Peanut Butter Brookies

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Peanut Butter Brookies โ€” These brookies are soft and chewy, with peanut butter and chocolate married together in every bite. All you need is two bowls, and no mixer is required!

stack of three Peanut Butter Brookies 

Peanut Butter Brookies Recipe

A soft and chewy peanut butter cookie base with a rich fudgy brownie top, what could be better? This is a special recipe for me to post not only because it involves peanut butter and chocolate, but because I got the recipe from one of my BFF’s cookbooks, Dessert Mash-Ups.

The recipe comes from Dorothy, who blogs at Crazy for Crust. Not only is she an amazing baker, but she’s also one of my best friends. We started as online friends but have become real life friends. With this online job I have, real life and online life blur together and friends like Dorothy are cherished.

We’ve met up in San Diego, Santa Monica, San Francisco, and took a crazy whirlwind trip to Nashville where we flew from California to Nashville (and back!) in 26 hours total. We ran a half marathon together over Labor Day weekend at Disneyland and brought our daughters. Our daughters are about the same age and get along fabulously.

Dorothy and I share a passion for laughing over cocktails, cheese boards, and desserts. So it was about time I made something from her cookbook and these brookie bars are a winner.

Dorothy wrote in her book that she uses her favorite peanut butter cookie base (mine too) and her favorite brownie recipe on top. I love it when brownies have a thin, crackly top and stay fudgy underneath and these peanut butter brookies are perfect.

Soft, chewy, and wonderful with peanut butter and chocolate married together in every bite. These cookie brownie bars are easy, not fussy, all you need is two bowls, and you don’t even need to use a mixer!

stack of two Peanut Butter Brookies 

What’s in Peanut Butter Brookies?

To make these brookie bars, you’ll need:

  • Creamy peanut butter
  • Granulated sugar
  • Light brown sugar
  • Eggs
  • Unsweetened baking chocolate
  • Semi-sweet baking chocolate
  • Unsalted butter
  • Vanilla extract
  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt

How to Make Brookies

Before making the brownie batter, you first need to make the flourless peanut butter cookie crust. To do so, simply stir together two types of sugar, creamy peanut butter, and an egg. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased and lined 9×13-inch baking dish.

Next, move onto the brownie batter top. Melt the chocolates, then whisk in the remaining ingredients. Pour the batter carefully over the cookie base. Bake the peanut butter brookies until the top is no longer glossy and is slightly cracked around the edges. 

Can I Use Natural Peanut Butter in these Brookies?

No, you need to use a creamy peanut butter from a brand like Jif or Skippy. 

Can I Add Mix-Ins? 

I’ve only made this brookies recipe as written, but I’m sure you could mix some chopped nuts or chocolate chips into the brownie batter. 

Peanut Butter Brookies - A soft and chewy peanut butter COOKIE base with fudgy BROWNIES on top!! For peanut butter + chocolate lovers, this EASY no-mixer recipe is the best of both worlds!!

Tips for Making Brookies

This brookies bar recipe calls for two types of baking chocolate. I used Trader Joeโ€™s 72% Pound Plus Bar instead because that’s what I had on hand. You’re welcome to use another dark chocolate if that’s all you’ve got. 

I prefer making homemade brownies, but I’ve had readers report success making this recipe with a high-quality boxed brownie mix when they were short on time. Just something to note! 

These brookies need to cool completely before you cut into them. They need that time to properly set up.

Peanut Butter Brookies โ€” These brookies are soft and chewy, with peanut butter and chocolate married together in every bite. All you need is two bowls, and no mixer is required!

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4.34 from 36 votes

Peanut Butter Brookies

By Averie Sunshine
These brookies are soft and chewy, with peanut butter and chocolate married together in every bite. All you need is two bowls, and no mixer is required!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 32 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings: 20 servings
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Ingredients  

Peanut Butter Cookie Crust

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter, use something like Skippy or Jif for best results, not an oily โ€˜naturalโ€™ peanut butter that separates
  • ยฝ cup granulated sugar
  • ยฝ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg

Brownies

  • 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • ยพ cup unsalted butter, 1 1/2 sticks
  • 1 ยพ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ยฝ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Instructions 

  • Peanut Butter Cookie Crust
  • Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9ร—13-inch pan with cooking spray or line with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy cleanup.
  • Stir together the peanut butter, sugars, and egg in a large bowl.
  • Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. The dough layer will be thin. It helps to spay your hands with cooking spray if using your hands, or use a spatula and take your time to spread it out; set aside.
  • Brownies
  • Melt the two chocolates (I used 4 ounces of Trader Joeโ€™s 72% Pound Plus bar instead of two types of chocolate) and butter together in a large, microwave-safe bowl on high in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until the mixture is smooth.
  • Whisk in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Carefully stir in the flour and salt, donโ€™t overmix.
  • Evenly pour batter over peanut butter layer, lightly spreading it with a spatula.
  • Bake for about 32 to 38 minutes, until the top is no longer glossy and is slightly cracked around the edges.
  • Cool completely in pan before slicing and serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

Recipe from Dessert Mash-Ups, reprinted with permission.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 317kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 132mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 28g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.34 from 36 votes (30 ratings without comment)

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    This recipe was simple to make and turned out well. The peanut butter layer was very easy to mix and spread. I added nuts to the brownie layer. The flavor of the brookie is really good.
    For “Averie”, the bottom layer seemed to be overcooked. I cooked it at the Temperature and time suggested.

    1. Any chance you used a pan other than a metal pan? That could contribute to the overcooked aspect at the base. Or your oven runs hot or maybe with warm summer weather, they didn’t take as long to cook as they would in the winter in a cold kitchen. Hard to say but I would simply bake them 5 minutes less next time, give or take. I am glad they turned out well overall for you.