Attention all peanut butter lovers!
Last week, I shared my favorite chewy brownies recipe. My hungry fiancé and friends asked for them again (they’re that good), so today I bring you chewy fudgy homemade brownies, peanut butter style. They are like eating a peanut butter egg in brownie form.
These brownies will blow your chocolate and peanut butter loving mind.
The idea is quite simple. Make my ultra fudgy homemade brownies. Stuff them with a peanut butter cup filling of sorts and top with… you guessed it… more peanut butter and chocolate. Sip a healthy smoothie as you go and then put on your fat pants. Prepare to overindulge; it’s amazing.
I explain quite a bit of science behind making perfect homemade brownies. Learn all about the chocolate to sugar to flour to egg ratio, and why each ingredient is so important. You can’t really bake my homemade brownies without a little background knowledge. After all, baking is like chemistry. Delicious chemistry.
Let’s discuss the peanut butter filling. It’s basically the same peanut butter filling that I use to make my Chocolate Covered Pretzel Peanut Butter Bites. It’s a very, very thick filling – like a crumbly cookie dough. You’re going to grab chunks of it, flatten them out, and layer on top of brownie batter. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Mine certainly isn’t!
Then, top the peanut butter layer with the rest of the brownie batter. And press a few chocolate and peanut butter chips on top.
Here’s a little visual:
The brownies take about 35-38 minutes, or longer depending on your oven. Sometimes mine take 35 minutes, other times 40. My oven is full of surprises. Just keep your eye on them after 30 minutes; a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with only a few moist crumbs. That’s when you know they are done.
Waiting for the brownies to fully cool will feel like a lifetime.
The brownie layer is fudgy and chewy, while the peanut butter layer is soft and dense. Kevin and I both thought the peanut butter filling was reminiscent of a Reese’s peanut butter cup filling. Readers say the same about these peanut butter cookies and peanut butter filled brownie cookies, too! Yes, these brownies are basically a giant pan of Reese’s cups.
Need I say more?
These insane brownies should really come with a warning label!
Print
Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 16-20 brownies
- Category: Brownies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chewy, fudgy homemade chocolate brownies stuffed with a peanut butter filling and topped with peanut butter and chocolate chips. If you like peanut butter cups, you’ll love these!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (115g) salted butter*
- 8 ounces (228g) coarsely chopped quality semi-sweet chocolate*
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (79g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Filling
- 3/4 cup (185g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 2 Tablespoons each chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
Instructions
- Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Or melt in a medium microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments, stirring after each, in the microwave. Remove from the heat, pour into a large mixing bowl, and allow to slightly cool for 10 minutes.
- While the chocolate mixture is cooling, make the peanut butter filling. In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and milk together on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture will be very thick – like a crumbly cookie dough. Set aside.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×9 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhand on all sides. Set aside.
- Whisk the granulated and brown sugars into the cooled chocolate/butter mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla. Gently fold in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Pour/spread half of the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. Take large chunks of the peanut butter filling and flatten with your hands. Place flat pieces in an even layer on top of the brownie layer, as shown in the photo above. Pour/spread the remaining brownie batter on top. Top with the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Using the back of a spatula, gently press the chips into the brownie batter.
- Bake for 35-36 minutes or until the brownies begin to pull away from the edges of the pan. (The brownies may slightly crack in the center – that’s because air in between the peanut butter layers is trying to escape. That’s normal!) A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with only a few moist crumbs when the brownies are done. All ovens are different, so keep an eye on them after 30 minutes and use the toothpick test to see when yours are finished.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Once cooled, lift the foil out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into squares. For neat squares, I use a very sharp knife and wipe it clean with a paper towel after each cut.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Brownies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week. You can freeze the brownies for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Butter: I love to use salted butter here. If you choose to use unsalted, don’t increase the salt in the recipe. I find that there is no noticeable taste difference between using salted and unsalted butter in this particular recipe.
- Chocolate: I typically use Baker’s, Ghirardelli, or Trader Joes chocolate.
Keywords: chocolate peanut butter brownies, peanut butter stuffed brownies
About how long would you say these brownies stay fresh for? I want to send them to my deployed husband and Mail usually takes about 2 weeks but can be up to 4 weeks sometimes. They look super yummy and I think he would love them.
Amanda, brownies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
These are so delicious!!! Love them!! Last time I made a half batch in a loaf pan and they turned out perfectly!
Still making these – still turning out awesome. I flatten the PB layer like play doh and lay it on. Great recipe!!
I just made these this weekend (after scouring the internet for something super rich) and these did not disappoint! They are fudgy and peanut-buttery and I will be using the peanut butter filling again, maybe trying it with a boxed brownie mix or a cookie dough to stuff inside. My husband barely let me get that PB filling into the pan– he kept grabbing hunks of it to eat raw! I did use chopped up Reese’s pb cups instead of the chips and it was perfect! Thank you!! =)
Oh my gosh I love this!but when I took them out and cut them I couldn’t see the peanut spread only taste it? I don’t know what happened!
Gemma
08/11/2015
Hello From Annapolis Maryland Sally,
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. My granddaughters and their friends love it. I love it. I did learn a few things from making these delectable treats countless times, Sift the confectioners sugar. It only happened once but my peanut butter batter had chunks of sugar in it. Want to take it over the top. Take 3 large Hershey bars or six regular size and place them on top of the brownies when you remove them from the oven. Let the chocolate bars melt for a few minutes then swirl with a reverse spatula, back of spoon, whatever. My family ask for these all the time. Thanks again Sally, you are definitely a creative inspiration.
God Bless You and Yours
Nancy
Wow these are incredible!! Might just be my new favorite recipe! I made them with gluten free flour (because I have to) and my not gluten free guests loved them just as much as I did. They’re so gooey and delicious! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
My peanut butter mix was crumble lol. But I made it work by just putting on there and it turn out just fine. I can never stick to the recipe, I am always adding something in there. I added Nestles peanut butter filled chocolate chip called Delight Full and Resse’s chip in both the brownie batter and peanut butter mix. My dad is a peanut butter lover so this recipe was great. Everyone love it, absolute delicious! (We all ate it when it came out with more peanut butter ice cream haha) Thank you for sharing this recipe. Maybe your next book should be a “Peanut Butter Lover” book for all the peanut butter lovers out there.
Made these in a 9X13 for a church function. Got rave reviews!
This is by far the best brownie I ever made…thank you Sally for sharing the recipe..I followed to the T and it was sumptuous..a big fan now!!
These brownies were delicious! I used 6 oz os semi sweet dark organic baking chocolate and 2 oz of unsweetened dark 100% cacao organic baking chocolate and the chocolate flavor was huge! Used Skippy’s Naturals for my peanut butter layer, and I noticed and solved a problem with the directions by looking through the comment section: the additional measure of 2 tbsp of flour belongs in the peanut layer batter, though it’s not referenced again in the step by step directions, and it’s the key to getting the “dry cookie dough” texture so that the peanut butter layer stays separated. Thanks for a delicious recipe! Was a big hit with my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. Next batch, we’re adding nuts!
This is the most incredible, decadent chocolate peanut butter dessert I’ve ever had. Chocolate and peanut butter is my favorite combination but the cookies and brownies I’ve tried always leave me disappointed. Not these! Since discovering this recioe I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve baked them, and they’ve turned out perfect every time.
The chocolate layer was so sticky it wouldn’t spread along the top. I ended up getting frustrated and pitching the whole thing. Way too stick to do anything with.
Hi Sally. Not sure if you’ll get my question in time, but I’ll ask anyway. Do you think I could get away with using heavy cream in place of the milk in the peanut butter filling or even coconut milk? Thanks so much!!
Either would be fine!
I have no idea what went wrong, I followed the recipe, and everything seemed to be going well, but when i looked in the oven after 35 minutes it was nothing but a bubbly soupy mess! I tried keeping it in but it just burned around the edges and was boiling liquid in the middle. Why did this happen??
That’s odd. It sounds like an oven issue, not an ingredient issue. I would double check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer and make sure you are baking on a lower baking rack.
Can I double the recipe to go inside a 9×13″ pan?!
Yes.
I saw the comments about the peanut butter layer being too runny, so I made sure to use my Skippy Natural peanut butter and kept the mixer running for about a minute after everything came together. I just cut the brownies and they turned out great! Thanks for the perfect recipe for this peanut butter/chocolate combo addict.
Yikes!! I’m not sure what happened…. I followed your recipe exactly but when I cut the brownies, I couldn’t see the peanut butter layer like in your pictures. I’m giving these as gifts so I couldn’t taste them but I’m sure you can still taste the peanut butter goodness in the middle. To look at them, though, they just look like brownies. Any ideas?
Currently cooking in the oven, they smell absolutely divine.
I made these last night and they came out perfect! They are so moist and delicious my entire dinner party loved them. The foil was a brilliant idea, easy cleanup! My brother inlaw in addicted to peanutbutter and he made a copy of the recipe so his wife could make him a batch. Thanks for another great recipe. Best of luck with all your wedding plans. It sounds like you are enjoying the journey and that is a blessed thing:)
These were delicious fudge brownies. However, I had the same problem as Chelsea; the filling was spreadable and not thick. Then it baked into the brownies and I didn’t have the ribbon layer. The ingredients are different than the Peanut Butter filling with the pretzels and I wondered if there was something missing for the brownie recipe????
Hi Laura. No, there is nothing missing from the filling recipe as written. Are you using runny peanut butter? You may try leaving out the milk if you try again.
Sally these brownies were incredible! I won’t even say how many I ate the day I made these :X One thing that I did notice when I made these was that my peanut butter filling didn’t have the same consistency as yours did. Mine turned out to be more like a frosting rather than a crumbly texture. Did you have that problem at all when you made these the first few times? Either way they were still delicious and I will be making these again!
My daughter made these this evening–wow are they delicious!! This was certainly the most difficult recipe my 11 year old has made yet, but your instructions made it easy for her. Thanks again for another amazing recipe!
I made these with my 9 year old daughter over the weekend. There is nothing better than peanut butter and chocolate for some mother daughter bonding. We licked the tray clean! Thanks again Sally for another winner!
These were so good! But I had a lot of trouble getting them out of the pan. Also they took a lot longer to cook. But overall super delicious! The brownies was dense and the filling was lip-smacking!
I baked the brownies in a dark pan for 35 minutes (were a bit gooey at 30 minutes) and realized too late that I should have taken them out of the oven at 31 not 35 minutes. A little dry but I frosted them with your milk chocolate recipe and cut off the edges. Cut them in small squares and served them along with your strawberry cupcakes (with cream cheese frosting) for Mother’s Day dessert. Both were a hit!
Sally,
I made these for Mother’s Day and they were a HUGE hit! (Just like every other recipe of yours I’ve made).
I’ve been converting some of your recipes to gluten free. Brownies seem to be the easiest because I don’t have to worry about the baking soda and/or powder rising correctly without traditional wheat flour. These brownies took a few extra minutes to bake, but the result was a rich, decadent brownie that no one could tell was gluten free! Thanks for this amazing recipe!!!
Made these this morning but doubled it to bake in a 9×13 pan. After putting a think layer of the peanut butter filling down, I had leftovers. I didn’t want it too thick or waste it…so, my son and I ate it. The brownies are baking now. Can’t wait to share them with my parents and in-laws for Mothers Day. I already give this two thumbs up because the filling was so darn good!
I just made these and the batter tasted great! I did have a problem with the peanut butter filling, it was a bit runny. But, I’m pretty sure that’s because I used natural pb instead of the kind with sugar (it was all I had on hand). Anyways, I added more powdered sugar and it seems to be fine. We will see when these come out of the oven! Thanks for all of your delicious recipes! Every time I try any from your blog, they turn out amazing. My favorite of all time is definitely the chocolate chunk cookies!
Yes, try using non-natural peanut butter – thicker and will make a thicker filling. I’m glad yours were enjoyed, Ashley. Thanks for reporting back.
Made these in class for my high schoolers. Just came out of the oven…. can’t wait to dig in 🙂