can't eat just one: peanut butter raisin bars

When I saw these squares on this blog, I wanted them in my belly, stat! But like all food porn, I knew I'd have to wait until I could make these myself. And boy, was it worth the wait. I wouldn't call these a bar cookie or a square, instead, they fit nicely in the brownie/blondie category. They reminded me of my most favorite stand-by brownie recipe in that everything is all mixed up in one pot. Chewy, dense and with a golden (almost flaky) top, these are a perfect snack. And I say snack for those of you who have restraint. Me, almost never. After one small square, I had to have another and another. I wasn't alone either....Cornelius kept heading back for seconds and thirds bits of peanut-buttery-raisiny-chocolate goodness. It's amazing that these lasted 4 days!


I made a few changes to Lynn's recipe but loved the results. I always use natural peanut butter instead of the processed stuff and this recipe didn't suffer for it one bit. I also reduced the raisins and subbed in some chocolate chips to make things a bit more decadent. Try them and see if you can resist a second piece. Be the better person...or not.

peanut butter raisin bars
1/2 c natural peanut butter
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla
1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1 c raisins
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized pot, combine peanut butter and butter on medium heat until melted. Remove from heat and add in sugar. Mix well and then add in vanilla and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt and combine. Add raisins and chocolate chips. Stir well.

2. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 square pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool.

brownies

Last night, we needed something sweet after our dinner (sandwiches!), so I went to my old standby favorite, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook's brownie recipe. It's easy to make and it turns out perfect everytime*. I added lots of walnuts in my version, cuz that's how I roll!

Moosewood Fudge Brownies
Recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

1/2 c butter (1 stick)
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 c lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c unbleached white flour

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly coat an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

In a pot large enough to hold all of the batter, melt the butter and chocolate together on low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and beat by hand or with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and beat well. Stir in the flour and mix until the batter is thoroughly blended and smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, until the brownies are just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan and are still fudgy in the center. If you prefer more cake-like brownies, bake an additional 5 minutes.

*Okay, the only time they didn't come out stellar was when Cornelius wasn't paying attention to the recipe and used an entire cup of butter instead. We ate it up anyway and they were still tasty.