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Happy National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day!

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY BROWNIES: 3 Recipes for National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day!

Today is National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day. This all American combination is usually thought of as the ultimate kid's sandwich. Not by me. I was a fussy eater as a kid... so glad that's behind me.. and at camp in the summer, if a camper didn't like lunch or dinner food, they were given peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Well, I didn't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Of course, if they had added chocolate, it might have been a different story!

I still don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I always grab the chance to pair up these foods... with chocolate. So here are three recipes for Peanut Butter & Jelly Brownies. As always, you can substitute the very best ingredients to achieve that perfect brownie!

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY BROWNIES

#1 Peanut Butter & Jelly Brownies 
from James Boyce, chef-owner of Cotton Row, Huntsville, Alabama. His brownies and jam are homemade, and he uses chunky peanut butter for crunch. This recipe appeared in Spirit Magazine, Southwest Airlines

Ingredients:
2 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed melted butter
4 two-inch square brownies
4 Tbsp peanut butter (crunchy is best!)
4 Tbsp strawberry jam
4 Tbsp chocolate chips

Directions:
Lay one sheet of dough on work surface and brush with butter. Top with another sheet, brush with butter, then cut into four 8-by-8 inch squares. Place one brownie on each square.
Top each brownie with one tablespoon each of peanut butter and jam, then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cinch dough around brownies and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, or until dough starts to brown.

#2 Peanut Butter & Jelly Brownies
from the Nestle Very Best Baking site: 1st Prize winning recipe created in the kitchen of Jim Bradley of Chicago, IL.

Ingredients
1/2 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/4 cup sweet butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels
1/2 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate Morsels
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch-square baking pan.
Place semi-sweet morsels and butter in large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until mixture is melted. Add brown sugar and peanut butter to chocolate mixture; beat on medium speed for 1 minute or until well mixed. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually stir in flour. Stir in white and peanut butter & milk chocolate morsels. Spread into prepared pan. Drop jam by spoonfuls onto batter. Swirl with a knife.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out still slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

#3 Peanut Butter & Jelly Brownies
From Kraft Recipes

Ingredients
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat sugar, peanut butter and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour and salt; beat until well blended. Stir in chocolate.
Line 9-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil. Spread batter into prepared pan. Drop jam by spoonfuls over batter; swirl with knife to marbleize.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan. Lift dessert from pan, using foil handles. Cut into 24 squares to serve.

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CHOCOLATE SOURDOUGH CAKE: National Sourdough Day

I used to bake a lot of bread, so I still have my own starter in the refrigerator. Some of the bread companies in the San Francisco Bay Area have sourdough starter that goes back well over a hundred and fifty years. There was a time when these bakeries kept their sourdough starter under lock and key. I imagine they still might be doing that. Read Julie Smith's Sourdough Wars. This mystery might be fiction, but there's some real history behind it. I've had my starter for about 35 years or more. Every baker should have sourdough starter in the fridge!

To learn about a good starter, go to www.sourdoughhome.com. Lots of great information on techniques, maintaining a starter, using a starter, storing a starter and even reviving a starter. Sourdough starter is a living thing, and it needs care.

One thing's for sure, it's easier and better to have a good starter. Since I'm posting a recipe from King Arthur Flour today, let me suggest you purchase your starter from them. You have two options from King Arthur Flour: Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter or French Sourdough Starter. The second is expensive, but might be easier for the novice who doesn't want to take care of a live starter culture. Always good to have an option.

A few years ago I posted a recipe for Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Bread. It's wonderful, but if it's too much fuss for you, Zingermann's makes a great Chocolate Sourdough Bread that's available via mail order.

But since today is National Sourdough Day, I thought I'd repost King Arthur Flour's Chocolate Sourdough Cake recipe. It's virtually foolproof. Just make sure you feed your starter the night before.. don't just pull it out of the fridge. It won't work that way! And, don't worry, this cake isn't tangy.. it's just right!

CHOCOLATE SOURDOUGH CAKE

• 1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
• 1 cup milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) or evaporated milk
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa (not Dutch process)
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
• 2 large eggs

Icing

• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon hot water

Drizzle

• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup

Directions

Combine "fed" starter, milk, and flour in large mixing bowl. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. It won't necessarily bubble, but it may have expanded a bit.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
In separate bowl, beat together sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa, and espresso powder. Mixture will be grainy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gently combine chocolate mixture with starter-flour-milk mixture, stirring till smooth. This will be a gloppy process at first, but batter will smooth out as you continue to beat gently.
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake cake for 30 to 40 minutes, until it springs back when lightly pressed in the center, and cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven, and set it on rack to cool while you make the icing. OPTIONAL FOR ME... I'M NOT SURE IT NEEDS IT.. IT'S SUCH A GOOD CAKE BY ITSELF.
Sift confectioners' sugar into large mixing bowl, and set aside.
In small saucepan set over medium heat, melt butter, and add buttermilk or yogurt. Dissolve espresso powder in hot water, add to pan, and bring mixture just to a boil.
Immediately pour simmering liquid over confectioners' sugar in the bowl, and beat till smooth.
Pour warm frosting over cake. If you wait too long and frosting stiffens up, spread it over the cake.
Combine chocolate chips, milk, and corn syrup in microwave-safe cup. Microwave until chips soften, then stir till smooth.
Drizzle/drip chocolate over icing. You can do this while the icing is still warm, or wait till it's cooled.