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Indulge in the lusciousness of the easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies, brimming with fudgy goodness and a decadent texture. These treats boast a classic blend of peanut butter and chocolate, creating a heavenly taste. Whether it’s holidays, birthdays, or even long summer days, this brownie recipe is a crowd-pleaser. You basically have to create two different layers: one with chocolate, the other with peanut butter. Then you blend them together and here are the nicely made brownies. Let’s make them!
Why we love 💕Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
- They are easy and fun to make
- They are rich and decadent and so versatile for all occasions from picnics to birthdays to holidays
- You can replace the creamy peanut butter with almond butter or any other nut butter if you desire
- They are crowd-pleasers as everybody loves them!
👩🍳What you need to make the Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
For the chocolate layer
- Large mixing bowl and medium mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- unsalted butter, melted
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- unsweetened cocoa powder
For the peanut butter layer
- creamy peanut butter
- unsalted butter, melted
- granulated sugar
- packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- real vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
Did you know that peanut butter appeared in the modern world because of an American, the doctor, nutritionist, and cereal pioneer John Harvey Kellogg, who filed a patent for a proto-peanut butter in 1895?
Read about the exciting history of peanut butter here
🕐How to make the Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
To make the chocolate layer: combine the dry ingredients including flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix and whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Avoid mixing or the brownies will turn out cake-like.
To make the peanut butter layer: combine peanut butter, melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add them slowly into the peanut butter mixture.
Top the peanut butter layer with the chocolate layer mixture, spreading the batters for both layers out evenly. Use your hands to spread out into an even layer.
Bake in a preheated oven to 350 degrees for about 22 minutes or until the brownies are gooey and soft.
More chocolate recipes? Find the Triple Layer Chocolate Cake here
❓FAQs about the Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies?
What type of peanut butter should I use?
You can use any type of creamy natural peanut butter for this recipe. Just go for the real peanut butter made only from peanuts that does not contain sugars or added oils. Typically, peanut butter contains salt, sugars, and canola or sunflower oils. There are several brands largely available in the market that offer only peanut butter with no additives. Better yet, go for organic although it is optional. Try Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter
Can I use chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder?
You can use chocolate chips for this recipe if you wish. We used unsweetened cocoa powder to make the recipe less sugary and much lighter. As this recipe contains fat, like butter and peanut butter, we feel that the unsweetened cocoa powder is a better option as there is little to no cocoa butter found in cocoa. If you’d rather use chocolate chips, opt for the dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips.
Can I use vegan or plant-based butter?
You can use plant-based or vegan butter. The replacement does not overall change the recipe. Vegan butter has a great flavor. Make sure that you pick a good vegan butter that will not affect the texture as well.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
Use a gluten-free flour mix 1 to 1 all-purpose flour to make gluten-free brownies.
How can I store the Chocolate Peanut Butter brownies?
Serve the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies once cooled. Store brownies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can freeze them for about a month.
Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
Chocolate Layer
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Layer
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper
- Mix all the ingredients for the chocolate layer in a large mixing bowl, adding in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt last
- Lightly fold in the flour and cocoa powder until just mixed. Do not over mix or the brownies will turn out cake-like
- Mix the ingredients for the peanut butter brownie layer, again saving the flour, baking powder and salt for last and stirring until just mixed
- Spread peanut butter brownie layer on the bottom of the pan and top it with the chocolate brownie layer, spreading the batter for both layers out evenly
- Bake for 22 minutes. Brownies will still be soft and gooey, but will finish setting while they cool. Enjoy!
Notes
- You do not need to spray baking oil on the parchment paper. Parchment paper is already non-stick, so there is no need to grease your parchment paper
- Spread the batters for both layers out evenly. Use your hands to spread out into an even layer for a better result