These bars are like the lovechild of a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie!
Gooey, fudgy, rich, decadent, peanut buttery, chocolatey, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip brownie bars – I could go on with adjectives, but you really need to try them to understand!
This recipe was created to say thank you.
I found out last week that my book made the list of Amazon’s Top 20 Best Cookbooks Of 2015. Seeing my name included on that list when I opened the email was such a shock… I think I probably screamed… and maybe scared the neighbors… I can’t stop smiling… and still can’t believe it!!!
Please forgive me for mentioning the book again… there is no way I can keep this exciting news to myself! Making Amazon’s Top 20 Cookbooks of the year is by far one of the MOST exciting things to happen in all the time I’ve been blogging. And I can’t ever thank you enough.
Before the book came out, my publisher had warned me that because not everyone eats dessert, cookbooks with only desserts rarely sell as well as non-dessert books and that I should keep this in mind and not get my hopes up too far. Neither of us ever expected this amount of incredible success; we have been stunned at how many people have been buying the book.
It’s completely crazy!!!!
Words are failing me once again, and therefore I wish to express my thanks to you all in my usual favored way: through—what else?—dessert!
Thank you to everyone who reads this blog.
Thank you to everyone who has ever made one of the recipes or mentioned the site to a friend.
Thank you to everyone who has bought the book.
But mostly, thank you to everyone simply just for reading. I know full well it’s because of YOU that I’m able to do what I love every day, and I never want to take that for granted. I wish I could send a batch of chocolate chip brownie bars to each of you as a thank-you for making this all possible. Thank you again and again and again. Thank you, a million times over. ♥
Okay, brownie time!
Gooey Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars
Adapted from Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars
Gooey Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly alternative
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour (almond flour, white, spelt, sorghum, oat, and Bob’s gf all work here)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup sugar or xylitol
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (mini are best, but regular will also work)
- optional chocolate chips for the top
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8×8 pan. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the first 3 ingredients until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients, and stir. Only if it’s too dry after stirring to resemble a thick brownie batter, very slowly add a little milk of choice (or water) until the desired texture is reached. Smooth evenly into the prepared pan, then press in some extra chocolate chips if desired. Bake 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. It will look a little undercooked, so do not touch the pan for at least 15 minutes. After this time, it will have firmed up and you can cut without crumbling. After a day, leftovers should be stored in the fridge for freshness.
Links Of The Day:
Chocolate Quinoa Breakfast Cups, from the Hello Breakfast Cookbook
These were incredible, so rich, fudge-y and decadent tasting!
I’m only just reading this now, but literally don’t thank us for reading, thank YOU for doing this!
I frequently make your recipes (in fact, pretty much whenever I make dessert it’s one of your recipes) and I nearly always put them on Instagram, where you always make the point to like the photo.
What you don’t know is that I’ve suffered from an atypical eating disorder for many years and your recipes became a stepping stone in helping me return to health. A part of my ED was bulimic tendencies which made resisting sweet things so, so difficult but I never felt like I had to with your recipes since they were never as piled up on sugar or carbs or fat as all the others. While I now consider myself mostly recovered, to this day, I still rave about your recipes to anyone who will listen and make them whenever I have the time to!
Thanks Katie!
These are seriously better than the box brand. I will say that they are probably the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. I used oat flour and they turned out great. I love that they are so gooey! Thanks for a great recipe!
OMG!!! These are incredible! I used oat flour and made my own applesauce. I used Xylitol and my calorie count came to 165 calories per bar and I got 16 bars. I would be Much Happier if the entire pan was 165 calories because I could seriously do some damage here! My batter was very thick and dry so I did add water. I may have to make a few more batches and experiment with the amounts because my finished product is still quite gooey and far from firm to get out of pan. I am more than fine with a spoon 🙂
Love these guilt-free brownies. I used almond flour and regular sugar in this recipe and the brownies turned out awesome. Very tasty and rich. Because of the peanut butter and almond flour, these are so much more filling than a regular brownie, so for once in my life, I actually didn’t need seconds. I had to add a little more than half a cup of almond milk to get the right brownie consistency. Otherwise the batter was simply too dry. Can’t wait to try out your other recipes!
Though I a little late, I’d like to say Congratulations for your amazon listing!!! I just got to your blog as I was searching for a chocolate brownie recipe anWOW a get to this blog that is led by an amazon star. I am a chocoholic and proud to be. I love dark chocolate, muffins, and brownies. I read some of your articles and I have to say that your writing style is brilliant (no wonder you made it to the top on amazon. Anyway, today I am going to try your recipe for more brownies. So wish me luck in my baking! Take care Katie and keep sharing what you know and learn what you don’t.
If my peanut butter already contains sugar, should I reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe? If so, by how much?
Nope! I’ve made them with regular Skippy before 🙂
Thank you, Jason!
What kind of peanut butter do you use here – one that is just ground up peanuts? One that contains peanuts and salt only? The only peanut butters I have on hand are one with peanuts + salt and a few with added sugar and other ingredients.
I used a generous amount of all-natural creamy peanut butter, where the only ingredient is peanuts.
Oh my gosh. I can’t tell you how many times I have read your blog posts and said to myself, “What a chocolate covered cutie!”
Seriously, you are adorable. Your recipes are as wonderful as your delightful, funny, and radiant personality. I come to your blog for the recipes, but I think I enjoy reading your posts as much as I enjoy your creativity with chocolate. So, thank you for being you! You’re freaking awesome!
P.S. I am sending my husband out for peanut butter and chocolate chips RIGHT NOW. This preggo mama needs these brownies in her mouth STAT. 😀
I just made these, using creamy peanut butter, and ended up adding 1/2 cup of brewed coffee (instead of the water/milk option) to make it a batter consistency. I also baked these with an additional 1/3 cup of mini-chocolate chips pressed on top, and the batch came out so shiny, chocolatey, gooey, and delicious!