Soft and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies baked into rich and fudgy Reeses Cup brownies!
If you had to decide, would you prefer a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie STUFFED with chocolate chips OR an ultra fudgy, dark chocolatey brownie brimming with Reeses cups?
Luckily, you don’t have to decide because I’ve combined BOTH into one HEAVENLY treat!
With an equal ratio of brownie batter to cookie dough, these Peanut Butter Brookies bring you the best of both worlds! Not only are they incredibly soft, doughy, and supremely moist, but they also have those delicately crisp edges and crackly tops. There’s definitely no shortage of melty chocolate chips as well as yummy peanutty Reese’s Cups!
Although this is two treats in one, I ASSURE you it takes barely any time to throw together. Girl Scout’s honor!
You’ll start by making up the peanut butter cookie dough. Now, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a peanut butter fanatic. At this point, I consider it one of my main food groups. I simply cannot LIVE without it. Therefore, I like my peanut butter cookies to be absolutely loaded with peanut butter goodness. So for this recipe, I used less butter, and MORE peanut butter–about double the amount.
When it comes to peanut buttery treats, I prefer the maple sweetness of brown sugar over plain granulated sugar. After an egg and a dash of vanilla are incorporated into the dough, the flour and baking powder are added. Lastly, some semi-sweet chocolate chips are mixed in.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. Why didn’t I add the chopped Reeses cups to the peanut butter cookie dough instead of the chocolate chips? After all, they both contain peanut butter, so wouldn’t they go together? Well ya see, it’s all about balance. Like the yin and the yang. The yin and yang symbol shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section. In the case of these brookies, the Reeses cups are the opposite element of the brownie, and the chocolate chips are the opposite element of the peanut butter cookies.
Get the drift?
…ok, I’ll stop with the philosophical mumbo jumbo and get back to the recipe.
Now let’s discuss the second half of the recipe–the BROWNIES!
The brownie batter is a simple one-pan recipe and comes together in seconds. Just start by melting some butter and stirring in the cocoa powder until shiny and glossy. Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, and dry ingredients along with some chopped Reese’s Cups. Instead of having two separate layers, I went for the more “aesthetically-pleasing” marbled look by alternating between large and small globs of cookie dough and brownie batter.
And in case there wasn’t enough chocolate chips and Reese’s Cups in the brookies, you can do what I did and press “a few” extra into the top once they’re baked and out of the oven. I like to think that this final (and totally NECESSARY) step makes the brookies much prettier.
But if I’m being honest, I just like more chocolate in my sweets…
For that perfectly soft and doughy texture, I wouldn’t bake them longer than 33 minutes. There’s nothing worse than dry, over-baked cookies (or brownies!), which is why I err on the side of under-baked. And truthfully, you’re not really under-baking the brookies if you take them out before they look done. They’ll still continue to bake from the residual heat as they cool off. Speaking of, do NOT cut into the brookies right away. They need time to cool/finish baking, and they’ll firm up quite a bit after about 30 minutes.
Trust me, the wait will be WELL worth it…
Peanut Butter Brookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup semi-sweet chips (plus more for topping)
Brownie Batter:
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 7 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 regular Reese's Cups, chopped (plus more for topping)
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8" baking dish with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
- Add the flour and baking powder and stir until just combined, don't overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Make the Brownie Batter:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa powder until smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar; allow to cool slightly.
- Add the egg and vanilla, stirring until fully incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt, followed by the chopped Reese's Cups.
- Alternate spooning the brownie batter and cookie dough into the pan, smoothing out the top. Bake for about 30-33 minutes, or until edges are firm and golden. Immediately after removing from the oven, press more chocolate chips and Reese's Cups into the top, if desired. Cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before cutting.