These peanut butter cup brownies are fudgy, chewy and stuffed with Reese’s. They’re the ultimate combination of chocolate and peanut butter and the perfect way to take your brownies to the next level!
The ULTIMATE Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
If you’re looking for a decadent brownie recipe, or if you’re partial to a peanut butter cup, then you need to make these Reese’s brownies. They start with the perfect brownie recipe that’s rich and fudgy. The brownies are verging on gooey in the middle and have the perfect crinkly tops. Then they’re stuffed with full peanut butter cups for a delicious surprise inside. They’re obviously more decadent than your classic homemade brownies, but that’s never stopped me.
Making the Brownies
The brownie recipe is from scratch. It uses both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for a rich chocolate flavor without going overboard. There’s minimal flour in the recipe to keep the brownies gooey and moist. You’ll also notice that we aren’t using any baking powder or baking soda in this recipe. That’s because to keep the brownies dense – we don’t want them to rise (baking soda and baking powder are to help baked goods rise).
After you’ve made the brownie batter, it’s time to assemble the brownies. AKA stuff with peanut butter cups.
- First, pour about ½ of the brownie batter into your prepared pan and spread into a smooth layer.
- Place 3 rows of 3 peanut butter cups on top of the batter and press down slightly. Don’t forget to remove the wrapper!
- Drop spoonfulls of batter over the peanut butter cups.
- Then spread the batter smooth to cover the peanut butter cups.
Note: I always drop spoonfulls instead of dumping the rest of the batter overtop because it makes it much easier to spread the batter over the peanut butter cups.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- This recipe is made in an 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) pan. There is not quite enough batter to use a 9×9 inch (23×23 cm) pan.
- I used 50% chopped dark chocolate for this recipe. It makes the brownies rich, without being too sweet or too overboard. For sweeter brownies, you could use semi-sweet chocolate instead. Alternatively, any kind of dark chocolate between 50-70% would work. Do not use unsweetened baking chocolate.
- After melting together the chocolate and butter, let the mixture cool slightly before whisking in the eggs. Otherwise, you can end up with scrambled eggs in your brownie batter because the hot mixture will cook the eggs.
- Wait for the brownies to cool fully before slicing. This will give you clean cuts.
- You can either slice the brownies in between each peanut butter cup (so that you can’t see the Reese’s) for a delicious surprise inside. Or slice in the middle of where you’ve placed the peanut butter cup to show off the deliciousness inside.
Chewy, fudgy, perfectly rich without being too much, AND stuffed with Reese’s – these peanut butter cups have everything you could want in a brownie. And if you looking for more delicious chocolate peanut butter recipes, then be sure to try:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
- Peanut Butter Brownies – these brownies have peanut butter in the batter!
- Reese’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – chewy chocolate chip cookies stuffed with a peanut butter cup
Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Equipment
- 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) pan there is not enough batter to use a 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) cut into pieces
- 6.5 grams 50-70% dark chocolate (180 grams) finely chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (63 grams)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (20 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 9 peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C or 170C fan forced).
- Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang around the edges.
- Add the butter and chopped chocolate to a large bowl. Microwave on medium power (not high power, which is often the default) for 45 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until smooth. Alternatively, melt together in a double boiler.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Then whisk in the sugar and eggs.
- Whisk in the flour, cocoa and salt until the batter is smooth. If the cocoa powder looks lumpy, I recommend sifting it first.
- Pour about ½ of the batter into the prepared pan.
- Place 9 unwrapped peanut butter cups on top in 3 rows of 3 peanut butter cups and press down slightly.
- Drop spoonfulls of batter over the peanut butter cup layer.
- Then spread the batter smooth so that the peanut butter cups are covered.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 27-32 minutes, or until the top looks set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with melted peanut butter.
- Cool the brownies fully (about 3-4 hours) before slicing. Then lift out of the pan using the overhang from the parchment/aluminum foil. Place on a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife (not a table knife).
Notes
- Chocolate: I typically use 50% dark chocolate. Anywhere between 50-70% works well. Semi-sweet chocolate can also be used for sweeter brownies.
- Doubling the Recipe: This recipe can be doubled and made in a 9x13 inch pan. The bake time will be slightly longer though - typically 30-35 minutes.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 brownie, assuming the pan is sliced into 12 equal pieces.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
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