sage, blackberries, pb & j brownies

It's been a busy brownie baking weekend. I've been testing brownie batter recipes and flavor combinations. I made coconut brownies last week, and this past weekend, I tried out a sage and blackberry combo, blackberry, and two versions of PB & J.

First up, sage and blackberry brownies. Oh, and just plain blackberry brownies. I simmered blackberries and tossed in some sugar to make a sauce. I poured it over the brownie batter, and it sizzled as it baked. The blackberry brownies were pretty good, but the sage and blackberry were not. Apparently, savory and sweet don't go together.

Next up, peanut butter and jelly. I used store bought strawberry jam, but it kind of burned. So I tried again.

Below is my interpretation of peanut butter and jelly brownies. How pretentious do I sound? In place of the jam, I used the blackberry sauce.

These were really quite good, but the sauce to peanut butter ratio was a little lopsided. Next time, I need to be more liberal with the sauce.

As I mentioned previously, I've also been testing batter recipes. The recipes I've used call for unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, or a combination of these. So far, my favorite is a recipe that calls for unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate. It seems to yield a richer and more densely flavored brownie. I think it gives the chocolate flavor more depth.

Next up? Chocolate chip cookie dough brownies.