Mrs. Moderation: Peanut Butter and Jelly Brownies

Yes, you heard right. I made a sinful dessert last night. I made my favorite fudgy brownie recipe, slabbed melted peanut butter on top of it and then topped the peanut butter with more brownie batter. And then I slathered tons of strawberry jam on top of that. And then I added the rest of the brownie batter on top. I then threw it in the oven and hoped for the best.

For all you PB&J fans out there, this brownie recipe is a success!

Let's go back in time to when I was pregnant in the first trimester. I lucked out and only experienced awful nausea on two different occasions. For most of the first trimester, I almost always felt famished. So for example, I'd eat one pb&j for breakfast and then a yogurt, maybe a hot tea or one cup of coffee, then have a banana or apple, lots of water, maybe some crackers, all within an hour and a half. Then I'd start to immediately feel as if I didn't eat a thing since 8am. Eat all the food and repeat. Growing a human is hard. I've said this a lot to people in the past who asked how my appetite was. You can see for yourself here.

I was not joking about the many, many PB&Js.

I packed this lunch every.single day.

Pregnant or not, I crave this combo. But when I'm not pregnant, I try to not eat 6 sandwiches in one day. The salty peanut butter against it's best mate of a sweet jam. So yummy! But then I thought of putting these two together with my other favorite love and something that goes very well with peanut butter...chocolate!

It was almost like a DUH moment.

I have a really simple and delicious fudge brownie recipe. Because I prefer my brownies ooey, gooey, rich, and fudgy compared to a cake-like brownie.

For the Brownies:
Slightly adapted from The Avid Appetite

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter, melted ( about 1 minute)
1/2 jar of your favorite strawberry jelly/jam. * I like targets brand of strawberry preserves, seedless and sugar-free.

-Preheat oven to 350.

For thinner brownies, use a 9x13 baking pan. I don't mind thin brownies but at the time I only had an 8x8 pan. This pan would work well for these type of brownies since there's more ingredients and they're a bit messier; but in a good way. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. A whisk works great for getting out most of the lumps from the cocoa powder. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together. Finally, add the melted butter and stir briefly. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined. I find a wooden spoon works best.

Take a portion of the brownie batter ( about 2 good sized scoops) and press as evenly as possibly on the bottom of the pan. Next, pour the melted peanut butter on top. Spread as evenly as you can with rubber spatula. Add another layer of the brownie mixture on top of the peanut butter. Spread as evenly as you can. Finally, slather the jam on top of the batter and spread all over to "seal" the pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into squares.