These peanut butter cup brownies are the ultimate brownies for peanut butter cup lovers! Rich and decadent dark chocolate brownies with a peanut butter swirl studded with chopped up peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.
If you love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate you are going to love these brownies! They are rich and decadent and taste exactly like biting into a peanut butter cup.
They are so easy to make and only require a few ingredients.They are super fudgy with the gooey centers, shiny crinkle tops, and chunks of peanut butter cups in every single bite!
For more brownie recipes, try my white chocolate raspberry blondies , cherry chocolate brownies or espresso brownies
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Why you will love these peanut butter cup brownies
- Irresistible Flavor Combination: The classic duo of chocolate and peanut butter comes together in a decadent, delicious treat.
- Easy to Make: With simple ingredients and straightforward steps, these brownies are perfect for bakers of all skill levels.
- Crowd-Pleaser: Whether it’s a family gathering or a casual get-together, these brownies are always a hit.
- Versatile: Enjoy them as is or add your favorite toppings, like a drizzle of chocolate sauce or a sprinkle of sea salt, for a personalized touch.
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted butter– Use room temperature butter
- Sugar – Caster or granulated sugar works best for this recipe.
- Flour – All purpose / plain flour.
- Eggs – Use large or medium eggs.
- Salt – Omit this if your’e using salted butter
- Cocoa powder – I prefer to use unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Dutch processed (or alkalized) cocoa is much less bitter than natural cocoa powder, because it has been treated with an alkaline to reduce the acidity of cocoa. It is also usually darker in appearance, and will produce darker batter.
- Chocolate – Use good quality chocolate, best you can afford. I always use chopped chocolate in my baking, because it is higher quality than chocolate chips (which are often made with vegetable oil), and it produces better results. I’m a fan of dark chocolate in baking (70% cocoa solids), but I often use both, dark and milk chocolate when making brownies.
- Peanut Butter – I like to use creamy peanut butter for baking. I don’t recommend natural peanut butter. The texture will not be the same.
- Peanut Butter Cups – I used mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups but you can substitute with regular peanut butter cups.
Step by step Instructions
Here is how to make and bake these peanut butter cup brownies. This recipe uses a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer. Start by preheating your oven to 350F/170C and greasing and lining an 8*8 inch square pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on the sides
Step 1: Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, large heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water or in a microwave in 30 second intervals. To the melted chocolate whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract.
Step 2: In a separate small bowl mix the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar.
Step 3: In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the eggs and sugar for 4-5 mins until the mixture turns pale and has doubled in volume.Do not skip this step as this is what gives the brownies a lovely crinkle top finish.
Step 4: Beat in the chocolate/butter mixture to the eggs and sugar. Finally, gently stir in the flour, salt, semi sweet chocolate chunks and peanut butter cups.
Step 5: Pour the prepared batter into the lined pan. Drop spoonful’s of the peanut butter mixture on top of the brownie batter and make swirls using a knife or a skewer.
Step 6: Bake the brownies for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy!
When to slice the Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Take the peanut butter cup brownies out of the oven once baked, then let them rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, transfer the brownies to the fridge and chill uncovered for at least an hour.Chilling thoroughly will allow the bars to set COMPLETELY and cut easily into neater slices.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a kitchen scale: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. They are very affordable and ensure you have the most accurate measurements when baking!
- Lining the baking pan: Buttering the sides of the pan and lining with parchment will keep it from sticking to the pan and making it easier to remove once baked.
- Don’t over marble them: Swirling the peanut butter too much will cause you to lose the marble look
- Don’t over bake them!: This is the big one! Overbaking the bars will make them dry and crumbly.
- Dark vs. light baking pans: Baking pans conduct heat differently depending on what color the pan is. If your pan is glass or white, you should increase the heat to 350 F/177 C.
FAQ’s
I wouldn’t recommend baking with natural peanut butters as they often separate where the oil floats to the top of the jar. Nut butters like this are difficult to bake cookies with because they can cause brownies to spread too thin.
You can, but the color and flavor will not be the same as pictured. I highly recommend dutch process for a richer chocolate flavor.
You probably baked them for too long. Brownies should came out of the oven slightly under-baked. When you insert a toothpick or cake tester into the bake, it should come out with few crumbs still attached to it. Even if you over-baked them, they will still be delicious!
You can substitute with chopped semi sweet chocolate, peanut butter chips, or even other types of chopped candy bars.
Storing And Freezing
Store these peanut butter cup brownies at room temperature for up to 4 days, or keep them in the fridge, for up to 6 days.
They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap each slice into a double layer of clingfilm and cover with kitchen foil. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and bring to room temperature before serving.
More Recipes To Try !
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Recipe 📖
Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- 8*8 Square Baking Pan
Ingredients
- 6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder regular unsweetened or Dutch-processed
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup chopped peanut butter cups
- ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- ⅔ cup peanut butter
- 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water or in a microwave in 30 second intervals. To the melted chocolate whisk in the cocoa powder. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl mix the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer or hand mixer beat the eggs and sugar for 4-5 mins until doubled in volume. Beat in the chocolate/butter mixture Finally, stir in the flour, salt and peanut butter cups.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Drop spoonful’s of the peanut butter mixture on top of the brownies batter and make swirls using a knife. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
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