Chocolate Peanut Butter Monster Brownies
October 27, 2010
Boo! I see you! :)
When Halloween rolls around, most people look forward to dressing up or eating their weight in candy. But if you’re a baker like me, you probably more look forward to all the fun and festive ways that you can decorate your baked goods. Say hello to my little monsters…
I didn’t just decorate these for the heck of it, though - Greyston Bakery is conducting a Halloween Brownie Decorating Contest via facebook and I decided to enter. If you missed my Greyston Bakery Tour post, you can read all about them right here.
If you enter and win, you can look forward to 12 tasty Do-Goodie Brownies, The Greyston Bakery Cookbook and a t-shirt. Just keep your eyes or… er… eye on the prize!
Entries are due by Halloween. Let’s see whatchu got! If you want to make your own monsters, I’m including instructions after the break. Happy Halloween!
Yields 12 decorated brownies
24 Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped
Vanilla Buttercream Icing, recipe here
24 Milk chocolate chips
1 Batch of baked brownies, cooled and cut*
Peanut Butter Icing, recipe below
Special Equipment: Piping Tip #233 to make the "hair"
1. Make the "eyes": Using an icing spatula, coat the top of each peanut butter cup with a smooth layer of vanilla icing. Top each with a chocolate chip and set aside.
2. Frost the brownies: Using piping tip #233, pipe the peanut butter icing onto the cut brownies, starting at the middle and moving toward the edge, letting the "hair" hang over the edges of the brownie. Immediately top with the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup "eyes".
*I used the recipe for "The Great Brownie" in The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. If you win their contest, you'll get the recipe! This extra-chocolatey recipe called for chopped pieces of bittersweet chocolate, but I used Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate instead, to pair better with the milk chocolate Reeses PB Cups.
Peanut Butter Icing
Recipe from Tate's Bakeshop Cookbook
Yields 2 cups
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (Do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
1/4 cup salted butter, room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
Put the confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla in a small bowl. With an electric mixer, beat the ingredients until they are creamy. Add the heavy cream and beat the mixture till it is soft and creamy.