Peanut Butter Blondies
Peanut butter blondies, loaded with peanut butter & chocolate chips! A quick & easy recipe that bakes up so chewy-gooey good!
I’ve still got football food on the brain!
The other day, I shared this amazing beer cheese dip (a perfect Superbowl-watching snack!), and so today I thought I’d take things in a sweeter direction.
- It’s gotta be finger food. After all, you’re most likely sitting on a couch or recliner to eat so it needs to be easy and mess-free.
- It’s gotta be an indulgence. When the main course consists of pizza, nachos, and chicken wings, the dessert had best keep that vibe going.
So what could be better than peanut butter blondies?
Yessss! I know. An ooey-gooey peanut butter blondie recipe. So tempting!
If you have a peanut butter lover in your life (and I count myself in that category), I highly suggest you make them these bars. They’ll love you forever if you do! Pinky promise.
WHAT ARE PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIES?
Blondies are very similar to brownies, but without the chocolate.
Think gooey and fudgy, with chewy corners and a crinkly, shiny, paper-thin crust on top. They’re usually made with oil or melted butter and brown sugar, and they’re baked in a square pan and then cut into bars. Blondie recipes are always made in just one bowl, and they’re very quick and easy to throw together.
You can find my basic blondie recipe here: Blondie Recipe. Notice that blondies can be jazzed up in all sorts of fun ways, with different add-ins and flavorings.
Thus this peanut butter blondie recipe. It’s got all the delicious qualities of the original, but with the added bonus of PEANUT BUTTER! And chocolate! Peanut butter’s best friend. These peanut butter chocolate chip blondies are bursting with so much peanut butter goodness, they’ll totally knock your socks off!
HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIES
To make this easy recipe, start by combining brown sugar, melted butter, and peanut butter in a big bowl.
For what you see here, I used light brown sugar, but dark brown will work just fine in a pinch.
Whisk these 3 ingredients together until smooth.
Now it’s time for the eggs.
Whisk them in, one at a time, allowing each one to fully incorporate before adding the next.
You want to whisk really vigorously. Incorporating some air during this step will help to develop that crackly, shiny top. You could even use an electric hand mixer for this step if you feel like it.
Once the eggs are in, you can add the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Fold everything together until just barely combined. You don’t want to overmix or your bars could come out tough. It’s totally fine if there are still a few streaks of flour.
Next add the chips. I used a combination of peanut butter chips and semisweet chocolate chips. But feel free to use whatever you like!
- Butterscotch Chips
- Milk Chocolate Chips
- White Chocolate Chips
- Cinnamon Chips
You could also add nuts- peanuts would be a natural here. A handful or so would provide a nice crunch.
Fold these in until well-dispersed. This final mix should get rid of any stray bits of flour.
Then transfer the batter into a greased, lined, 9×9 baking pan and spread it into an even layer.
These will bake until the edges feel set and are beginning to turn golden brown. The middle should still look quite gooey and even a little bit wet. I know it might seem all wrong to take them out of the oven when they still look raw inside, but trust me! This is the key to a gooey, fudgy blondie.
Keep in mind that carry-over cooking applies to baking too. The blondies will continue to cook and firm up as they cool.
These bars are extremely tender while warm, so it’s best to allow them to completely cool before you attempt to cut them into squares. If you don’t they could fall apart!
ALLERGEN-FREE
While I have not tested this recipe with any alternative ingredients, I do feel it could work well as an allergen-free recipe.
For gluten-free peanut butter blondies, look for a gluten-free flour blend that subs 1:1 for regular flour.
If you’d like to make these dairy-free, use a dairy-free butter product that subs 1:1 for regular butter.
For an eggless, vegan version, try using a flax egg or chia egg. For each egg, mix one tablespoon of ground flax or chia seed with 2 tablespoons of water, and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes until gelled.
And finally, if you need to make these without any peanut or nut products, use the same amount of cookie butter spread OR sunflower seed butter, in place of the peanut butter. Personally, I love sunflower seed butter and I can barely tell the difference between it and peanut butter, the flavor is so similar. But it’s completely safe for anyone with a peanut or tree nut allergy. You can buy it here: Sunflower Seed Butter.
ADD-INS AND TOPPINGS
As I mentioned above, chopped peanuts are a natural addition to this recipe. Here are a few other suggestions to really up your peanut butter blondie game:
- M&m’s or peanut butter m&m’s
- Reese’s pieces or chopped peanut butter cups
- Pretzel pieces
- Marshmallows
- Oreos
- Chocolate frosting or a layer of chocolate ganache on top
CAN THESE BE MADE AHEAD?
Bar recipes like this one are great for making ahead.
For one thing, they take a while to cool and you’ll get the cleanest cuts if you wait until there’s no hint of warmth left before cutting.
For another, they keep really well. Wrap them up tightly in plastic wrap and these will last for several days at room temperature. It’s best if you don’t cut them into squares, but if they’re already cut they will still stay pretty soft for at least a few days.
The shelf life can be extended even further if you stash them in the fridge. I bet you could easily keep them for 2 weeks, chilled.
And they should keep for several months in the freezer. Just allow them to thaw at room temperature or in the fridge, until soft.
If you’d like, you can re-warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds, or wrapped in foil in a 170 degree (F) oven until warmed through.
A FEW MORE OF MY FAVORITE PEANUT BUTTER RECIPES:
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Peanut Butter Blondies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (440 g) brown sugar, (I used light brown but dark brown would also work), loosely packed
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter,, melted
- 1 cup (258 g) peanut butter
- 2 (88 g) eggs,, large
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (4.93 g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.46 g) baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon (3.7 g) kosher salt
- 1 cup (170 g) peanut butter chips
- 1 cup (236.59 g) chocolate chips, (semisweet or milk)
Instructions
- Lightly mist a 9x9 pan with nonstick spray, line it with parchment, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Place the brown sugar, melted butter, and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth.
- Vigorously whisk in the eggs, one at a time, allowing each one to become fully incorporated before adding in the next.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, until just barely combined.
- Fold in the chips and transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, smoothing it into an even layer.
- Bake the blondies until the edges are beginning to set and turn brown, but the center is still quite gooey* (approximately 30 to 40 minutes).
- Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Thank you for an amazing recipe! Just perfection! Wondering if you originally tested it with metrics or not? They seemed to taste even better following metric measurements. Also wondering why there is such a difference in grams between choc and pb chips when they are both 1 cup? I caramelized the butter/sugar mix by microwaving and whisking a couple times in 30 second increments. Just wow. Wow.Â
These are so good it’s unbelievable. Ooey gooey, the perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter. I just about died and came back to life when I tried these!
Lol love that! Thank you so much for the great feedback!
Can you use an egg substitute? I am severely allergic to eggs.
Yes there is info on that under the heading “Alternative Ingredients.”
Delicious! Followed the recipe and used regular peanut butter and it turned out great, not too oily, not too dry or too sweet. I’ll be saving this one. I can see this being a recipe you can easily add whatever you want to. Great peanut butter flavor without being overpowering. Thanks!