The directive was straightforward–make a brownie that was the perfect marriage of crusty exterior and fudgy interior. Simple, right? Except it wasn’t…not by a long shot. I, and countless other fans of The Great British Baking Off, watched in horror and disbelief as one contestant after another failed, some rather miserably, to bake an even respectable brownie for their “signature challenge” during Chocolate Week.

Welcome to The Great Bake Off Brownie Disaster of 2020. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/43czOjF67e

— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) October 13, 2020

Vying to produce the most “original’ brownie–from layering in fresh figs and pistachios to double-baking on a raspberry cheesecake topping–each baker threw out the rule book, along with common sense…leaving the judges and viewers gobsmacked by brownie train wrecks.

To be fair, I’ve been known to go off script with brownies on occasion, like when my former pasty assistant Kimberly and I used to concoct our “fully-loaded” brownies ladened with everything from crushed malted milk balls, salted caramel, and banana chips to freeze-dried strawberries, cream cheese swirls, and milk chocolate chunks. Our Frankenbrownies were so heavy and thick, they usually took at least 45 mins. to bake. However, we never strayed from our base brownie recipe, which produced a tried and true crusty, chewy, fudgy texture.

The trick is to strike a balance between the brownie and the mix-ins. The mix-ins should never overwhelm the brownie. I love me a swirl, preferably cream cheese-based, though it isn’t the star of the show, rather a supporting player–decorative and complementary. Same can be said for flavorings like spices or extracts. When we used to make our Mexican chocolate brownies, we’d add just enough cinnamon, chili powder, and cayenne to give the batter a nice kick, taking pains to not mask the flavor of the chocolate. After all, when you’re in need of a solid brownie to balance out all the bad juju and negativity floating out in the universe, you want to be awash in rich, fudgy chocolatey goodness.

Since Halloween is just around the corner…which means trick or treating and fun size candy bars…which always makes me think of Reese’s peanut butter cups (well also Snickers and Peanut M&M’s)…I decided to whip up a batch of brownies studded with peanut butter chips and swirled with peanut butter cream cheese.

I’d ordered some peanut butter chips, for no particular reason other than I loved peanut butter, from nuts.com when I ordered cake and pizza flours a few weeks back. There was a little cream cheese filling leftover from making my bake sale yeast-raised apple coffeecake, so I mixed in a heaping tablespoon of creamy peanut butter for the swirl topping. And voila…Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Yield: One 9″x 13″ pan, or 24 (2″x2″) brownies

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 T. powdered sugar
• 1 t. vanilla extract, divided
• 1 1/2 T. creamy peanut butter
• 3.5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70%), chopped
• 1 stick + 6 T. unsalted butter
• 5 large eggs + 1 yolk
• 1 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. light brown sugar
• 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 1 t. instant coffee
• 1 T. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter chips

1. Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, pinch of sea salt, and peanut butter until smooth, then beat in yolk and 1 T. flour; set aside.
2. Combine chocolates and butter in a heat proof/microwave safe bowl and heat at 30 sec. intervals until 90% melted. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, beat together eggs and sugar until light and foamy. Blend in melted butter and chocolate.
4. Whisk together remaining dry ingredients to combine then fold into the wet mixture until just incorporated.
5. Spread the batter into a greased and lined 9″x13″ pan. Drop even dollops of peanut butter cream cheese on the surface, then using the tip of a paring knife, swirl the toping with the brownie bater to create a decorative pattern.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 30-35 mins. or until skewer comes out with traces of thick fudgy batter when inserted into the center of the brownie and the surface slightly springs back when pressed. If the skewer comes out mostly clean you’ve over baked it.

A baked good that’s even more straightforward and simple than a decent pan of brownies is Classic White Sandwich Bread. I’ve been baking loaves of these in between rustic sourdough loaves, which take considerably more time and attention–not the kind of bread you want to tackle when you discover you’re down to the last slice and there’s no back-up in the freezer.

I’ve got the process of making white bread down to a science so it takes under 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. I love making this dough in the food processor because it takes practically no time to bring the dough together.

The base recipe is from King Arthur and it’s extremely adaptable. I usually have most the ingredients on hand but if, for example, I’m out of whole milk, I can use 2%, nonfat, or even buttermilk. I like using butter as the fat but if I’m low or out I can substitute a neutral oil. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, though yesterday I decided to sub out 1 c. of all-purpose for bread flour, which I think gave the bread better structure to use for French toast and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The added step of making a roux or tangzhou helps the bread retain its soft, fluffy texture, not unlike a milk bread. While it may not be the “healthiest” breakfast choice, I can’t resist toasting up a couple of slices and slathering them with soft, lightly salted butter and maybe some homemade jam. Heaven!

Classic White Sandwich Bread (adapted from King Arthur)

Yield: 1 loaf

• 2 c. + 3 T. all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 c. bread flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 1/4 t. sea salt
• 2 t. instant yeast
• 2/3 c. water, divided
• 1/2 c. milk (whole, 2%, nonfat, buttermilk)
• 4 T. butter (or 1/4 c. neutral oil)
• *egg wash or cream

1. Pour 1/2 c. water from the measured 2/3 c. into a saucepan, then combine the remaining water with the milk.
2. Stir 3 T. all-purpose flour into the 1/2 c. water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook the roux for about minute then remove from the heat and stir in the butter to melt, followed by the milk and water mixture.
3. Add the rest of the all-purpose and bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
4. Add a little more than 1/2 of the wet ingredients to the dry, then pulse a few times to start the dough. Add the remaining wet ingredients and pulse at 5 sec. intervals to bring the dough together. Should take about 90 secs. of total mixing time for the dough to form into a smooth, elastic mass. Check the texture by pulling off a small piece and stretching it between your thumbs and forefingers. You should be able to stretch the dough thin enough to practically see through it without the dough tearing.
5. Form the dough into a smooth ball and place it in well-greased bowl at least double its size, flipping the dough over to greased all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel and let the dough rise in a warm space until doubled in size.
6. Punch down the dough to deflate it then roll it out into a rectangle. It should be as wide as the length of the loaf pan. Starting from the end opposite you, tightly roll the dough towards you to form a log, pinching the seams together.
7. Transfer the log, seam side down, into a well-greased loaf pan. then lightly coat the surface with nonstick spray and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to double in size again in a warm space.
8. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Brush the top of the risen dough with either egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water) or heavy cream. Bake the loaf for about 30-35 mins. or to an internal temperature of 190F degrees.
9. Cool the loaf on a rack for about 5 mins. before tipping the bread out of the pan to finish cooling.