Layered Peanut Butter Brownies

“The combination of chocolate and peanut butter makes these layered brownies a real crowd pleaser. They’re so good that they won a ribbon at the fair.” —Margaret McNeil, Germantown, Tennessee

Layered Peanut Butter BrowniesTaste of Home
Servings Prep Time Cook Time
2dozen 15minutes 35minutes + cooling
Servings Prep Time
2dozen 15minutes
Cook Time
35minutes + cooling
Ingredients
Portions: dozen
Units:
Ingredients
Portions: dozen
Units:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, butter and vanilla until smooth. Whisk together the dry ingredients; gradually add to egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside 1 cup for topping. Spread remaining batter into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan.
  2. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and milk on low just until combined. Carefully spread over batter. Drop reserved batter by tablespoonfuls over filling. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
  3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 35-40 minutes (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack. Chill until serving.
Recipe Notes

Layered Peanut Butter Brownies Tips

How do you store these layered peanut butter brownies?

For super clean-cut brownies, chill them in the refrigerator before slicing and serving. After that, store the layered brownies in an airtight container or covered with foil at room temperature on the counter for a day or two. To extend their lifespan beyond that, store them in the refrigerator for up to one week.

How can you make these layered brownies more cakelike or more fudgy?

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakelike brownies. To make them more fudgy, the trick is to add more fat, which in this case is butter. A cakelike batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening.

Can you use a brownie mix instead of making the brownies from scratch in this layered peanut butter brownie recipe?

You can use a boxed or premade brownie mix to replace the dry ingredients with good results. Just be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions for baking in a 13x9-in. pan. However, the peanut butter cream cheese filling is best made from scratch. Be sure to use regular peanut butter—reduced-fat peanut butter is not recommended. For more tips on baking the perfect batch of brownies, check out our guide to baking brownies and don’t miss the common mistakes everyone makes when baking brownies, either. —Amy Glander, Taste of Home Book Editor

Nutrition Facts
1 brownie: 321 calories, 20g fat (11g saturated fat), 72mg cholesterol, 196mg sodium, 32g carbohydrate (24g sugars, 1g fibre), 5g protein.