I’m having a minor meltdown. I’ve worked from home for almost 3 years and on Monday that is changing. I’ve accepted a temporary position at work to try something new but it requires me to actually be present, in person, at the office. I have to wear something other than pants made of stretchy lycra and nylon. Possibly a skirt? Heels? I accidentally just spelled that “hells.” Freudian slip.

I’ll have a schedule. I can now be late for work. I will most likely be late for work. I have to speak to human beings, actual people, face to face. I should probably wear makeup. I should probably learn how to wear makeup.

Instead of getting ready for the week, I decided to hone my chocolate-covering procrastination skills. This time I swirled peanut butter all up in some fudgy brownie batter. And because I’m in freakout mode, it seemed like a really good idea to cut the brownies up and dip them in chocolate. And it was. A really really good idea.

There’s no need, other than pure delectable overindulgence, to cover these brownies in chocolate. There’s nothing to hide. In fact, alone they’re probably the best brownies I’ve ever made. But I needed a pick me up. Did I mention I’ll have a commute? A really long, crappy commute. Oh and no Twitter. No Facebook. No pinning. OMG no pinning. This is real life. I think I hate it. Someone tell me I’ll be fine. Someone tell me to chill out. Someone tell me to stop shoving these brownie bites in my face.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Brownie Bites (adapted from cake bites and brownie ice cream sandwiches)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3oz unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup almond meal/flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used Mexican vanilla)
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used homemade)
2-12oz bags of chocolate chips (I used one milk and one semi-sweet)
4 tablespoons canola oil, separated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a 10×7 in baking pan with parchment (You really do need parchment here if you’re going to cut these into cubes.)
2. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Stir frequently. Remove from heat when completely melted.
3. Add the sugars and stir to combine.
4. Add the eggs one at a time. Whisk after each addition (with one of these). The batter should start to thicken.
5. Stir in the almond meal and vanilla.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Using a spoon, drizzle the peanut butter over the top of the brownie. Using a knife, cut through the batter using an s-shaped motion from edge to edge. Go across the entire length of the pan and then repeat across the entire width of the pan to create the swirl.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean.
9. Let the brownies completely cool. You can speed this up by placing them in the refrigerator or freezer after the pan has cooled enough to touch. Cut into cubes.
10. Pour one bag of chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Microwave on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat until all chocolate is melted. Do this again with the second bag of chips.
11. Dip the brownie cubes into the chocolate and let rest on cooling rack or parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator to let chocolate harden. Enjoy.

Notes:

1. I really like to cover things in chocolate. Like brie cheese. And pound cake.
2. For a more fudgy brownie add 1/2 a stick of butter and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. This batch tasted amazing (more butter, duh) but was a little too gooey to cover in chocolate.
3. In the dark chocolate batch I added 1 tablespoon of peanut butter when melting the chocolate. I really liked it but it seems most liked the plain milk chocolate better.
4. I used a 10x7in pan. You can use a 9×9 but the brownies will be thicker and you’ll need to the adjust baking time. I wouldn’t suggest a 13×9 as the brownies will be thin, like this.
5. Be sure to read the notes in this post for tips on melting chocolate and my preferred dipping method.

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