"Use Your Rhubarb" Cake

At the berry picking farm, I impulsively grabbed a few stalks of rhubarb from the farm stand, with no plan for what to do with it. I live on the edge! Since we were leaving town shortly, I needed to figure out the tastiest way to use it up at the last minute. Luckily, the lovely Tara of In This Instance recommended this cake to me (she's been making it since she was a kid!), and she made my decision pretty easy.



This cake is absolutely divine. Visually, it's not too impressive, but trust me on this one. It makes up for it a million times over in flavor and texture. Just one warning: bake it at home alone on an empty stomach at your own risk. I might know someone who did that, and she might have gotten a little carried away, if you know what I mean. Just sayin'.



I soured the milk using apple cider vinegar, and I used turbinado sugar (the big, crystally kind) on top instead of granulated. The sugar gave the cake a nice, crunchy finish; I highly recommend using it. If you're trying to decide on a rhubarb dessert, there's no question I like this better than the rhubarb crisp I made a few months ago (although that was mightily delicious as well).

Rhubarb Cake
Adapted from In This Instance
Printable Recipe
Serves 12

1 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. 'sour milk' (milk + 3 tbsp. vinegar to equal 1 cup)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (for a richer flavor, use 1 1/2 tsp.)
2 c. chopped rhubarb
1/4 c. sugar (Amy's note: use turbinado sugar if possible!)
1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the brown sugar, butter, and egg. Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the milk and vanilla, then stir in the rhubarb. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

3. Stir together sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle on top of the cake. Bake for 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Summer Vacay

We're heading out today on a week-long vacation around the Pacific Northwest! We'll be camping in central Washington tonight, heading to Seattle tomorrow for a few days to celebrate our first anniversary, and then back down to our friends' lake cabin on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge (east of Portland) for the rest of next week! The cabin is in a remote, secluded area, which means (GASP!) no internet access. There's a small chance I'll be able to tweet from my iPhone (RELIEF!).

View from the cabin, taken last year around this time:


I'll dearly miss posting here while we're gone (it's become the highlight of my days), but I'll have a post or two scheduled in the meantime. I'm planning to spend lots of time photo-ing, cooking, and baking in between my relaxing, reading, sunning, touristing, socializing...and eating!

Also? Keep an eye on The Kitchn next Tuesday afternoon, June 30th. Just sayin'.

Hugs,
Amy I.

Strawberry Clafoutis

Strawberry cla-what-is? A clafoutis (pronounced cla-foooooo-teeeee) is basically a breakfasty, custardy, pancakey, fruity oven-baked square of goodness. It's similar to a Dutch baby, which is one of my favorite breakfast treats, so I've had clafoutis on my Foodie To-Do List forever. With last weekend's strawberry bounty, I finally had an excuse to make it.



This recipe was originally a plum clafoutis by Syrie at Taste Buddies. I've adapted it using strawberries in the recipe below, but it would work well with most any summer fruit. Also? Before you start, make sure you know that castor sugar is not the same as normal sugar! I wound up making my own castor sugar by whizzing granulated sugar in the food processor for about a minute, which seemed to work just fine. A lovely special occasion breakfast!



p.s. As I was typing up this post, I realized I forgot to add in the milk when I made the clafoutis. Oops! If it was delicious without the milk, I'm excited to find out how much better it can be when made correctly!

Strawberry Clafoutis
Adapted from Taste Buddies
Printable Recipe

2 cups fresh strawberries
3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
A pinch of salt
3 room temperature free-range eggs
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Vanilla ice-cream or freshly whipped cream to serve (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

2. Grease an 8-inch square baking tin and arrange strawberries in the tin. Set aside. Beat the eggs well in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Stir in the well-beaten eggs until mixture is smooth. Add 1/2 cup of castor sugar and vanilla and stir to combine. Now add the milk, stirring continuously until batter is smooth.

4. Pour the batter over the berries in the baking tin. Bake for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

CEiMB: Veggie Cheese Strata

Time for another edition of Craving Ellie in My Belly! This week's Ellie Krieger recipe is Vegetable Cheese Strata, hosted by Jenn at A Mid-Life Culinary Adventure. Making this dish was a ridiculous comedy of errors for me. I realized much too late that it needs to be refrigerated for 8 hours (or overnight) before baking. When I finally found a span of time that worked for me to make it, I decided to prep it first thing in the morning, with the intention of eating the strata for dinner that night (I'm a big breakfast for dinner proponent).



I hadn't had my coffee yet that morning, which means I was pretty much not functional when I tried to make this. As a result, it took me twice as long as it should have, and I was even an hour late to work (luckily I have a very accommodating workplace)! Yes, it was that bad. The way I was shouting "OH CRAP" and other, more colorful expletives every minute or so, poor Andy thought I kept hurting myself (as I am prone to do). It was just one of those mornings, I couldn't get myself together.

Morning, pre-refrigeration:


I halved the recipe, which is always dangerous because I inevitably wind up using the full quantity of something as I follow the instructions. This time, it was broccoli. Oops. Other substitutions: I omitted the mushrooms (Andy's #1 most hated food), added some cayenne pepper, omitted parmesan (I ran out, sad day!), used a Mexican cheese blend instead of mozzarella, and used a white baguette instead of whole wheat. Oh, and I left the broccoli florets whole instead of chopping them.

Evening, post-baking:


I was worried after I poured the mixture over the bread, because it didn't look like there was enough eggy moisture to cover the chunky stuff. Andy assured me that the eggs would puff up during baking, and he was right. What a smart guy! I thought about making strata muffins, but decided not to push my luck with this one. I liked this dish a lot (especially the sundried tomatoes), and I'm all for the idea of cheesy-veggie-egg-covered bread in theory, but I might be permanently scarred from my high-maintenance morning. Next time maybe I'll just make a omelet and some toast and call it "Strata Deconstructed."

As always, click here to meet the other CEiMB bloggers and see how their stratas (stratae?) turned out!

Vegetable Cheese Strata
From Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave
Printable Recipe

4 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, diced (about 1 tbsp)
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
Cooking spray
1 whole-wheat baguette, cubed (about 5 cups)
8 large eggs
8 large egg whites
2 cups nonfat milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
10 oz broccoli, steamed until tender but still firm, cooled, and chopped, or 1 10-oz package frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz part-skim mozzerella, shredded (1 cup)
1/2 c. thinly sliced sundried tomatoes (not oil-packed), rehydrated
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Transfer the onion mixture to a medium bowl and let cool.

2. Heat the remaining 2 tsp oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and cook the mushrooms, stirring a few times, until their water evaporates and they begin to brown, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

3. Coat a large baking dish (9x13 inches) with cooking spray. Arrange the bread cubes over the bottom. In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs, egg whites, milk, and mustard together until incorporated. Add the mushrooms, onion-garlic mixture, broccoli, both cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir to incorporate. Pour the mixture over the bread, making sure the liquid saturates the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. Remove plastic wrap from the strata and bake until the top forms a light brown crust, 60-70 minutes.

Sunshine Cookies

Last weekend on our berry picking adventure, Andy and I each bought a cookie for the road as we were paying for our berries. He picked chocolate chip, and I got one called lemon burst or sunshine lemon or something equally cheery and quaint. The name was endearing, but the cookie? Oh my. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by random cookie, but it was perfect for this lemon lover. It was dotted with white chocolate chunks, and had just the right ratio of softness to crisp and sweetness to tart.



In the days since, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this darn cookie, so I decided to see if I could pull it off. After poking around all corners of the internet, I chose a recipe based on lemon cake mix. I've had luck being innovative with cake mix in the past, plus this also called for lemon juice, zest, and extract, so the flavor had to me more dynamic than just a boxed mix.



I was fully expecting to have to make these at least several times before finding the perfect balance of flavor and texture to mimic the cookies I've been daydreaming about. I'm happy to say that wasn't necessary, I got it right on the first try! I'm calling these Sunshine Cookies since the flavor's so bright...and they're really, really yellow. These cookies are a great one-bowl, 3-minutes of prep, sure to impress dessert.

Sunshine Cookies
Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Printable Recipe

1 box lemon cake mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 c. vegetable oil
zest of 2 lemons
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients except white chocolate chips. Stir until well combined (Amy's note: I used my KitchenAid mixer, it was done in about 10 seconds). Gently stir in white chocolate chips.

3. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Drop by teaspoonful onto the cookie sheets (12 cookies on each sheet, bake in batches as needed). Bake for 7 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown. Cool for 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Makes 30 cookies

Welcome to the Neighborhood Berry Pie

The first time I moved, I was 12 years old. When we arrived in Omaha, Nebraska from Los Angeles, somehow I got the idea in my head that when you move somewhere new, the neighbors will bring you chocolate chip cookies. It was the only thing I had to cling to as we left everything I knew behind to start over in the Midwest. If I remember correctly, no one brought us cookies. But I still carry with me today that idea of welcoming neighbors and hospitality, and remember how eager I was to feel accepted in my new surroundings. For the record, everything worked out fine in Omaha and the neighbors were friendly despite the noticeable lack of cookies!



Our friends Geoff and Annmarie just moved into our neighborhood (you remember Annmarie, right?), so of course I was so excited to make them a welcome treat! They didn't have too far to come, they lived a mile away before and now it's a couple of blocks. But still, it feels a lot closer, and they're now officially in our neighborhood! (Oh, and they just got a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy last night. Eeeeep!).



Given the dozen pounds of berries that came into my possession recently, I knew I wanted to make something fruity. After flipping through my new America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, I decided on Summer Berry Icebox Pie. The recipe allows for any combination of berries, as long as it adds up to 6 cups, so I used half strawberries and half blueberries (that Annmarie had given me as she was getting rid of stuff for the move). I'm not sure it was the ideal combination, but in the end I hear it was amazing. Also, I didn't have any apple or red currant jelly, and it was midnight by the time I got to that part, so I used some local marionberry jam for an extra berry kick.

Welcome to the neighborhood, guys (channeling my inner Mr. Rodgers)!

Edit: Here's the pie in sliced form, and their new puppy, Murray! Photos by Geoff:




Graham Cracker Crust
From America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

8 whole graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp sugar

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process the graham cracker pieces in a food processor to fine, even crumbs, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle the butter and sugar over the crumbs and pulse to incorporate.

2. Sprinkle the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Bake until the crust is fragrant and beginning to brown, 13 to 18 minutes. Following the particular pie recipe, use the crust while it is still warm or let it cool completely.

Summer Berry Icebox Pie
From America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
Printable Recipe

2 cups raspberries
2 cups blueberries
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp red currant or apple jelly

1 recipe graham cracker crust (above), baked and cooled

1. Gently toss the berries together in a large bowl. Puree 2 1/2 cups of the berries in a food processor until very smooth, about 1 minute (do not under-process). Strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a small saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much puree as possible (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). Discard the solids.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together, then whisk them into the strained puree. Bring the puree to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook until it is as thick as pudding, about 7 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and set aside to cool slightly.

3. Pour the warm berry puree into the baked and cooled pie crust. Melt the jelly in a small saucepan over low heat, then pour over the remaining 3 1/2 cups berries and toss to coat. Spread the berries evenly over the puree and lightly press them into the puree. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the filling is chilled and set, about 3 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

A Wedding Cake Story

Meet our wedding cake:

(photo by Joe Milton)

You probably can't tell from the photo, but the cake was the one thing that went wrong at our wedding. It really didn't even come close to bothering me (in fact I didn't fully process it until after the event was over). But our caterer did a little switcheroo on us, and the baker we hired to make the cake didn't make the cake. As a result, it was sloppy-looking and the filling was the wrong flavor! Everyone still loved it, and the caterer handled the situation well, but there's no changing the fact that a cake injustice occurred that day.

This is us laughing about it:

(photo by Joe Milton)

When I started thinking about what I wanted to make food-wise for our first anniversary today, I had the crazy idea to recreate the top tier of our wedding cake...but with the right flavors this time. I tried to surprise Andy, but he knows me too well and guessed what I was scheming, his only clue being that I was making something. He's good.

Allow me to introduce you to my first anniversary present to my husband: Yellow Cake with Lemon Curd and Raspberry Jam v 2.0.


This cake tasted AMAZING. I think I can safely say that it's the most delicious thing I've ever made, and I'm not even a die-hard cake person. I'm not just saying that because I made it, or because it was for an extra-special occasion, or even because the fillings are my favorite fruity flavors. It's just damn good. Honestly? I think it tastes better than the original (despite my obviously unprofessional presentation!).



I used a little 6" cake pan, and baked 4 layers. For the ribbon, I used premade fondant from Michael's, which I colored with my beloved gel food coloring. I used a pastry bag and tip to make the little pearls. Good times. The frosting recipe is Swiss Buttercream, from only the best, Deb at Smitten Kitchen. Oh, and the fillings? Smucker's seedless raspberry jam and Trader Joe's lemon curd. I considered making them from scratch, but really there was no need for the extra effort.

The cake recipe is from my new favorite cookbook, America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. There's a whole chapter on baking and assembling wedding cakes. I'm so in love with this book that I may have had the fleeting thought of abandoning everything I've worked for in life to just bake. Uh oh!





If you're making an actual wedding cake, make this full recipe 3 times. It makes enough batter for one 6-inch, one 9-inch, and one 12-inch layer.

Yellow Wedding Cake
From America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
Printable Recipe

3/4 c. whole milk, room temperature
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 2/3 c. cake flour
2 1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour one 6-inch, one 9-inch, and one 12-inch round cake pan, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the parchment. Whisk the milk, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Beat in the butter, one piece at a time, with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture resembles moist crumbs, 1 to 3 minutes. Beat in all but 3/4 of the milk mixture, increase the mixer speed to medium, and beat the batter until it is smooth and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. Gradually beat in the remaining 3/4 cup milk mixture until thoroughly combined (the batter will look slightly curdled), about 30 seconds.

3. Give the batter a final stir using a rubber spatula to make sure it thoroughly combined. Measure a generous 1 cup of the batter into the prepared 6-inch pan, measure 2 1/2 cups more batter into the 9-inch pan, and scrape the remaining batter into the 12-inch pan. Smooth the tops and gently tap the pans on the counter to settle the batter.

4. Place the 6- and 9-inch cakes on the upper-middle rack and the 12-inch cake on the lower-middle rack. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 22 minutes for the 6-inch cake, 26 minutes for the 9-inch cake, and 35 minutes for the 12-inch cake, rotating the pans (but keeping them on the same racks) after 15 minutes of baking.

5. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of each cake, then flip it onto a greased, parchment-lined cardboard round. Peel off the parchment paper on the bottom of the cakes, then flip them right side up onto wire racks. Let the cakes cool completely, about 1 hour.

1 Year Ago...

Happy, happy, happy anniversary to the guy who makes me the happiest girl.

















(Photos by Joe Milton)

Seeing Stars, 6.21.09

Seeing Stars is coming to you on Sunday instead of Monday this week, since I have a couple of very special posts coming up tomorrow. Welcome to Seeing Stars, the weekly feature where I highlight some of my favorite blog posts that I've "starred" in Google Reader. Enjoy!

Blackberry Pie Bars by Joy at Joy the Baker


DIY Wednesdays: Camera Strap Cover by guest bloggers Derek & Lauren at Design*Sponge
(I am SO making this!)


Ceramic Watermelon Piggy Bank by Jars of Cute (one of my favorite new-ish blog finds)


Summer Fruit Punch Bookmarks by Natalie at Craftzine


Flickr Find: Hanging Vegetable Garden by Regina at Apartment Therapy

Berry Picking: Strawberry Edition

I'm not sure why, but all things berry, summer, produce, flower, and farmers market-related make me inexplicably happy. Like a giddy, elated, smile-plastered-on-my-face kind of happy. Living in Oregon, where berries are abundant, I feel especially lucky to have local, freshly picked berries available at all times during the summer.





There's something extra special about picking my own berries. 2 summers ago, we picked 20 pounds of blueberries, and last summer, cherries. This time around, I'm on a mission to explore a variety of local farms and pick my way through the strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry phases of summer.



We started today at Thistledown Farms (contact info here). In addition to having "u-pick" strawberries for $1.50/pound, they have an extensive farm stand with all kinds of fresh produce, baked goods, and garden accessories. Also on their grounds is a large nursery with every kind of plant and decorative hanging basket imaginable, and a covered bridge over a ravine where their chickens, goats, and ponies hang out. It's my very own fantasy land!

Picking strawberries isn't nearly as fun or glamorous as picking most other berries, given the low-to-the-ground factor. I'm still glad we went, and I loved toting my camera around as we explored the farm.





Lil' ladybug:


Strawberry fields forever (sorry, I couldn't resist):


I loved these little white flowers growing in the berry patch:


My favorite shot (look closely to see flying strawberries):


Signs of a successful berry-picking mission:




Blueberries on deck:


I just bought a strawberry huller, so after I figure out how it works (doesn't look like brain surgery), my grand plans for our harvest are: freeze half, keep a quarter for snacking, and use a quarter for baking. I also bought a few stalks of rhubarb, so I'm excited to see what materializes! Suggestions are always welcome.

CEiMB: Jambalaya

I said I was going to opt out of Craving Ellie in my Belly this week, since we don't eat some of the key ingredients in Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham (hosted by Anonymous New York). Well...just kidding! I changed my mind and decided to try to be flexible, adapting the recipe to what we do eat, instead of taking the easy way out and eating out for the 17,000th time this week.



I substituted ground turkey for the shrimp and ham, and used an orange bell pepper instead of the green (my substitutions are noted in the recipe below). I'm really glad I decided to go for it, because jambalaya is delicious! Not only is it fun to say (jambalaya jambalaya jambalaya), it's relatively easy to make (despite the many, many ingredients) and, like all of Ellie Krieger's recipes, is health-happy. If you like ground turkey, I highly recommend using it in this dish. It was the perfect texture and complement to the strong tomato-y flavor. Although it's June, I can picture this as a cozy winter comfort food. Anyone down there in the Southern hemisphere?

Click here to see how everyone else's jambalaya turned out!

Jambalaya
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
Printable Recipe

1 pound ground turkey breast
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth
1 14.5-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
1 c uncooked long-grain white rice
Hot pepper sauce

1. Brown the turkey in a frying pan. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add in everything else (including turkey) but the rice and hot pepper sauce, and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with hot pepper sauce on the side.

Swirly Peanut Butter Brownies

Baking for other people gives me just as much joy (if not more) as eating what I've baked myself. My husband Andy is a video game programmer, and his company is working up against a big deadline, so I baked some treats for my him and our buddies there to get them through the long hours of the next week.



I'm so excited about my new cookbook, the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. I love ATK and their rigorous scientific approach to recipe testing. Whenever I make one of their recipes, I can count on knowing that it will come out perfectly. ATK does all the work and I get all the credit! When I bought this book last weekend, I tore into it right away and read it cover-to-cover in one sitting. I need to stop ignoring the signs that playing in the kitchen is quickly becoming an obsession.





For my first ATK baking adventure, I chose one of their brownie recipes, adding in a peanut butter swirl. As predicted, perfection! This was my first time making brownies from scratch. It was also my first time making swirlies! If you make these, make sure you use unsweetened chocolate. Also, don't taste unsweetened chocolate on its own like I did. That stuff's nasty. I used chunky peanut butter, but smooth would work too. So would nutella or jam.





Swirly Peanut Butter Brownies
Adapted from the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
Printable Recipe

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped coarse
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter

1. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat to 350 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling (2 pieces of foil crossed over each other and smoothed down) and grease the foil. Melth the butter and chocolate together in the microwave, stirring often, 1-3 minutes. Let the mixture cool slightly.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until just combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Plop the peanut butter evenly around the top of the batter. Run a butter knife through the batter to create swirls.

4. Bake brownies 22-27 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove from pan using the foil, cut into squares, and enjoy!