Peanut Butter Blondies with Milk Chocolate Frosting

I made these a while back, when looking for a peanut-butter brownie recipe.
People say nothing goes together better than peanut butter and jelly, but I'm going to have to disagree. The union of peanut butter and chocolate is a gift from the gods.

Now, some of my friends, (namely, Ben), are horrified when I tell them that I'm not crazy about chocolate, but when chocolate is paired with peanut butter, I am definitely a fan.

This was my first blondie, and I was very pleased. It was delicious, moist, dense and packed with sweet peanut-butter flavor. Topped with a decent layer of creamy, chocolate frosting, they were absolutely perfect.

Peanut Butter Blondies with Milk Chocolate Frosting

From Joy the Baker

(Makes one dozen big brownies in a 9×13-inch pan)

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup smooth and natural peanut butter

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan.

Blondies

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together until the butter is just melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add peanut butter and stir until incorporated. Allow to cool for 5 minutes more, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. You want the sugar, butter and peanut butter mixture to be cool enough that the eggs won’t begin to cook when they’re added in.

In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Pour the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.

Milk Chocolate Frosting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, cocoa powder and salt. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar followed by 1 tablespoon milk. Beat well. Add another cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of milk. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Add melted and slightly cooked chocolate to the sugar mixture and beat to incorporate. Add the final 1/2 cup of powdered sugar if you need a bit more thickness. Spread evenly over peanut butter blondies.