Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies
These Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies are a fudge brownie topped with peanuts, peanut butter cups, and a chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispie ganache. These are for the chocolate peanut butter lovers!
Today, we’re revisiting an old Bakerita recipe from waaaay back in 2011, when this blog was still a baby. I used a point and shoot camera to take some pretty subpar pictures of some pretty outstanding brownies and over the years, these peanut butter crunch brownies didn’t get nearly enough love. I recently rediscovered them and I figured they deserved a chance to shine.
These babies got reshot to show their beauty, but the recipe remains the same as the one I’ve been using since 2011. I made these for my recent college graduation party, along with my Blackberry Dulce De Leche Crumb Bars, Pistachio White Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Berry Tart, and a gorgeous buttermilk cake with strawberries and a fluffy creamy cheese frosting that sadly got devoured before it could be photographed. It was essentially a Bakerita’s best hits dessert roster, and these brownies were some of the first to go.
The brownie base is my favorite brownie recipe, scaled down so it’s a little bit thinner. These brownies are the richest and fudgiest I’ve tried, but at their full thickness, they’d just be a little too much with the decadent topping.
A few minutes before the brownies are done baking, you’re going to throw on some peanuts and chopped peanut butter cups and then let that melt onto the tops of the brownies while they finish off in the oven.
Once that’s all melted and the brownies are beginning to cool, a mixture of melted chocolate, peanut butter, and Rice Krispies cereal comes together. You pour it smoothly all over the tops of the brownies. And now, the hardest part: refrigerate for two hours before cutting.
These babies are going to be seriously hard to resist, but you must let them set up and cool fully before you try to cut them or you’ll have a huge mess on your hands. These brownies are also always better when they’re cool, and as much as my friends hate to have to wait for their brownies when I make them, even they have begrudgingly admitted the brownies are better once they’ve had the chance to set to their maximum fudgy, chocolatey richness.
The topping makes a peanut butter chocolate ganache that’s irresistible to anyone who loves peanut butter as much as me, and the Rice Krispies add the right amount of crunch and texture. These peanut butter crunch brownies are seriously rich, so be sure to cut them in small pieces. I made them bite sized for the party, but I would say you could get a solid 32 brownies out of a pan.
These brownies have been a longtime favorite around here, and I hope you’ll try them out too! Enjoy :)
PrintPeanut Butter Crunch Brownies
- Yield: 32 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 7 ounces dark chocolate (coarsely chopped)
- 2/3 cup (4.8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup salted peanuts
- 12 peanut butter cups (chopped)
- 1½ cups milk chocolate chips
- 1½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
- Put the chocolate and butter in a large microwavable bowl and microwave for 45 seconds. Stir. Repeat in 15 second increments, stirring between each, until chocolate and butter are completely smooth. Add the sugars and whisk until completely combined.
- Add 2 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the remaining egg and whisk until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick in the center emerges with moist crumbs, about 20-25 minutes, and sprinkle the top with the peanuts and chopped peanut butter cups. Return to the oven and bake for 3 additional minutes, or until the chocolate has melted into the brownies. Brownies will firm up as they cool.
- After taking the brownies out of the oven, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, or melt in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir in the cereal to evenly coat. Evenly pour the chocolate and peanut butter cereal mixture over top of the brownies. Spread to cover evenly.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting and serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yum! Those look incredible! I love all that topping, it looks delicious :D
Good to know you enjoyed Bali! Can’t wait for your big Bali post (hopefully) with lots of food shots of what you ate there!! lol
YUM! I saw these brownies on BEB, and they taste amazing!!!! I love your take on them.
Wow.
These look too dangerous to try – I’m afraid they’d all be gone within a day!
I just found your blog through a link on another blog- looks great!
I love the look of this recipe- and the idea is great. I can’t wait to try it!
-Miriam
Oh. My. Gawsh…umm I definitely could not be trusted around these brownies. I mean, these are totally INSANE. And I mean that in the most delicious way possible. All that fudgy chocolate/pb goodness is pullin’ me in!
These look to die for! Love all the crunchiness and all the peanutty goodness :) Pinning!
Oh my gosh are you kidding me with these!? These are waaay over the top and I’m totally in love ;) <3
WOW these brownies are incredible. First of all, the peanut butter cups and peanuts on top won me over. But then the rice krispies in the topping! What a great idea. I’m kinda jealous of all the people who got to eat these at your grad party haha. Pinned! :)
You bake the best things Rachel! These brownies sound so good. I love chocolate and peanut butter, and I bet the brownies are even better with a little crunch : )
Those layers!! These brownies look amazing!
Peanut butter and chocolate and crunchiness all in one bar? I’M IN LOVE.
I am a peanut butter lover!! I want a brownie please!!
Mmm I made these before and they are SO delicious!! Your pictures are stunning, Rachel!! Pinned :)
Oh my goodness, Rachel! These brownies!!! I can’t even.
PB + Chocolate is my favorite food combo, and this recipe is perfection.
Mmm now those look like my kind of brownies! Totally digging that thick layer of pb :)
Goodness me, that topping!! These brownies look awesomeeeee.
The crunch factor in these brownies is out of this world. Waiting for these to set must’ve been excruciating! Pinned!
WOW! These look absolutely incredible! Love the flavor combo you created!
Just, YES, in so many ways! Love chocolate and peanut butter! Pinned :)
Yum! These look amazing. I just reshot an old recipe with super terrible pictures too! It’s amazing what a difference a few years can make. These are beautiful :) And definitely going on my must-make-soon (like today!) list. Delicious!
OMG Rachel these brownies look scrumptious. Yummy.
Ugh…I STILLA use a point and shoot. –I’m so ashamed -_-
in other news these brownies are AMAZING! I love all the textures and I mean…choc + pb is always a win!
I made 2 batches–splitting one batch into 2-8×8 pans and 1 into the 9×13 full size. Everyone who has sampled them thinks they are amazing and arguably “the best brownie I have ever eaten”. It’s a funny thing with most folks that I do all the baking I do and don’t eat any of it but it’s just a thing with me. I have more fun making it than eating it. But, not eating it, I rely on people and their reactions or comments to tell me when a recipe is a “keeper”. This one is a keeper. So easy to make but amazing “all the right parts” that make for a great brownie. Thanks for a super recipe. I may be making 2-3 more before it is done this weekend. I love to find one that is so memorable and adored. I tend to turn around and make it again for another group (luckily I have several). For anyone who might want to halve it or split it to share with two groups, it splits well and I would imagine it would halve well too.
Thanks for the comment Linda – it’s so wonderful to hear that everyone loves the brownies! My favorite part of baking is the making and sharing part too :) I’m so glad that this recipe was a hit for you. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! So decadent!