently whisk in flour and salt until just incorporated.
- Using ¼-cup dry measuring cup, portion batter into prepared muffin cups; evenly distribute any remaining batter among cups. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Let brownies cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 15 minutes. Spray base of 1¼-inch-diameter shot glass (or other object with similar diameter) with vegetable oil spray. Keeping brownies in muffin tin, press base of glass into center of each brownie about 1 inch deep, respraying glass as needed. Remove brownies from muffin tin and let cool completely on rack, about 1 hour.
- Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and table salt in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring frequently with rubber spatula, until melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Distribute ganache evenly among indentations in brownies (about 1 heaping tablespoon each).
- Let sit until ganache is set, about 4 hours. Sprinkle ganache evenly with Maldon salt. Serve. (Alternatively, brownies can be transferred to refrigerator and will set in about 1½ hours; let come to room temperature before serving.)
for the brownies
for the ganache filling
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