Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

Inspired by...peanut butter lovers

My coworker requested peanut butter treats for her birthday last week.  She's got good taste!  These brownie cups were a great way to fulfill that request, and, as a bonus, they were simple enough to make on a weeknight.  The brownies are the same as the ones that I made for my S'mores Brownie Cups.  The filling is just melted peanut butter - literally just that.  So easy!  I love these brownie cups...you can fill them with so many different flavors.  But the original peanut butter is still my go-to!

Recipe
Adapted from Nosh and Tell

Makes 12 brownie cups
Ingredients
Brownie cups​​

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top

​Filling

• ​3/4 cup peanut butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray cupcake pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate with water in a saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cool slightly.
3. Mix sugar and chocolate mixture in a large bowl until blended.
4. Mix in egg and vanilla. 
5. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. 
6. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just incorporated.
7. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips.
8. Scoop into 12 cupcake cups.  (Note: make sure that you distribute your batter among all 12 cups, otherwise your brownies may overflow and make the next steps trickier)
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the centers are set. 

Assembly

• ​Let the brownie cups cool in the pan for about 5 minutes.  Then press a dent into the center of each brownie cup using a rounded tablespoon measure.
• Allow brownies to cool completely.
  
• Melt peanut butter using low heat (on stovetop or in the microwave).
  
• Scoop about a tablespoon of peanut butter into each brownie.
  
• Sprinkle the tops with a few chocolate chips.