Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Brownies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Brownies

A couple of weeks ago I purchased some Body Fortress Peanut Butter Chocolate Whey Protein. And for some reason immediately after I purchased it, I started thinking protein brownies. Brownies almost always seem like a good idea. But protein brownies seemed like a great idea. And if I could actually make some macro friendly protein brownies that also tasted really yummy then I thought, "That would be awesome!" So, that's exactly what I did.

Once I got the idea for protein brownies into my head, the search was on for a decent protein brownie recipe. At first I landed on this recipe: http://www.proteinpow.com/2012/08/the-best-low-carb-protein-brownies-in.html. Unfortunately, after making that recipe, I was less than impressed with the taste (however, in general I am a HUGE fan of http://www.proteinpow.com). Needless to say, they were not the "Best Low Carb Protein Brownies in the World" as their name claims. They were kind of sponge like and not nearly as flavorful as I would have liked. Maybe it was the substitutions I made (agave for Splenda), but I doubt it. They smelled great, but the taste and texture was just not doing it for me. Then I got the idea to add in a peanut butter filling and chocolate chips. Heck, who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate chips?

So, I looked for a good peanut butter and chocolate brownie recipe. I found this one by Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/354419/peanut-butter-swirl-brownies. And then I said to myself, "Self, what if I took my favorite parts from both recipes, combined them and added chocolate chips?" The result was pretty damn good! And it's still pretty macro friendly too!

This is definitely a recipe that I'm going to keep in the drawer. I can see me having these brownies for breakfast ;)

Main Batter Ingredients

 

• 2 Scoops of Whey Protein (I used Peanut Butter Chocolate Body Fortress Whey)
• 4oz Fat Free Cream Cheese (use Philadelphia cream cheese, trust me on this)
• 120g Egg Whites
• 4oz Unsweetened Baking Dark Chocolate - chopped
• 1.5tsp Baking Powder
• 3oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 30g Reduced Calorie Butter - melted (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light)
• 70g Sugar Free Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
• 64g Agave Syrup

 

Peanut Butter Filling Ingredients

 

• 4tbsp Peanut Butter
• 41g Agave Syrup
• 18g Reduced Calorie Butter - melted (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light)
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/6tsp Vanilla Extract

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325-degrees Fahrenheit 
2. Set out cream cheese to soften in a large heat proof mixing bowl (Pyrex should work)
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whip together egg whites and agave syrup into a light meringue
4. Slowly fold the meringue into the softened cream cheese until it thickens to a consistent creamy texture
5. Put the bowl with the mixture over a pan of simmering water to warm and mix in unsweetened baking dark chocolate until completely melted into the mixture
6. Mix in butter, chocolate syrup, baking powder, and whey protein and set aside
7. Make the filling: In a separate bowl, mix together peanut butter, agave syrup, butter, salt, and vanilla extract until smooth
8. Prepare a 9x9 (or equivalent) cooking pan with zero calorie non-stick cooking spray
9. Pour about 2/3 of the batter into the pan, completely covering the bottom of the pan and leaving just enough to lightly cover the filling, once added
10. Evenly scatter half of the chocolate chips across the top of the batter that has been poured into the pan
11. Evenly distribute about half of the filling across the top of the batter in the pan by adding small dollops about 1" apart
12. Pour the remainder of the batter into the pan on top of the filling
13. Add the remaining filling on top of the batter, again making several small dollops about 1" apart
14. Using a butter knife, gently swirl the filling on top with the batter to create your desired look
15. Evenly scatter the remaining chocolate chips on top
16. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 20min at 325-degrees Fahrenheit
17. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10min at 350-degrees Fahrenheit or until firm
18. Test it with a knife in multiple locations to make sure the batter isn't wet; moist is good, wet and sticking to the knife is no good

 

Nutrition Info

Serving Size: 1 brownie

Servings: 16

Protein: 7.25g

Fat: 6.6g

Carbohydrates: 12.3g

Fiber: 1.25g

Sodium: 163mg

*Note: The nutrition info is in myFitnessPal.com under "Clayton Long's Pb Chocolate Chip Protein Brownies"

Posted by Clayton Long