The Best Peanut Butter Brownies

There is nothing better than the chocolatey richness of a brownie, well unless it is combined with the nutty goodness of peanut butter.  The next time you crave fresh brownies, try this twist.  We guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to local home baker Allyson De Mars for sharing!

Ingredients:

For Brownies:
  • 1/4 cup melted butter – slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1.25 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup Swany White all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder ( I like Dutch process, but whatever you have will work!)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
For Filling:
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter (or any nut or seed butter)
  • 1 cup powdered sugars
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a 9×9 square baking pan, or line with parchment.

For brownie batter: In a large bowl mix together butter, oil, granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Then add eggs and mix until well combined. In a medium bowl whisk together Swany White flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until completely incorporated.

Peanut butter filling: In a medium bowl mix peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix well, filling will be the consistency of soft cookie dough. Mix in 1/4 c chocolate chips. Pour about half of the brownie batter into the greased baking pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula. (I like to gently tap the pan on the counter to get it to even out a bit after I spread it. ) Take about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter filling in your hands, flatten it, and place on top of better in pan .

Continue creating an even layer until all filling is used up and most of the bottom layer of brownie batter is covered. (This doesn’t have to be perfect! It’s ok to have overlapping shingles of peanut butter filling or cracks of batter peeking through!)

Once all of the filling has been put in place gently spoon or pour the remaining brownie batter on top. You can use a rubber spatula to even it out the best that you can but it’s ok if some of the filling is visible. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely before cutting!

Note: Feel free to top your brownies with additional chocolate or peanut butter chips by gently pressing them into the top layer of batter before putting them in the oven!