Peanut Butter Brownies

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 35 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

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

Instructions

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.