Peanut Butter Brownies
I’m not the biggest chocolate fan — except when it’s paired with peanut butter. I’ll bargain and beg for all the Reese’s peanut butter cups in my daughter’s Halloween stash, and I absolutely love chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. So it’s no surprise that I’m all about swirling peanut butter into a pan of brownie batter. This easy brownie recipe comes together without a mixer, and there’s a generous amount of creamy peanut butter swirled throughout in a pretty pattern. I promise it tastes as good as it looks.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, or 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup room temperature creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy or Jif
- Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-by-8-inch metal baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Cut 1 stick unsalted butter into 8 pieces and place in a medium saucepan. Coarsely chop 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (no need to chop chocolate chips, you will need 1 cup) and add to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, about 1 1/2 minutes total.) Remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Place 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just evenly incorporated. Add the chocolate mixture and stir until evenly combined. Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and fold in until just incorporated and no white streaks remain, about 20 strokes.
- Scrape the batter into the baking pan, push it to the edges in an even layer, and smooth the top. Dollop 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter in small spoonfuls (about 1/2 tablespoon each) evenly over the batter. Run a skewer or chopstick through the peanut butter into the batter to decoratively swirl the two together.
- Bake until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 37 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Grasp the excess foil and lift the brownie slab of the baking pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 16 (2-inch) squares.