We love chocolate brownies, but sometimes you just get that craving for peanut butter flavor instead! Enter this delicious peanut butter blondies recipe! Bar desserts are some of our favorites because they are quick and it’s an easy recipe to whip up when you want a sweet treat. Is it weird to talk about something with no chocolate in it in terms of having a fudgy center? Because these rich and chewy peanut butter blondies are definitely fudgy in the middle as long as you make sure not to overbake them. This peanut butter blondie recipe is one of the best peanut butter desserts I have had in a long time and the girls went absolutely crazy over the frosted ones. I couldn’t decide whether I preferred them frosted or unfrosted. It’s such a toss-up!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Peanut butter – creamy peanut butter is our favorite choice but you could use crunchy peanut butter instead if you want little pieces of peanuts throughout your blondies. Salted butter All-purpose flour Light brown sugar Eggs Salt Vanilla extract Reese’s Pieces candy
Peanut Butter Frosting This is optional, but we love the creamy layer of peanut butter frosting on top of our peanut butter blondies.
Peanut butter Salted butter Vanilla extract Powdered sugar Heavy cream
How to Make Peanut Butter Blondies
In a large bowl, whisk the peanut butter and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar, egg and extra egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well to combine. Stir the flour and salt into the peanut butter mixture, then spread the blondie batter into the prepared baking dish, pushing towards the edges of the pan as needed. Sprinkle with Reese’s Pieces, if not planning to frost. Bake for 22-27 minutes until done, then remove from oven and cool completely. Do not overbake if you want gooey peanut butter blondies with a chewy texture. Prepare the frosting by beating the peanut butter and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, cream and powdered sugar and beat well, then frost the peanut butter blondies in the pan and sprinkle with Reese’s Pieces. Cut into 9 squares and serve.
Tips for success
Use a parchment paper sling. Lining your baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil not only makes cleanup easier but you can also remove the bars and slice them into squares more easily for straight cuts. Don’t overbake. Bars are susceptible to being dry if you bake them too long. To know when they are done, test with a toothpick or skewer. They should come out with a few crumbs still clinging to the tester rather than being wet from underbaked batter or completely clean which can indicate that they were baked too long. If you bake them a little too long, well, they will still taste delicious (speaking from experience here – it’s not like they are a total loss) but they might be closer in texture to a peanut butter cookie rather than a soft, fudgy blondie (basically a brownie with no chocolate but a brownie-like texture), which is kind of what we’re going for here. Use melted butter. Using melted butter instead of creaming the butter with the sugar is important here because it results in a denser, more brownie-like texture instead of a fluffier, more cake-like bar.
Variations
Add mix-ins – Try mixing in 1 cup of milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate chips, Reese’s peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or chopped peanuts for something different. Decorate the top – Chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups or Reese’s peanut butter chips would be another great option for topping these bars! Disneyland peanut butter blondies – You might have seen a version of these at Disney that skips the frosting and instead just spreads a layer of peanut butter on the blondies while they are still warm from the oven. Then the top is generously sprinkled with even more Reese’s Pieces than what you see here until it is practically covered.
Storage Suggestions
We recommend storing these peanut butter bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Let them come to room temperature before serving if refrigerated.
Can I freeze these frosted peanut butter bars?
Absolutely! They freeze great for up to 1 month. Just slice into squares and freeze in a single layer on parchment paper for 1 hour before transferring to an airtight container for longer freezing.
More Peanut Butter Recipes
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies Old-Fashioned Homemade Peanut Brittle Perfect Peanut Butter Blossoms
This post was originally published in September, 2017. The photos and content were updated in September, 2022.
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