Who loves Reese’s peanut butter cups? Today’s Easy Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting recipe is a winner that everyone will love!
Rich, chocolate brownies are tender and topped with whipped sweet peanut butter frosting that will have you licking the beaters! Is there anything better than chocolate and peanut butter? It would be hard to beat this combination.
The brownies are so easy to make, one bowl that can be mixed by hand or with a small mixer, but since I keep my big mixer on the counter, I used that to make these. They come together in no time. The hardest thing is waiting for them to cool before frosting them!
Hot from the oven!
These brownies are great on their own but when you pair them with this peanut butter frosting, you will have a hard time sharing them. I wanted to eat them all myself, LOL. Lush brownies topped with heavenly peanut butter frosting is pretty darn hard to resist.
I love making these for parties, they can be made early in the day and cut just before serving so the brownies don’t dry out. If you are having a larger group, you can double the ingredients in both the brownies and frosting, and bake them in a 9×13-inch pan.
Be sure to line the pan with a sheet of parchment to help you get the brownies out of the pan. Use the longer ends of the parchment as handles to help lift the whole batch of brownies. Place them on a cutting board and slice into squares.
How to make Easy Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Melt the butter and chocolate together
- Combine with the sugars and eggs, beating until fluffy
- Mix in the dry ingredients
- Bake the brownies and cool
- Frost with the peanut butter frosting
What if I don’t have bittersweet chocolate – can I use semisweet?
Yes, you can. The brownies will be a little sweeter but the chocolate intensity will be similar. Do not reduce the sugar or you will throw off the liquid to dry ingredient ratio.
PRO Tip:
If you buy sheets of parchment like I do, they can be challenging to store. I place mine inside one of my baking sheet pans and stack the rest of the pans on top. The parchment stays flat and clean and it is handy when you are getting ready to bake!
Key Ingredients for this Recipe
- Butter
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Gluten-free flour blend or all-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Sugar
- Dark brown sugar
- Eggs
- Creamy peanut butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Cream or milk
Kitchen Tools I Use to Make This Recipe
- 8-inch square baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Saucepan
- Stand mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Off-set spatula
Other Brownie Recipes You May Enjoy
- Kahlua Brownies
- Double-Decker Chocolate Brownies
- Pumpkin Swirled Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Brownies with Pecans and Caramel
- Brownies with Cheesecake Frosting
- Rich Coconut Almond Brownies
I hope you enjoy these Easy Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting soon. Happy Chocolate Monday everyone!
Gluten-Free Tips:
Use you favorite commercial gluten-free flour blend or make your own – you can find my favorite recipe under the “Gluten-Free” tab at the top of the page.
Easy Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting (Gluten Free)
Today's Easy Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting recipe is a winner that everyone will love!
Ingredients
Brownies
- 6 tbsp melted butter
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate (70%), coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup (60g) gluten-free flour blend or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup powdered sugar, to taste
- 2 tsp organic vanilla paste or extract
- 2 to 4 tbsp heavy cream or milk, or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Line it with parchment paper long enough to hang over two sides of the pan forming two “handles” and butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the Brownies: Pour about 2-inches of water into a 3 to 4-quart saucepan. Set the bowl of your stand mixer into the pan - it should fit snuggly but the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Bring the water to a high simmer. Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl with the chocolate mixture from the heat, dry the bottom of the bowl and set on your standing mixer. Let cool for about 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- With the mixer on low and using the paddle attachment, beat in both the sugars until blended. Add the eggs and beat on low to mix in; turn up to medium and beat for about a minute or until lightened in color and fluffy. Stop the mixer and thoroughly scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the beater(s). Add the dry ingredients, beat on low until smooth. Scrape the bowl and beater again to be sure everything is incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into the corners. Smooth the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is set and the sides are just beginning to pull away from pan. The center will still be soft and a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge and the center will come out with moist crumbs attached. The center will finish baking as it cools in the pan. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.
- When the brownies have cooled completely, frost with the peanut butter frosting.
- Peanut Butter Frosting: While the brownies are cooling, combine the peanut butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in the bowl of your standing mixer. Beat about 2 minutes until thoroughly combined. Taste and beat in more sugar if desired. Add 2 tbsp of the cream and beat until smooth. Taste and add more sugar if desired. The frosting should be creamy and smooth enough to spread easily. Add more cream if needed for a good a spreading consistency. If it gets too thin, add more powdered sugar. Spread over the top of the cooled brownies.
- Set the frosted brownies aside for about 30 minutes to firm up slightly before cutting. Once the frosting has firmed up slightly, run a knife around the edges of the brownies, lift the parchment paper, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 pieces and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 195mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 6g
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