This peanut butter brownie recipe is so fudgy, rich, and has a peanut butter swirl on top of the brownies that you are going to love! These peanut butter brownies are 100% made from scratch and 1000% delicious!
I don’t know about you but I have a weakness for brownies with peanut butter. I mean chocolate and peanut butter? Come on, no contest if there are other desserts in the room.
After making the The Best Brownies I’ve Ever Had, and mixing things up with this Caramel Turtle Brownies version, I knew I had to create a chocolate peanut butter brownie recipe for the blog.
This brownie recipe starts with that best brownie recipe above but gets a peanut butter swirl on top of the brownie batter before going into the oven. If you have ever made my Buckeye Balls Recipe, the peanut butter swirl basically tastes like that. So in other words, you know it’s going to be good.
Why You Are Going To Love This Peanut Butter Brownie Recipe
- Lots of Chocolate Flavor: This brownies with peanut butter are rich, chocolatey and fudgy. They give you that perfect crackly top with the fudgy interior that every brownie should have. This recipe uses both chocolate chips and Dutch cocoa powder which yields a rich chocolate flavor.
- Come Together Easily – I love simple recipes that don’t require an electric mixer. Both parts of this brownie recipe just need a whisk and a spatula so they come together easily!
- Yummy Peanut Butter Swirl: An easy peanut butter swirl gets dolloped on top before baking. The swirl tastes like a peanut butter ball!
Ingredients Needed
Here is what you need to gather for this recipe for peanut butter brownies:
- Peanut butter
- Confectioners sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
For the brownies:
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Canola oil – Vegetable Oil will also work.
- Vanilla extract
- Unsalted butter
- Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
- Dutch process cocoa powder – This is what gives these brownies a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor. Natural cocoa powder will not react the same with the baking powder and is not recommended.
How To Make These Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Make The Peanut Butter Swirl
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter, confectioners sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt until smooth and combined.
Make the brownie batter
Combine dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Heather’s Baking Tip
Be sure to measure your flour correctly. Too much flour = a cakey, dry brownie. I recommend measuring by weight using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, then be sure to stir your flour first. Then spoon the flour into your cup and level it off. Do not pack it down or you will end up with way too much flour!
Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla.
Combine butter and chocolate. In a small saucepan on the stove, over low heat, melt and stir together the butter and chopped chocolate. Stir frequently to keep the chocolate from burning. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, whisking to combine.
Add chocolate mixture to sugar mixture. Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture into the sugar/egg mixture until smooth and combined.
Add dry ingredients. Stir, using a spatula (or wooden spoon) in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Heather’s Baking Tip
Do not overmix at this point. If you continue to stir the brownie batter you will incorporate too much air into your batter and result in a cakey brownie instead of a fudgy one.
Add peanut butter swirl. Dollop the peanut butter mixture on top and swirl with the tip of a butter knife.
Bake brownies. Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 to 28 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into bars and serving.
More Recipes Tips And Tricks
- Line The Pan. For easier remover I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper or tin-foil. Make sure to give it a spray with cooking spray after.
- Don’t Swirl Too Much. You want thick, noticeable swirls which will come from less swirling NOT more.
- Test With A Toothpick. To check the doneness of the brownies, test with a toothpick. You should see no raw batter but you want want a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Don’t Overbake. The middle may still look slightly soft and that’s OK. And when you do a toothpick test, you don’t want to wait until the toothpick is completely clean or this will mean that they are overbaked and will be dry. Be sure to set your timer, and every oven is different so be sure to check a little early!
Recipe FAQ’s
Leftovers can be kept, covered, at room temperature for 3 days.
If you want more peanut butter flavor go for it! I would chop up the peanut butter cups before adding them. And I would add 1/2 cup of any of the extra mix-ins.
Yes! Brownies freeze beautifully. Freeze any leftovers, just make sure they are cooled completely, for up to 3 months. Make sure they are wrapped and stored well so they don’t get freezer burn. And then thaw at room temperature, uncovered before enjoying.
This is due to possibly due to a few things. You may have overmixed when you added the flour. Be sure to not mix the batter too much or they will be cakey. You may have also added too much flour. See my tip above on how to measure correctly. And if they are dry you may have overbaked them. Be sure to test with a toothpick for moist crumbs, set your timer, and use an oven thermometer for best results.
More Recipes To Try
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Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
For peanut butter swirl:
- ½ cup (107 g) creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup (30 g) confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- â…› teaspoon salt
For the brownies:
- ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (80 g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons, 57 g) unsalted butter
- 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped
- 2 Tablespoons (13 g) Dutch process cocoa powder
Instructions
- Prep oven and pan. Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°C (180°C). Line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper, or grease with non-stick cooking spray.
- Make peanut butter swirl. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter confectioners sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth and combined. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, eggs, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla.
- Combine butter and chocolate. In a small saucepan on the stove, over low heat, melt and stir together the butter and chopped chocolate. Stir frequently to keep the chocolate from burning. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, whisking to combine.
- Add chocolate mixture to sugar mixture. Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture into the sugar/egg mixture until smooth and combined.
- Add dry ingredients. Stir, using a spatula (or wooden spoon) in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Bake brownies. Spread batter into the prepared pan. Dollop the peanut butter mixture on top and swirl with the tip of a butter knife. and bake for about 25 to 28 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into bars and serving.
Notes
- Storage: Leftovers can be kept, covered, at room temperature for 3 days.
- Mix-ins: If you want more peanut butter flavor go for it! I would chop up the peanut butter cups before adding them. And I would add 1/2 cup of any of the extra mix-ins.
- Freezing: Brownies freeze beautifully. Freeze any leftovers, just make sure they are cooled completely, for up to 3 months. Make sure they are wrapped and stored well so they don’t get freezer burn. And then thaw at room temperature, uncovered before enjoying.
- My brownies are cakey/dry: This is due to possibly due to a few things. You may have overmixed when you added the flour. Be sure to not mix the batter too much or they will be cakey. You may have also added too much flour. See my tip above on how to measure correctly. And if they are dry you may have overbaked them. Be sure to test with a toothpick for moist crumbs, set your timer, and use an oven thermometer for best results.
- Line The Pan. For easier remover I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper or tin-foil. Make sure to give it a spray with cooking spray after.
- Don’t Swirl Too Much. You want thick, noticeable swirls which will come from less swirling NOT more.
- Test With A Toothpick. To check the doneness of the brownies, test with a toothpick. You should see no raw batter but you want want a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Don’t Overbake. The middle may still look slightly soft and that’s OK. And when you do a toothpick test, you don’t want to wait until the toothpick is completely clean or this will mean that they are overbaked and will be dry. Be sure to set your timer, and every oven is different so be sure to check a little early!
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Beth says
What’s not to love, chocolate, peanut butter and in under an hour this is in my belly! Delicious!
Tayler says
I made these brownies over the weekend and they were incredible! My whole family devoured them and I already can’t wait to make them again.
Heather says
aw that’s awesome to hear Tayler!!
Jacqueline Debono says
These brownies are an absolute must make for peanut butter and chocolate lovers like my hubby and me! So scrumptious and easy to make too!
Andrea says
These peanut butter brownies hit the spot! What an easy recipe to follow and the flavor was perfect. Loved that peanut butter swirl.
Michele says
These peanut butter brownies were easy to make and were delicious! I will be making these again and again.