GOURMET PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Chocolate and Peanut Butter lovers rejoice! If you love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you are going to go crazy for these Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies!  Made with my favorite homemade fudgy brownie recipe, these are stuffed with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and topped with a chocolate and peanut butter peanut butter drizzle and a sweet miniature peanut butter cup. There’s a reason that the majority of people rank Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as their favorite candy, and these brownies take that combination to the next level! 
 
Although the base of this recipe is really simple, these easily pass as the best “bakery bought” gourmet brownies. They are super rich, fudgy, and just a little bit chewy. They’re also packed with peanut butter cups, drizzled with a silky Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle, and topped with sweet little peanut butter cups – the brownie of your dreams!

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

WHAT ARE THE SECRETS TO MAKING THE BEST BROWNIES?

• If I can only share one baking secret with you, always use a DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE.  You can use measuring cups and spoons for most recipes, but using a digital scale makes for the more consistent and efficient baking.  Take this from someone that bakes A LOT!
• For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate for this recipe.  Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through!  I prefer Ghirardelli or Lindt dark chocolate bars with at least 70% chocolate for the melted chocolate, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips. 
• If your brownie recipe calls for it, don’t skip the espresso powder! It helps enhance the flavor of chocolate without adding an intense coffee flavor. Whisking cocoa powder and espresso powder into boiling water until smooth allows the chocolate flavor to bloom - don't skip this step if called for in your recipe!
• Don't overbeat your brownie batter!  Mix your dry ingredients in with a spatula just until blended for a perfectly shiny, crispy, and crackly top - the way a brownie should be!
• Baking brownies low and slow is the way to go!  325 degrees is the perfect temp for baking the best brownies.
• Be sure you don’t overbake the brownies!  They should not be liquidy when you pull them out of the oven, but should have a little jiggle in the middle. The brownies will firm up as they cool. Over-baked brownies will not be chewy or fudgy.

• After removing from the oven, I suggest you place the brownies on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting and slicing. They usually come to room temperature within a few hours - and although waiting for this may be the hardest part, they are worth the wait!
• Don’t use glass baking dishes for brownies or blondies – the baking times and results will vary wildly, and the heat retention of glass can lead to overbaking and dryness.

• For entertaining, I love to serve individual brownie squares.  I recommend and use a Pampered Chef Brownie Pan, which makes 12 individual brownie squares. I line each cavity with a non-stick cupcake parchment liner (PaperChef Culinary Parchment Large Baking Cups are my favorite).  I package each brownie individually in a self-adhesive cellophane bag (Pack It Chic 4x4” Clear Resealable Bags work perfectly).  Perfect for those times that you want to prepare brownies ahead of time and freeze!

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

WHAT IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE TO USE IN BROWNIES?

For gourmet brownies, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave.  Trust me on this!  For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate.  Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through! 

• Extra Dark & Bittersweet Chocolate:  Guittard 63% Extra Dark Chocolate Baking Chips and Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips are my favorite.
• Unsweetened Chocolate:  Guittard and Ghirardelli 100% Unsweetened Chocolate Chips, or if you don’t mind chopping chocolate, Ghirardelli or Baker’s Unsweetened Baking Bars
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate:  Guittard and Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• German Chocolate:  Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate Bars
• Milk Chocolate:  Guittard and Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
• White Chocolate:  Guittard Mystic White Cholate Baking Wafers (true white chocolate flavor and melt perfectly) or Lindt Classic White Chocolate Bars or Ghirardelli White Chocolate Premium Baking Bar, Ghirardelli Classic White Premium Baking Chips
• Cocoa Powder:  Always use Dutch-processed premium unsweetened cocoa for brownies!  Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder, Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa, Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa or Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened Ground  Cocoa
• Black Cocoa Powder:  King Arthur Black Cocoa will give you an intense, dark colored and unsweetened chocolate flavor – use sparingly for the darkest chocolate cake, cookies and brownies (think “Oreo” dark)

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

WHAT IS THE BEST PEANUT BUTTER TO USE FOR BAKING?

• For consistent and best results in cookies and cakes, I recommend using traditional peanut butter.  This picky mama uses Skippy - but Jif will work as well!   
• Make sure that peanut butter is at room temperature before using for cakes, cookies, brownies and frostings.  
• For some recipes, either creamy and chunky peanut butter can be used - consider the consistency you are looking for before making your choice.  For the Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle I use in this recipe, I recommend creamy peanut butter!
• For best results, I advise against “natural” style peanut butters for baking and cooking, because they tend to separate, and can either be too oily or too dry.

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

FOR THE BEST BROWNIES, USE THE BEST INGREDIENTS:

For gourmet brownies, in addition to using premium chocolate and cocoa, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave. Make sure to use fresh ingredients for the best results!  I’ve made so many cakes, cookies and brownies through the years, and these are my recommendations:

• Butter:  Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter.  Avoid generic/bargain brands of butter, which often contain water, which will strip your brownies of a perfect shiny sheen on top – and we LOVE a brownie with the perfect sheen!
• Flour:  King Arthur All Purpose Unbleached Flour is my favorite (it contains more gluten than other brands).  Pillsbury All Purpose is my back-up, but weighs differently – make sure to adjust as necessary.  (For reference, King Arthur is 120g per cup, Pillsbury is 129g per cup.)
• Granulated Sugar:  Domino Pure Cane Sugar
• Baking Powder:  Make sure that you use “aluminum-free” baking powder to avoid a tinny flavor. Rumford is one of the oldest and trusted brands. 
• Salt: To avoid a tinny flavor, never use iodized salt in brownies.  Morten Non-Iodized Table Salt is my preferred brand for cooking and baking.  For sea salt flakes, I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. 
• Vanilla:  Rodelle is my preferred brand for Pure Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Bean Paste are made with the highest-quality Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar. 
• Espresso Powder:  King Arthur Espresso Powder is my favorite!
• Other Extracts & Flavorings:  Rodelle (rodellevanilla.com), Cooks (cooksvanilla.com) and Amoretti (amoretti.com) brands make my favorite extracts and emulsions.  Keep in mind that extracts and emulsions have different strengths, so watch your measurements and use recommended amounts.

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

GOURMET PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES

Chocolate and Peanut Butter lovers rejoice! If you love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you are going to go crazy for these Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies!  Made with my favorite homemade fudgy brownie recipe, these are stuffed with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and topped with a chocolate and peanut butter peanut butter drizzle and a sweet miniature peanut butter cup. There’s a reason that the majority of people rank Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as their favorite candy, and these brownies take that combination to the next level! ​

Gourmet Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

​INGREDIENTS:
PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BROWNIES:
6 large eggs (room temperature)
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter
4-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips)
1-1/2 cups (9 ounces) 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups (300g) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (180g) King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 bag (12 oz.) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (miniature)
 
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER DRIZZLE:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Reese’s peanut butter chips
¼ cup Skippy Peanut Butter (creamy)
 
GARNISH:
12-24 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (regular or miniature)
 
HOW I MAKE THESE:

1. Remove eggs from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Lightly grease the foil in the pan, or spray with nonstick cooking spray. (Alternative: line 12-cavity brownie pan with individual parchment liners.) 
3. PREPARE BROWNIES:  In a small heavy saucepan, cut the butter into pieces and melt over low heat.  While the butter is melting, chop the unsweetened chocolate into ¼-inch pieces.  Add the bittersweet chocolate chips and chopped unsweetened chocolate to the melted butter, whisking together until melted and smooth.  Remove pan from stove and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. 
5. Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt in a separate small bowl, then whisk into the egg mixture just until blended.
6. Briefly stir the melted chocolate mixture, then gradually drizzle into the egg mixture, whisking constantly just until blended. 
7. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
8. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.  Sift through a fine mesh strainer directly into the batter.  Stir with a silicone spatula just until blended.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a small offset spatula (or for individual brownie pan, fill each parchment liner ½ full).
10. Now comes the fun part!  Push the peanut butter cups into the batter, being careful to keep them at least ½-inch away from the outside of the pan.  Use an offset spatula to cover the candy with the batter.
11. Bake for 35 minutes (22-24 minutes for individual brownie pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
12. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. 
13. PREPARE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER DRIZZLE:  In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in 30 second increments at 50% power, stirring between each, until chocolate is just melted. 
14. Drizzle melted chocolate on top of the room temperature brownies.  For easiest drizzling, I use a piping bag.
15. While Chocolate Drizzle is still warm, place unwrapped peanut butter cups on top of the Chocolate Drizzle (in the center of each for individual brownies). 
16. Refrigerate brownie slab for at least 8 hours before slicing and serving.  (Refrigerate individual brownies in an airtight container until ready to serve.)
17. Brownies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

YIELD:  12 large squares or 24 smaller bars, or 12 individual brownies.

Originally posted June 2014; revised and reposted March 2022.
 
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