pb & ... chocolate chips?

My Saturday yesterday took a funny turn. One of those weekend days when you have plans upon plans to clean up and organize your life for the coming week but instead veer off course and find yourself late for your one commitment of the day. I spent the first half of the rainy day in the Genealogy room at the New York Public Library doing a little heritage research. Totally interesting stuff, and a funny people-watching crowd in that room. I fell into the work and got back later than planned with just enough time to do something before getting ready for a night out.

Maybe I should start getting concerned that the baking has taken on a life of its own when I have 2 hours to spare and my arm automatically reaches for my KitchenAid stand mixer. Truthfully, with as much use as its gotten since I bought it for myself 7 months ago, the thing has paid for itself in full. How did I ever get along without it? There's something so satisfying about the whirrr of the beater, and with my "found" two hours, I broke it out for a quick batch of peanut butter brownies.

My beach laziness might be the last bit of my Gulf Coast vacation that has stayed with me, because even with 2 hours I couldn't be bothered to go out to get any ingredients. So, the recipe had to be found in the pantry and my empty fridge. I started with Epicurious but quickly abandoned the 4-star recipes when I realized that I only had one egg. I switched search-tactics to include my one-egg handicap and found a fellow bloggers recipe that looked divine.

Turns out, it is :) I baked them off and put the pan in the freezer to cool while I threw on heels, smeared some lipstick and took off for the night, forgetting all about them until I got home at midnight, needed a sweet fix, and found my way to the freezer... yum.

Today I thawed them just enough and used a cookie cutter to get a perfect bite-sized circle (a creative idea I borrowed from my friend Emily). I finished them off with a little melted semi-sweet chocolate drizzle on top. Such an easy recipe and the oatmeal adds a nice texture. A definite winner that will satisfy even the most intense peanut butter/chocolate urge.

Peanut Butter Brownies

from Caitlin at the Alchemist Chef

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream butter with peanut butter. Use a beater to mix in brown sugar, egg and baking soda. Mix in flour and oatmeal (on slow speed).

Spread batter into lightly greased 9 by 13 glass baking dish (I used an 8 x 8). Cook about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in the pan and serve room temperature, or slightly warm.