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The best of both worlds collide in these peanut butter brownies! Fudgy homemade brownies are swirled with a sweet peanut butter mixture. The combination is an explosion of rich decadent flavors!
For more chocolate peanut butter desserts, try making these easy no-bake cookies, this pie, or my homemade Reese’s Eggs that taste just like the real ones!
Reasons to Make These Brownies!
- Decadent Flavor Combination: Chocolate and peanut just go together, and the rich flavor combination will be love at first bite!
- Perfect For Any Occasion: This brownie recipe is perfect to make for a weeknight treat, yet impressive enough for your holiday dessert tray! These brownies are a crowd-pleaser!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
These peanut butter brownies start with a fudgy homemade brownie recipe that is elevated with a peanut butter layer swirled on top and throughout! Every delicious bite will leave you wanting more. Chocolate and peanut butter are always better together and I can’t wait for you to try these incredible brownies!
I have SO many chocolate peanut butter desserts on the blog that you’ll love. From this tasty fudge to these classic peanut butter bars. And you can never go wrong with the buckeye balls for the holidays!
Ingredients For Peanut Butter Brownies
Homemade brownies are easy to make and even better than a boxed brownie mix! It’s made with staple pantry items you most likely will already have on hand.
- Unsalted Butter: Using unsalted butter keeps the brownies from being too salty.
- Vegetable Oil: You can use canola oil as well.
- Granulated Sugar: The sweetness in the batter!
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature! I take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I make the batter.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Cocoa Powder: Regular unsweetened cocoa or natural cocoa works best here. Avoid using Dutch process in this recipe.
- Cornstarch and Baking Soda: Adds fluffiness to the brownies and gives them the best texture!
- Salt: A little bit helps to balance and enhance the sweetness
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Creamy is best for swirling, not chunky!
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter to help the mixture swirl easily.
- Powdered Sugar: Adds a little sweetness to balance the peanut butter flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: Everything is better with vanilla flavoring.
Peanut Butter Brownies Recipe
There are two parts to making these peanut butter swirl brownies, but it is definitely worth the extra step! They are so fun to make and my kids love to do the swirling!
Brownies
- Combine the Butter and Sugar Mixture: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and spray an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan with pan spray then set aside. Add the butter, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl and whisk until combined.
- Whisk the Flour and Cocoa Mixture: In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the Sugar and Flour Mixtures: Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until combined.
- Spread the Batter in Prepared Pan: Add the batter to the prepared baking pan then spread it evenly with a spatula or spoon. Leave a few deep grooves for the peanut butter to settle into.
Peanut Butter Swirl
- Add the Peanut Butter Mixture Into a Bowl: Add the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla to a medium bowl.
- Mix: Stir and mix together until smooth.
- Spoon On Top of Brownie Batter: Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the brownie batter.
- Swirl and Bake: Use a spoon or a knife to swirl the peanut butter into the brownie batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting and serving them.
Peanut Butter Brownies Tips
I hope you find these tips helpful when making your peanut butter brownies! I’ve made them enough times to know what works best, and they turn out perfect every time.
- Sugar: It’s a lot of sugar, but don’t reduce the amount! The sugar in this recipe not only balances out the bitterness of the cocoa powder, it also is what gives brownies their chewy, fudgy texture. If you reduce the sugar in this recipe, the texture of the brownies will end up drier and more cakey. You might also find the bitterness of the cocoa quite strong.
- Avoid Natural Peanut Butter: I recommend using peanut butter that doesn’t require stirring. If you use a natural-style peanut butter that requires stirring the oil in, the brownies will turn out oily.
- Metal Pan: If you can, use a metal pan to bake your brownies. Metal tends to heat faster, which allows for the edges of the brownies to set quickly and the entire pan to bake more evenly. Additionally, glass and ceramic take longer to cool down so the edges of your brownies will be quite overbaked by the time the center is baked and the brownies cool completely.
- Don’t Over-Swirl: the peanut butter into the brownie batter. The more it is swirled into it, the more the two will combine for one batter instead of the distinct chocolate and peanut butter swirls.
- Pan Size: You can use a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan instead, just reduce the baking time by 4-5 minutes. Check the center with a toothpick to ensure the brownies aren’t over or under-baked. For a 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan, double the recipe and bake for 5-8 additional minutes before testing the center for doneness.
Plastic Knives Cut BEST
Use a plastic knife to cut your brownies! Plastic knives are naturally non-stick, so the fudgy brownies don’t stick and pull when you drag the knife through them.
Storing Leftover Brownies
Here are my tips for storing peanut butter brownies! There great to make ahead for parties or gatherings.
- Room Temperature: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- In the Refrigerator: Store brownies in an airtight contanier in the refrigerator for up to 8 days.
- In the Freezer: When freezing, I recommend slicing into individual brownies and placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet so they are not touching each other. Freeze for 2 hours before transferring to an airtight container and layering pieces of parchment paper between them so they don’t stick to each other. Freeze for up to 3 months!
More Brownie Recipes to Try
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Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup cocoa powder, not Dutch process
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Swirl
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and spray an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan with pan spray and set aside.
- Add the butter, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl and whisk until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add the batter to the prepared baking pan then spread it evenly with a spatula or spoon. Leave a few deep grooves for the peanut butter to settle into.
Peanut Butter Swirl
- Add the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla to a medium bowl and mix until smooth.
- Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the brownie batter. Use a spoon or a knife to swirl the peanut butter into the brownie batter. Swirl that batter enough so that there will be both brownie and peanut butter in each bite. Keep in mind that the more you swirl, the more the peanut butter mixture will mix into the brownie batter and become one.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. The peanut butter mixture will still look pretty runny and underbaked, but it will continue to cook and set as the brownies cool.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
