Peanut and white chocolate brownies and the amazing Viola

Back in January I watched the Golden Globes and many of my favorites took awards home – among them was Ruth Wilson, who is absolutely amazing in The Affair, but she was competing head to head with another actress I deeply admire, the über talented Viola Davis. Back then I hadn’t watched How to Get Away with Murder yet but got immediately interested in it.

The show is really that good and each episode ends with a bang that would make my husband and I crazy to know what would happen next – we saw the season finale last night and were like “OMG!!”. Viola is, indeed, superb: the woman can pull anything off, she can play any part. I am still Team Ruth because I think that her character in The Affair is more difficult to play – it is like she portrayed two different characters – but if Viola had taken the GG home I wouldn’t have minded at all.

Gladly a second season has been confirmed for How to Get Away with Murder – enough with the cancellation of my favorite TV shows, really. :)

From a woman that can do no wrong in acting to another who does wonders in the kitchen: Alice Medrich – these peanut and white chocolate brownies are a riff on one of her great recipes and are super delicious!

Peanut and white chocolate brownies
slightly adapted from the amazing Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

10 tablespoons (140g/1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (75g) unsalted roasted peanuts
½ cup (80g) white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a medium heatproof bowl, add the butter and set on top of a large sauce pan with barely simmering water. Melt the butter, then add sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. Next add the cocoa powder and stir until mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the water and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the peanuts and white chocolate. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Makes 16