These peanut butter brownies are fudgy with a shiny crinkly top and are loaded with chocolate & peanut butter in the batter. They're easy to make with 8 ingredients in 30 minutes.
Brownies are my favorite dessert. Chocolate and peanut butter is my favorite flavor combination. So naturally I created this recipe for the best chocolate peanut butter brownies.
So many peanut butter brownie recipes are just brownies with a swirl of peanut butter, but I created this recipe that actually has peanut butter in the batter.
These peanut butter brownies are fudgy and chocolatey with a shiny crinkly top. Absolute dessert perfection.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, feel free to substitute a 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
- Cocoa powder. regular unsweetened cocoa powder is the best choice for these fudgy brownies. You can use extra dark cocoa powder for an even more intense chocolate flavor.
- Fine Sea Salt. I recommend using pure fine sea salt in baking and cooking. If you use iodized table salt decrease the amount by half.
- Semisweet Chocolate. Choose a high-quality chocolate for the best results. The form of the chocolate doesn't matter too much. Chips, chopped bars, discs, etc. all work equally well because it's being melted. However the quality and cocoa content of your chocolate will affect the final outcome.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter works well too, you may just need to adjust the amount of sea salt in the recipe! Coconut oil or ghee can also be used in this recipe, but butter is my favorite.
- Granulated Sugar. Any granulated sugar works well in this brownie recipe. I use organic cane sugar.
- Creamy Peanut Butter. Choose your favorite variety, even natural peanut butter works well in this recipe. You can use crunchy peanut butter just be aware you will have bits of nuts in your brownies!
- Mix-ins. While additional mix-ins are optional, I suggest chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped peanut butter cups, etc.
How to make peanut butter brownies
This recipe is easy to make, but it's important to follow the instructions because the method matters if you want a shiny crinkly top.
Begin by combining the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder and sea salt) together in a small bowl, then set it aside.
Melt chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe bowl, or on the stovetop over low heat. Stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat eggs and sugar for 1 minute or until pale and thick.
Next, add the melted chocolate/butter mixture, peanut butter and vanilla and beat on low speed until batter is smooth and homogenous (uniform throughout).
Next, add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated and there are no lumps. Then, stir in chocolate chips or your preferred mix-ins.
Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake until the top is set and the brownies are only very slightly “jiggly”, 18-25minutes.**
Place brownie pan on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serve
Once the brownies are cooled, cut them into squares and serve. I suggest serving them with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream (or chocolate ice cream), or a dollop of homemade whipped cream.
Frost (Optional)
You can also frost the peanut butter brownies before cutting once they are completely cooled. Here are some of our favorite frosting recipes that would taste amazing on these brownies:
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Freeze
Cool brownies completely. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Reheat
Reheat brownies in the microwave for a few seconds to restore their fresh-from-the-oven taste and texture.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can add a peanut butter swirl to the top of these brownies if you'd like!
Brownies dry out if they are exposed to air or if they have been over baked.
Keep brownies stored in an airtight container. You can also soften them by gently warming them in the microwave (for 15-30 seconds) or in an oven set to warm for 5 minutes!
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, bar, etc.
- ½ cup salted butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup of mix-ins chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, nuts, etc. - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease an 8x8” baking dish, set aside.
- Mix flour, cocoa powder and sea salt together in a small bowl; set aside.
- Melt chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe bowl, or on the stovetop over low heat. Stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat eggs and sugar for 1 minute or until pale and thick.
- Add melted chocolate/butter mixture, peanut butter and vanilla and stir on low speed until batter is smooth and homogenous (uniform throughout).
- Add dry ingredients, mix on low speed until just incorporated and there are no lumps.
- Stir in chocolate chips or your preferred mix-ins.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until the top is set and the brownies are only very slightly “jiggly”, 18-25minutes.**
- Place brownie pan on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cut into squares and serve.
Video
Notes
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, feel free to substitute a 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
- Fine Sea Salt. I recommend using pure fine sea salt in baking and cooking. If you use iodized table salt decrease the amount by half.
- Semisweet Chocolate. Choose a high-quality chocolate for the best results. The form of the chocolate doesn't matter too much. Chips, chopped bars, discs, etc. all work equally well because it's being melted. However the quality and cocoa content of your chocolate will affect the final outcome.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter works well too, you may just need to adjust the amount of sea salt in the recipe! Coconut oil or ghee can also be used in this recipe, but butter is my favorite.
- Creamy Peanut Butter. Choose your favorite variety, even natural peanut butter works well in this recipe. You can use crunchy peanut butter just be aware you will have bits of nuts in your brownies!
- Mix-ins. While additional mix-ins are optional, I suggest chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped peanut butter cups, etc.
Nutrition
The photos in this post were taken by Ginny from In Bloom Bakery!
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Eleonora
They are delicious! Great recipe Laura.
Kids and husband approved!
I put peanut butter cups instead of chocolate chips.