What You Need to Make This Recipe
Chocolate — use good quality chocolate as your brownies will only be as good as the ingredients you use. Since chocolate is the base of the batter, I highly suggest splurging on it. Lower quality chocolate chips have a coating on them to help them hold their shape and won’t melt as smoothly. If you do not have a bag of good-quality semi sweet chocolate chips, opt for chocolate bars and roughly chop them to melt. Cocoa powder – I prefer using natural 100% cocoa powder (such as Ghirardelli or regular Hershey’s cocoa powder) and not Dutch-process cocoa powder for this peanut butter and brownie recipe. Sugar — you will need white and brown sugar for this brownie recipe. While the white sugar melts into the batter to create a chewy brownie, the molasses from the brown sugar makes the brownies fudgy. If you do not have brown sugar, see my post on how to make brown sugar. Peanut butter — I do not recommend using natural peanut butter due to the oil separation. Commercial brands such as Jif or Skippy are perfect for these brownies.
How to Make Peanut Butter Brownies
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then whisk in ½ cup chocolate chips until fully melted. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
Sift together the flour and cocoa powder in another large bowl and then whisk in the salt.
To the melted chocolate, whisk in the sugars, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Fold in the flour mixture until well combined. Fold the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips before transferring the mixture to a lined 8×8-inch square baking pan.
Drop the peanut butter over the top of the batter in dollops.
Use the tip of a knife or a screwer to swirl the peanut butter into the chocolate batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the center doesn’t wobble, then let cool in the pan before slicing.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
Room temperature eggs will mix more smoothly into the batter than cold eggs. Take the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time or place them in a bowl of warm water to quickly warm them up to room temperature. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour as it’s the most accurate method. Avoid over-mixing the brownie batter as it’ll lead to a batch of tough brownies. Mix the batter with a spatula instead of using a mixer. For beautiful clean cuts, wipe the knife on a damp cloth or run it under warm water between cutting. When melting the chocolate, make sure not to get water in the pan as it can cause the chocolate to seize. Don’t skip sifting the dry ingredients. It helps the ingredients mix together, aerate the dry ingredients, and breaks up any lumps. This helps prevent dense or overmixed brownies. When swirling the peanut butter into the brownie batter, less is more. If you swirl too much, you will mix the peanut butter into the batter.
What pan is best for baking brownies?
A light-colored metal pan such as aluminum is perfect for brownies as it conducts heat more quickly without absorbing too much heat like a dark pan would. They also prevent over-browning and give you straighter edges than a glass or ceramic dish. You may end up with drier edges if you use a dark pan. Light-colored pans also cool faster once taken out of the oven than darker pans.
How do I store leftovers?
Leftover peanut butter brownies can be left at room temperature for 3 to 4 days or in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. Make sure they are in an airtight container, so they do not dry out. You can enjoy them chilled, at room temperature, or warmed.
Can I freeze brownies?
You can freeze peanut butter brownie recipe for up to 3 months. You can wrap them individually with plastic wrap before placing them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag or container. You can also freeze them with parchment paper layered in-between instead. Bring them to room temperature when ready to enjoy.
How do I get a gooey center?
Bake them for 35 minutes instead of 45 minutes for a fudgy, gooey peanut butter brownie. They will continue to set as they cool, so you do not have to worry about them being underbaked. If you’ve tried this Peanut Butter Brownies recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
