Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Peanut butter and chocolate. It's a match made in heaven. I know plenty of other people have used that same phrase to describe peanut butter and chocolate, but heck, I'm going to use it nonetheless. :)

These brownies are a combination of a couple recipes... The peanut butter swirl part is from my Martha Stewart Cookie book that I've mentioned in the blog several times (including recently when I made these surprise cookies!). And the "base" brownie recipe is my go-to from scratch brownie recipe that is so super simple and delicious. It's from Nestle and I use it all the time when I need to whip up a quick batch of brownies!

Brownie Ingredients:

-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

-3 eggs

-1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

-1 cup granulated sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 tsp. baking soda

Peanut Butter Swirl Ingredients:

-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

-1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

-3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan and line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter the parchment lining.

For the brownies, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips and the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in eggs. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and baking soda. Stir in remaining cup of chocolate chips.

For the peanut butter filling, stir together the butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.

Pour one-third of the brownie batter into the prepared pan; spread evenly with a spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling on top of the batter, spacing about 2-inch apart. Pour remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill the pan. Drop dollops of remaining peanut butter mixture on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through the layers.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies comes out with a few crumbs, about 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

These are seriously good. They're moist, dense, and very flavorful. The extra cup of chocolate chips adds a nice, slight crunchy texture too. I love how incredibly easy these brownies are as well. If you're looking to change it up from your typical brownie recipe, I'd suggest trying these! Perhaps with a tall glass of cold milk?! :)