Peanut Butter Brownie Cups with Peanut Butter Frosting

If you haven't had the chance to visit Hugs & CookiesXOXO , then you need to get on over there and check out all the decadent desserts she's whipping up!  She is known for her weekly bake alongs where she bakes up some tasty cookie, brownie, cake, etc. and readers are invited to bake the same recipe and share their photos on her Facebook page.  I participated in one of the bake alongs back in July and made red velvet brownies with white chocolate frosting!  They were absolutely yummy!!!!!!!!!!  It was about time to try another one, so I chose a peanut butter brownie this time.  I will be honest with you here- I'm not one of those people who LOVES peanut butter.   I like it, but I don't love it!  Chocolate is my passion!  After viewing some of the photos on the Hugs & CookiesXOXO Facebook page, I noticed some of her readers had added chocolate.  I started to get excited about a brownie with both chocolate and peanut butter. That was when I knew I'd be adding peanut butter cups into the recipe.  The same day I bought my peanut butter cups, I found the cutest cupcake liners that I couldn't wait to use!  That's how these became brownie cups!!  The original recipe is baked in a 9x13 pan and you can go here to see the recipe and some yummy photos!!

Note:  I followed the brownie recipe to the letter!!  To the frosting, I did one thing differently-added 2 T. heavy cream.

This is one amazing peanut butter brownie recipe!!!  Thanks Hugs & CookiesXOXO !



 Start by melting 1 stick of butter and 1/2 c. of peanut butter in the microwave.  Allow to cool.

 Add in 1 tsp. vanilla and 3 eggs and mix well.  I was getting a little impatient at the thought of waiting so I tempered the eggs with a little of the warm butter and peanut butter.  Just add some of the butter mixture to the eggs and stir and add back to the butter/peanut butter mixture.

 Add in flour mixture (1 c. flour, 1 tsp.baking powder, 1 1/2 cups sugar) and mix well!

 Here's what the batter will look like. . .

 Use a medium cookie scoop to distribute batter into cupcake liners- about 1/2 full.  Place a mini peanut butter cup over batter and press it into the batter.

 I used  my smaller cookie scoop and placed another tablespoon of batter over the cups.  I didn't want to be able to see the peanut butter cup.  It's a surprise!   I used a spatula to distribute the batter evenly over the cups.

 Bake @ 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Cool completely.  This recipe yielded 15 brownie cups.

 Time for the frosting!  Start with 1/2 c. of peanut butter and 1 T. butter.  Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla.

 Gradually incorporate 2 c. powdered sugar and enough milk (I added 2 T. heavy cream) to get the frosting to the desired consistency.  I used about 3-4 T. total. 

 I used my trusty 1M swirl tip to pipe the frosting on these babies and topped them with a halved mini peanut butter cup!!!!!!!!!!!!  This frosting is so creamy that it was a little difficult to pipe, but I still think these are adorable and that frosting is SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yummy!!!

Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe Source:   http://cookiesxo.blogspot.com/

Melt 1 stick butter and 1/2c. peanut butter in the microwave. Cool a little and stir in 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla. Add 1c. flour, 1 1/2c. sugar, 1 tsp. baking powder. If you want, you can also add 1/2c. chocolate chips. Mix well and pour into a 9x13 pan lined with nonstick foil. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely and frost!

Frosting:
Beat 1/2c. peanut butter, 1T. soft butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 2c. powdered sugar. SLOWLY add milk until the desired consistency to spread on. Usually around 2T of milk but add slowly.

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