We’ve mentioned our Latin class before, when we made these pumpkin cupcakes. However, we didn’t mention that our class really loves food and to bring in treats for everyone. Hey, in the words of one of our friends, just call Latin class AP lunch! Don’t worry, we do work in that class too, like read Winnie the Pooh in Latin (Winnie Ille Pu…what a fun book) and Cicero, our favorite! Just kidding.

Anyway, when our class was begging us to bring in food, they requested peanut butter and chocolate. Great decision! We narrowed it down to either mini peanut butter cheesecakes or these brownies. The brownies won out thanks to the massive loads of AP U.S. History homework and SAT prep work that we had over break. Side note: between now and the spring of senior year life should be stressful thanks to studying for AP exams, getting high SATs, taking college tours, doing volunteer work, getting involved in tons of activities, finding a job, and maintaining a good GPA that all seem to be necessary to get into college these days. But we’re looking forward to the college process anyway!

Back to the brownies. They are surprisingly delicious for something so easy, and they are perfect for some stress-relief baking. What’s really nice about them is that they have a cocoa powder base, perfect for when you’re out of blocks of chocolate. But don’t worry, they stay nice and fudgy thanks to lots of butter and only a little flour.  Time to talk about the frosting. This stuff is like a peanut butter cloud, a soft pillow of frosting. It’s too good for words. This will definitely become our go-to peanut butter frosting because it isn’t overly sweet and spreads beautifully.

Finished with a little sprinkle of sea salt, these things are heaven in a square. Please make them soon!

Brownies with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting

Makes 12-16 squares (an 8×8 inch pan)

Recipe from Not Without Salt

Ingredients:

For the brownies:

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural and Dutch-process are both fine)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cold large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) softened butter

¾ cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

A pinch of salt to stir into the frosting, and a little to sprinkle on top- we used sea salt

Directions:

For the brownies:

Line an 8×8-inch pan with foil or parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stirring until fully melted. Add the sugar, cocoa, and salt and stir to combine.

Let the cocoa mixture cool until it’s warm, not hot. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Stir in the vanilla. Once the mixture looks cohesive and shiny stir in the flour until no lumps or streaks remain.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes up with a few moist crumbs, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the Frosting:

Cream the butter and the peanut butter until combined. Beat them on medium-high for several minutes more until lightened in color and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt until completely incorporated. Beat again for a couple more minutes until light and smooth.

Spread over cooled brownies. Sprinkle the brownies with sea salt, slice, and serve with a glass of milk. Enjoy!