Take me straight to the recipe!

Rich, decadent and delicious, these brownies are the perfect dessert for any celebration!

Super fudgey chocolate brownies combined with a salty peanut butter swirl and melted Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. These brownies are loaded with all the chocolatey goodness! 

The brownie batter is the same batter from my plain chocolate brownies but the added peanut butter and Reese’s peanut butter cups take it to a whole new level. Don’t worry, the method is still very simple and only requires one saucepan! If you want to watch the video of how I make them, head to my youtube channel here!

If you are a regular reader you may have noticed that I have made my fair share of brownies over the years and in doing so I have tried and tested many different methods, ingredients and combinations. I have made the mistakes and worked out what works and what doesn’t so that you don’t have to! I have had a few questions about my brownies recently and what I do and don’t do so I thought I would try and cover them all below.

TOP TIPS FOR THE BEST BROWNIES

To start us off, lets go over the method as it’s important! While you melt the butter and chocolate together do not let it burn, it’s better to leave it on a low heat and melt slowly than it is to whack the heat up high and burn it. If you have it too high you will brown the butter and burn the chocolate which nobody wants! 

Take the pan off the heat before you add the sugar and don’t worry when it goes grainy, adding in the eggs will bring it back to its shiny smooth consistency. The eggs are best added one at a time and need to be fully mixed in before you add the next one. This will stop the mixture from splitting, if it does split you should be able to bring it back together by mixing it hard or by adding 1 tablespoon of flour.

When you add the flour and cocoa powder mixture, it folds in easier if you sift it first but it’s not a necessity. I see lots of recipes online that say not to over mix and stop when it is just incorporated. I have a slightly different view on this and think it is actually better when the flour is fully folded in. The mixture should have no lumps at all and should be very smooth and glossy.

Baking the brownies takes some skill, you do not want to over bake them. Brownies should be gooey and this is easily confused as being underdone. You want the brownies to be firm around the edges but soft in the centre. This means that when they cool you will be able to slice them and they will hold their shape but at the same time they will be soft, fudgey and so moreish.

Next, lets talk about the cocoa powder. . . I often get asked which cocoa powder I use and whether it is worth splashing out on something more expensive. I use the Bourneville Cocoa powder, mainly because our local Sainsbury’s has a very basic selection but it’s not expensive and works perfectly. Whatever you have easily accessible to you will work. 

The same question is often asked with regards to the actual chocolate I use and while I am not a fan of baking chocolate I don’t splash out on the expensive stuff. I often find the shops own brand dark chocolate works perfectly, plus you get twice as much for your money! Baking can get expensive if you are always buying branded stuff but it really doesn’t need to be!

For the peanut butter in these brownies I have found that the cheaper smooth peanut butters work better than those advertised in health food stores. Go for the simple stuff that we all used to enjoy when we were younger. The Reece’s Pieces aren’t vital but they do add a delicious twist to the brownies. I would recommend cutting the big ones into quarters though if you are using those!

Final tip. . . If you want an extra sticky brownie add a handful of small marshmallows to the batter. As they bake they caramelise and add to the wonderful fudgey texture!

I hope these helps you achieve the perfect brownie at home but for the Peanut Butter Brownie recipe, keep reading below!

🛒 Ingredients 🛒  

▪️200g butter

▪️200g dark chocolate

▪️275g golden caster sugar

▪️3 large eggs

▪️85g plain flour

▪️50g cocoa powder

▪️180g dark chocolate chips

▪️100g peanut butter with 1/2 tsp salt stirred through

▪️150 g Reeces peanut butter cups

👩‍🍳 Method 👨‍🍳 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare your 9x9inch tray, if it does not have a non stick coating, remember to line with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt together the chocolate and the butter over a medium heat. Once melted, stir through the sugar until there are no lumps. 
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, make sure they are combined fully before you move onto the next one. 
4. Next, fold in the flour and the cocoa powder, make sure it is a smooth and shiny consistency with no lumps of flour.
5. Stir through the chocolate chips and Reece’s peanut butter cups
6. Add to your prepared baking tray and spoon on the peanut butter in blobs. Using a blunt knife, swirl together to give a marbled pattern on the top.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You want the edges to be firm but the middle to be slightly fudgey.