Pure bliss for the Peanut Butter Chocolate lover. You’ll need a large jar of peanut butter for this recipe. It’s worth every ounce!

Peanut butter and brownies seem like a no brainer. The trick is to let the peanut butter AND the chocolate brownie shine. You would think this was easy, but it’s not. How do you combine the chewiness of a perfect brownie with the creaminess of a spoonful of peanut butter?

Local Inspiration for the Peanut Butter Brownies

I live close to Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. This perfectly balanced chocolate and peanut butter candy has inspired me before (like with the Pennsylvania Tango Cookie) and it inspired me here too. 

Many people in the area love chocolate peanut butter treats, and it’s no wonder. Driving through downtown Hershey, you can smell the roasting cocoa beans every morning. I found many peanut butter treats were too sweet for my liking though. 

Although the peanut butter cup is a wonderful candy, I wanted chocolate and peanut butter in the form of a stable, irresistible brownie. I wanted it to be easily transferable to a church youth event and easy to pick up from a dessert table. 

More Peanut Butter, Please!

Sometimes we throw peanut butter at a chocolate recipe and hope for the best, to disastrous results. One flavor outshines the other, or it’s too rich. They need to be in perfect harmony to create the perfect treat. 

To solve a common problem of the peanut butter layer being too sweet, I simply added more peanut butter to the mixture. It gives a true peanut butter taste without overwhelming you. 

Now that I had the perfect topping, I felt like the brownie needed an additional kick of smooth peanut butter flavor to make it cohesive with the topping. Using peanut butter chips would add a texture I didn’t want. On a whim, I melted some creamy peanut butter and swirled it through the top of the batter. Not only does it look beautiful, it tastes great!

Recipe Tips

The peanut butter topping is thick, almost like edible peanut butter playdough. It slices nicely and blends well with the brownie. If you want a smooth top, use a piece of wax paper to lay over top and then smooth out the peanut butter layer with your hand. 

The peanut butter chips on top are just for fun. You could leave them off, but I think they add visual appeal. You could also use shaved chocolate or mini chocolate chips. 

This brownie is best served in small portions. It packs a punch of peanut butter and chocolate flavor. You don’t need much to satisfy that craving. These freeze well if you want to save some for later. 

An “ode” is an elaborate poem meant to praise something. I would say these Peanut Butter Brownies are my lyrical recipe effort to the peanut butter and chocolate brownie pairing. Let me know what you think of it in the comments, and don’t forget to leave a review!