Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

These aren’t your average brownie- they are full of creamy peanut butter filling and topped with a layer of fudge! Unbelievably delicious!

Peanut butter and chocolate are a timeless combination.  These brownies have the perfect blend between the two, and they cut into beautifully layered bars that are fun to serve at any occasion!  These are a variation on a brownie recipe that my mom makes all the time with mint filling.  This brownie recipe has appeared on Easybaked many times, and in many forms:

But adding peanut butter?  Oh my goodness….. a definite show-stopper!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS

Brownie:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup milk

Peanut butter filling:

• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup of creamy peanut butter

Fudge topping:

• One bag (12 oz) of chocolate chips
• 12 Tablespoons of butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

DIRECTIONS:

Brownie:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cream butter and sugar together. 
• Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
• Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
• Pour batter into a jellyroll pan (12 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 1″)  that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
• Bake at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes.
• Cool.  

Peanut butter filling:

• Combine softened butter with peanut butter, mixing on low until completely smooth.
• Add powdered sugar, mixing until combined. 
• Add a little water to make filling a thick, but spreadable consistency.
• Spread over cooled brownies.

Fudge topping:

• Melt chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
• Pour over peanut butter filling and use a spoon to push topping over entire top of brownies.
• Decorate with sprinkles or by drizzling a little white chocolate on top.
• Refrigerate for several hours.
• Cut brownies when the top layer is firm, but not hard.  Your knife should go through it easily without cracking it. If your top has chilled too long, simply let it sit at room temp for a little while until it softens up.
• Store these in a large air-tight container, in layers separated with parchment paper or wax paper to avoid sticking.
• These can be frozen really well (I like to eat them frozen, in fact!)

My thoughts: This brownie recipe is so versatile and fun.  Really, there are so many possibilities!  I love the addition of a peanut butter layer- they are so pretty and mmmm…so good!  Do you want to make a design on the top of yours like I did?  There’s a step-by-step example from when I 1st posted this recipe in mint.  You can see it here.  I hope you get a chance to try at least ONE of the easybaked variations on this brownie recipe.  I guarantee you will be back to experiment with your own flavor combinations!  Enjoy!! ~r