Brownies Archives - Pennywise Cook

The following post is brought to you by McCormick! All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

Christmas reminds me of so many things. The birth of Jesus Christ, Santa, presents, stockings, family, and so much more. And I can almost taste the flavors of Christmas when I start to imagine it each year. You have your cinnamon and apple, gingersnaps, chocolate from Santa’s chocolate chip cookies, and then there’s peppermint.

It’s not Christmas until I’ve seen a candy cane y’all!

I’ve never been a diehard peppermint fan. I wouldn’t even say that I eat even 1 candy cane per Christmas season. But I will say that when you have severe coffee breathe, peppermints are your best friend!

I am a fan of peppermint ice cream, peppermint and white chocolate, and any other creamy combination like those. I just love how it can be complemented by something that will take it’s sting away a little. You know what I’m talking about?

Last Christmas, I made homemade peppermint marshmallows. They were soooo good! I used extract to give it the flavor so no crunching from the peppermints was necessary.

McCormick makes a good pure peppermint extract perfect for capturing that Christmas flavor this year. I cannot WAIT to share this next recipe with you. It is one of those recipes that your friends and family will probably request that you make for them over and over every year.

I’ve only made it once and it has already been requested a second time!

Let me start off by saying that I saw a picture of these taken by the talented folks at McCormick and I thought wow those look tasty. Mine will never look like that, but maybe they’ll at least taste like them! You know those recipes that are impossible to actually make look as appealing as they do in the original presentations. Well, I can attest that these will look very close to the original if you follow all the directions correctly! You’ll be famous for these!

And trust me, they aren’t as difficult to make as they look. They take a little bit of time, but you can just catch-up on your face book or watch a Christmas movie while you’re slaving away.

Candy Cane Brownies

Recipe Type: Dessert, Treat

Author: McCormick

Ingredients

1 pkg (family size) Fudge Brownie Mix
2 and ½ c Powdered Sugar
½ c butter (1 stick) + 7 tbsp, divided
1 and ½ tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp McCormick Pure Peppermint Extract
12 oz Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (I used choco chips)
Crushed Peppermint Candies, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package. Spread into greased foil-lined 15x10x1 dish. (I used a 9×13 pan)
Bake 15 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. (I baked mine for more like 26 minutes.) Cool on wire rack.
Meanwhile, beat powdered sugar, 7 tbsp butter (melted), cream, and peppermint extract in a large bowl on medium speed until well-blended. (this mixture will be extremely thick, sorta like a peppermint patty middle) Spread evenly over cooled brownies. (You might need to use your hands to press it down evenly among the brownies. I also had to take a little from thicker spots and add it to the thinner places) Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Microwave chocolate and remaining ½ c butter (melted) in a large microwave safe bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes or until the butter is melted. (You may need to adjust the time depending on your microwave) Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Spread over chilled brownies. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy, if desired. (I refrigerated mine again at this point to harden the ganache on top)
Cut into 36 squares and serve!

You can find the original recipe where they like to call these Peppermint Bars over at McCormick!

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Peanut Butter Brownies

October 15, 2012 by amy 1 Comment

I’m getting this yummy recipe up a bit late in the day. I apologize for my tardiness! But in my defense, I ran a half marathon this weekend. And when I said I ran, I mean I literally ran the entire time. My goal was to 1) finish and 2) not to walk at all. Needless to say, I was practicing the method of sitting for 24 hours or so after the race. I kid you not, I could barely walk that night! In the picture above, I was excited to put the 13.1 on my van.

It’s recipes like this one that are the reason that I run to begin with…

My daughter asked me the other day why I always make things with peanut butter. It got me thinking about how much I really do make things with peanut butter and she is exactly right. I have a deep love for the stuff.

Exhibit A:

I don’t think that’s too much peanut butter, do you?

I don’t ever think I’ve gotten opposition to making brownies in this house. In fact, every time I make them you can bet that they will be gone within a day. I have nothing at all against chocolate brownies, but my innovative mind was seeking a twist on regular brownies. Of course! What better than peanut butter to spice things up!

These brownies are really easy to make. The kiddos will surely want to help you out in the kitchen with these. And if not, they will definitely enjoy eating them! The batter is thick like you would expect a peanut butter batter to be. And there aren’t a billion ingredients so you won’t be stuck in the kitchen all day whipping them up.

The recipe calls for nuts on the top, but if your family isn’t fond of nuts, simply leave them off. I’ve always been under the impression that my Addie liked nuts. It was only after making these that I learned that she does not, in fact, like nuts. She brushed them off this go round, but I’ll leave them off next time.

I can’t wait to make these again. They really hit the spot when you’re craving that peanut buttery goodness.

Recipe adapted from Family Living: Our Favorite Cookies Cookbook.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Recipe Type: Dessert, Snack, Bar

Author: Adapted from Family Living: Our Favorite Cookies Cookbook

Brownies aren’t always chocolate! Try this peanut butter version for a unique twist.

Ingredients

3/4 c. Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 c. Butter, softened
1 and 1/2 c. Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1 egg
2 Egg Whites
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 c. All-purpose Flour
1/2 c. White Whole Wheat Flour
1 and 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1/2 c. Chopped Peanuts (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the peanut butter with the butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
In a bowl, mix the flours, baking powder and salt together. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Blend well.
Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Spread batter into pan and sprinkle with peanuts (optional).
Bake for 15- 18 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Cool.

Notes

I used a little white whole wheat flour for my brownies to bump up the nutrition, but it’s perfectly fine to use only all-purpose. You would just use 1 and 1/2 c. total.

Also, feel free to use whatever nuts that you have on-hand. I actually used walnuts because I was out of peanuts. Almonds or cashews would be lovely too.

Candy Cane Brownies

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Peanut Butter Brownies

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