Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies

Recipes, alternating with pictures of half-naked guys. Sounds like a gay blog to me!

Did I just invent the greatest thing ever? Perhaps I did. A few entries back I posted a recipe for Pumpkin Tea Cakes. I gave a variation that turned them into brownies. I also mentioned that the yogurt remaining in the container after making the tea cakes could be drained into Greek-style yogurt and used as a topping.

Well, here’s where the magic comes in: I made a batch of brownies, but rather than top them with the yogurt, I whisked it up with some peanut butter used that as a filling.

And so here, for your approval, I present the recipe for Peanut Butter Stuffed Low-Fat Low-Carb Brownies. This is a plan-ahead recipe as you have to drain the yogurt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Dry ingredients:

1 cup quick oats (not instant. When I have oatmeal for breakfast it’s McCann’s so I keep a container of quick oats on hand just for this recipe.)

2/3 cup raisin bran, crushed (crush it right in your hand and toss into the bowl)

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

2/3 cup sweetener (I use Splenda--anything will work)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. powder

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cocoa

Wet ingredients:

3 egg whites (1/2 cup, if you pour them out of a carton, like I do)

1 cup plain, nonfat yogurt from a 32 oz. container

3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce 

3/4 cup lekvar (or an easier-to-find product called Lighter Bake)

1 Tbls. dark rum (you can substitute 1 tsp. vanilla if you wish)

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts, chopped 

For the filling:

The remaining yogurt, drained overnight

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky

1 Tbls sweetener

1/2 pkg. unflavored gelatin

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together

Add wet ingredients over the dry and whisk again

Add raisins and walnuts and fold in with a rubber spatula

Line an 8” square pan with foil (this will enable you to lift the entire batch cleanly and easily out of the pan.) Spray the foil, pour batter into the pan and bake for 32-37 minutes. A knife will come out almost clean. Take care to not overbake because the dearth of fat in the recipe will cause the cake to get a little spongy.

Put the remaining yogurt in a strainer lined with a double layer of paper towels. Place a small ramekin upside-down in a large bowl and place the strainer on that. Leave in the fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

When the brownies are completely cooled, cover the tray with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight along with the draining yogurt. When they’re chilled they’ll be easier to cut into layers.

The next day remove the strainer and ramekin from the bowl, discard the liquid, wipe the bowl dry and put the yogurt back into the bowl along with 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 Tbls. sweetener. Whisk until fully combined (and just try not to eat the entire mixture with a spoon right then and there!) Do not use a blender for this step--something about the blender liquifies the yogurt too much.

In a small bowl pour 1/8 cup boiling water over 1/2 pkg. gelatin and let dissolve. Add this to the yogurt mixture and whisk to combine. This will keep the filling from spilling out when you bite into the brownies.

Lift the brownies out of the tray, remove the foil and slice into two even layers. Spread the yogurt mixture evenly over the bottom layer and replace the top. Return to fridge for another four hours.

Slice up  into 2” or 3” brownies and enjoy!