Swirled with creamy peanut butter and topped with lots of peanut butter cups, these fudgy peanut butter swirl brownies are the ultimate dessert for any peanut butter lover!
If a huge peanut butter swirl in my brownies is wrong, then I don’t ever want to be right.
And my goodness, throwing peanut butter cups on top as well? You’re basically just ordering me to eat the entire pan solo.
There’s nothing complex about these brownies, folks! Really all we’re doing here today is making a super simple fudgy brownie batter, swirling a little (okay, a lot) of peanut butter action inside and covering the whole deal with peanut butter cups. It’s a brownie experience to say the least.
Truth be told, they’re almost TOO easy. As in, you’re going to have all the tools at your disposal to make these way too often which may or may not be a problem.
These Brownies feature…
- A crackly exterior and fudgy interior
- Creamy peanut butter swirls and rich peanut butter cups
- A simple batter that comes together in 1 bowl in only a few minutes
Making the Brownies
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Kosher salt
- Creamy peanut butter
- Peanut butter cups
Tips for Perfect Brownies
- Whisk sugars well into melted butter – mixing the sugars and butter for about 60 seconds will incorporate air into the mixture which helps give these brownies an incredible texture.
- Measure flour correctly – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Gently fold batter – overmixing will lead to dry and tough brownies so use a gentle hand when folding batter.
- Use a toothpick to swirl peanut butter – be careful not to overmix the peanut butter into the batter otherwise you will lose the swirl effect.
- Don’t overbake brownies – bake brownies until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs sticking to it.
- Allow brownies to cool and clean knife between slices– this will make for neat cuts.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these brownies.
- Try another butter – replace the peanut butter with almond butter or cashew butter.
- Add extra chocolate – fold 1/2 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips into batter.
- Make it PBJ – swirl 1/4 cup raspberry or strawberry jam into the brownies alongside the peanut butter.
Storing and Freezing Brownies
Allow brownies to cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.
To freeze brownies, allow to cool completely at room temperature, wrap well, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw brownies completely on countertop before serving.
Sinking your teeth in one of these brownies is sorta like having a next-level peanut butter cup. It’s an experience that every person needs.
In all honesty folks, you’re probably not going to want to ever go back to plain old PB-less brownies again. No one in their right mind can say no to this fudgy peanut-buttery goodness.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Try these other incredible brownie recipes next!
Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4-5 Reese's peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave 30-60 seconds on high until melted. Use a handheld electric mixer on high (or a lot of elbow grease with a regular whisk) to mix in both sugars well for about 60 seconds of mixing. Mix in eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Add flour, cocoa, and salt to bowl and fold until batter is just combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan. Drop peanut butter by the tablespoon over top and use a toothpick to swirl into brownie batter. Arrange peanut butter cups on top.
- Bake brownies at 350F 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into brownies comes out with moist crumbs sticking to it.
- Allow brownies to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 6/19/25.
ashley - baker by nature says
Peanut butter fudge brownies would totally hit the spot right now! Love that swirl action 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Ashley!
Jenn @ Deliciously Sprinkled says
YUM!! I love peanut butter swirl brownies, they are my favorite! Pinned 🙂
Sarah says
These brownies are totally perfect for you then, Jenn! Thanks for the pin! 😀
ATasteOfMadness says
These are gorgeous!! I love all these chocolate and peanut butter recipes I’ve been seeing in the blogosphere lately. Yum!
Sarah says
Thank you, Cathleen! ! And you just really can’t go wrong with the combo of PB and chocolate can you?? 😉
Joyti says
OOOO, this sounds really good. So decadent – and chocolate! peanut butter! – OMG, amazing!
Sarah says
Thank you, Joyti! and yes, they are so sinfully decadent. 😉
Rachel @the dessert chronicles says
YUM! I love peanut butter and brownies but have never put the two together. You are making me wonder why. HAVE to try these!
Sarah says
Thank you so much, Rachel! You’ve gotta try these brownies! 😉
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
I just wanted to tell you that I made the roasted potatoes with asparagus on sunday and we all loved it. Thanks for the recipe. Pinning these brownies!
Sarah says
I’m so glad that you and your family loved the potatoes, Kathy! And thanks for the pin. 🙂
Gloria // Simply Gloria says
Sarah, going with peanut butter is never wrong… you rocked these brownies the moment you put the swirl action in them! Pinning and planning on making these VERY soon!
Sarah says
Yeah! You will definitely have to let me know how you like these brownies, Gloria! They are MADE for you. 😉
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Drooling over here Sarah! Peanut butter and chocolate are such a great combination. I will take of these please, with a big glass of milk : )
Sarah says
These brownies are so good with a glass of milk. Totally makes me feel like a kid again!
whatjessicabakednext says
These look seriously good! Love PB and chocolate!
Sarah says
PB and choc is such a great combo isn’t it, Jessica?! 🙂
Jessi says
I tried this recipe tonight, and I found them inedible. The recipe as described didn’t actually fill a 9×13 pan, so I ended up making another third of it for the proportions to work. I baked them 18 minutes but should have watched more closely, as I think I slightly over baked them. Regardless, the flavor is just not good. The texture was more like a cake than a brownie and it was more savory/bitter than sweet. I literally could not eat more than a bite. I’m not sure if there’s maybe something missing from this recipe, or if I completely missed something, but I can’t eat these at all.
Sarah says
I am so sorry to hear that these brownies didn’t come out good for you, Jessi. I will go back in and re-test the recipe myself to try and see what went wrong when you made them. Sorry again!
alexa lane says
I agree with the commenter about the recipe not fitting a 9×13 pan. The batter Will only be maybe 1/2″ thick if I use the 9×13. I’m going to try it in an 8×8 and see how it goes.
Nataliya says
Yes very small budge for a pan
Jen says
Agreed. I made it work in a 9×13 but they were incredibly thin. I pulled them out at 15 minutes and they were almost over cooked. They tasted ok, but dried out rather quickly due to being so thin. I’ll try them again in a smaller pan or I’ll double the recipe.
Jenna says
I made these tonight and they didn’t turn out very well. 🙁 I followed the recipe, except used AP flour and brown sugar, and the batter was soooo thick! I had to press it into the pan. When I tried to swirl the peanut butter, it just didn’t work, so I spread it over the entire surface. I cooked for exactly 18 minutes. The taste is missing something for sure. It’s bland. How is that possible? I’m super disappointed.
Maria says
I added 3/4c of chocolate chips and they tasted great but the pan size was way too big. They came out SO thin and I had to take them out before 18 minutes to keep it from over baking. Recommend a smallee pan or doubling the recipe.
Sylvia Friessen says
Taste wise I’m sure this recipe is great but it needs baking powder.. I knew it would have to have it but i figured i would go strictly according to recipe.. Bad call.. Add baking powder and it should turn out perfectly