Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Brownie Bites

Yesterday I was on Pinterest and came across My Chocolate Therapy's blog and thought the recipe listed looked worthy of making. It was Sunday afternoon and I was rather bored, so I decided to make some. They turned out delicious! I changed a few things to make them a little "healthier" for my taste and my Mom's diet. Also, I couldn't find the mini-muffin pans, so I used the normal sized ones for bigger "bites." Since mine came out so rich, next time I would definitely try the mini-muffin pans for a bite sized treat. 


Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Brownie Bites
Recipe influenced from My Chocolate Therapy's Blog


Makes 1 dozen brownies


Ingredients: 
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I changed this to Stevia for a healthier alternative/ Splenda would work well too) 
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup 60% Cacao chocolate chips (Dark chocolate chips)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup Semi-Sweet chocolate chips, plus about 1/3 cup more for garnishing
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter


Technical: 
Microwave (melting ingredients)

Oven (baking) 

Muffin Pan (mini would work best but large works too) 

Time: 
Prepare: 10 minutes
Cook: 13 minutes

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease 12 muffin cups. (Or mini-muffin tray)

In a medium sized microwave-safe bowl combine sugar, softened butter, and water. Microwave on high for about 45 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir in 3/4 cup 60% Cacao chocolate chips until melted. Stir in egg and vanilla extract, mix well. Add flour and baking soda, stir until combined. Allow the batter to cool to room temperature (doesn’t take very long). Then, stir in 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into center comes out slightly wet. I cooked mine for 14 minutes and it was a little too long. I would try 12-13 minutes. (If using a mini-muffin pan, the cooking time would probably be more like 10-13 minutes.) After brownies are out of the oven, wait for centers to fall. This should happen upon cooling. If not, (they did not for me) then tap the centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole for the peanut butter.

Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds then stir. While brownies are still warm, spoon about a tablespoon full of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with remaining 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Cool completely in pan. 

Notes:

The original recipe called for semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips instead of the dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips that I used. Mine turned out very rich, so if you like dark chocolate, you will enjoy these. Otherwise, using semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips would make them less rich, if you prefer.