I love brownies. I love peanut butter cookies. I LOVE Peanut Butter Cookie Brownies!!! AKA Polka Dot Brownies :0)
We’ve got an easy homemade brownie batter studded with globs of peanut butter cookie dough for a chocolate peanut butter lovers dream come true.
These little squares did NOT last long my friends. My husband barely even got to taste them because the boys and I scarfed them up so fast. He’s learning that he has to be quick if he wants to get in on the good stuff. Otherwise it’s like, “Um, didn’t I see a pan of brownies on the counter a few days ago?” Sure did buddy, you snooze you loose around here!
You should probably make these too, it being the start of the weekend and all! Happy Friday!
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Peanut Butter Cookie Brownies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
For the Cookie
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 9 by 9 inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper, leaving excess hanging over the sides for easy removal later.
Brownie Batter
- In a small pan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in sugar.
- Remove from heat and stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Stir the butter, sugar and eggs into the dry ingredients until just mixed. A few lumps are okay.
- Pour the brownie batter into the pan and set aside.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together vegetable oil and sugar. Then add the egg, vanilla extract, and peanut butter and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt and then add to the wet ingredients to form a dough.
- Drop 25 scoops of peanut butter cookie dough (about 1 TB each) onto the brownie batter.
- Bake for 27-30 minutes, then cool completely before cutting into bars.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 214
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 170mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.9g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 3.3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg
SaraLily says
Look at those luscious peanut butter blobs! YUM to the max!
Julie says
Thanks so much!
Doris says
I got lazy & just mixed both brownie & cookie together… Very Yummy!
Julie says
Love it, Doris! I’ll have to try that.
Ilona @ Ilona's Passion says
Peanut butter plus brownies, what a great combo!
Robby says
OMG, “you snooze, you lose” would have been my Dad’s reply to such a question. He will be all over this, as will Hubby as soon as they know about them. Which might be just after the taste testing is done.
Julie says
Made them for a gathering today and they were a hit. I just used cashew butter instead of peanut butter (thought I had PB but was out!)
Julie says
Oh YUM, I might have to try that next time!
Stephanie says
Making these now so can’t comment on how yummy they are and how long they didn’t last yet… Just wanted to note in the directions for brownies it says to mix in baking soda not powder. :). Looking forward to sharing these with my hubby. Kids can have some tomorrow….if there’s any left !
Julie says
Thanks for pointing that out. I have fixed it. Hope you guys enjoy!
Stephanie says
They’re so good! My husband had 4 so I’m thinking its a good thing I doubled the recipe!
Julie says
Yay!
kate says
How long did you time the double batch?
Julie says
Kate, I haven’t had a chance to try a double batch. I’m guessing 10 more minutes in a 9X13 pan.
Delmecia says
Can you use the box brownie mix and the store cookie dough roll? Just trying to think of something quick.
Julie says
Hi! I’m not sure if that will be the same amounts of dough for each as this recipes makes, but you could definitely try them and see.
Melanie says
I loved this idea – for a quicker version I used a box of Ghiradelli brownie mix and a bag of Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix. I assembled both according to package directions. I spread the brownie batter in a 9×13 pan and plopped about half the cookie dough as you did in the pictures. These baked at 325 in a metal pan for 28 minutes. I made cookies with the remaining dough. These were good – next time I’ll make sure to have vanilla ice cream on hand to add to the goodness! Thanks for the great idea!
Julie says
Thanks Melanie, great shortcuts!
Leslie says
Sure can! I did!
Leslie says
Sure can, I did!
Jackie says
How do you prevent the eggs from cooking and becoming globs of boiled egg pieces when you add it to the hot sugar that you recently removed from the heat?
Julie says
Jackie, you can either just let it cool slightly, or you can temper the eggs by adding a little bit of the brownie batter to them before adding the whole mixture in. Hope this helps!
Jessica says
Delicious and an easy from scratch recipe! But after 30 minutes in the oven the brownies were not baked at all. Like, totally still batter, jiggling when I pulled them from the oven not baked. I had to almost double the baking time in order for the brownies to be baked through, but that obviously affected the peanut butter cookies. Any suggestions or thoughts? I followed the recipe and instructions meticulously, and I’ve never had this happen to me before when baking. Thanks!
Julie says
Hi Jessica – I’m glad you still enjoyed them, but I’m a little stumped as to why it took so long to bake. I’m wondering if it had anything to do with the position of your oven rack, or the type of pan you used? Glass versus metal?
Chelsea says
This happened to me, too! Plus, my peanut butter batter didn’t really turn into much of a dough, but rather clumps. I ended up just spreading the whole thing over the top, but 30 minutes in and still completely batter brownie mix. I’m hoping the additional baking time doesn’t burn the peanut butter dough!
Kari says
This happened to me too. The peanut butter cookie part was so dry it was almost inedible. Especially since the blobs were so small. The pb cookies were like crispy while the brownie batter was fudgy.
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Lydia says
A little dry, but tasty. Would be better with ice cream or a glass of cold milk!
R. Z. Grey says
Hi, I’m still a teenager (no kids or husband!) and I don’t cook or bake that often, and I’ve found I’m not really the greatest at it either. However, I used this recipe and it was amazing! My parents, siblings, and boyfriend were all super impressed! If only everything could be so easy to follow. Thank you so much!
Julie says
Hey that’s awesome! So glad you all liked them, and you just keep on baking, mkay?!? :0)
Katie says
I want to make these for my coworkers for a potluck, but have a couple that are allergic to peanuts…. do you think substituting sugar cookies or chocolate chip would still taste as delicious?
don’t worry, made the peanut butter recipe for my hubs and he literally ate the entire pan!
Julie says
I think chocolate chip is a great idea! Glad it was a hit!
Michelle says
This is the second time I’ve made these and my hubby and kids love them as much the second time as the first!
Julie says
Awesome! I need to make these again soon myself!
Kate says
Very moist and cake-like. The peanut butter really came through. Next time I’ll add more cocoa.
kay says
Would coconut oil work to sub for the butter?
Julie says
I have tried subbing coconut oil in a lot of baked goods, and it is usually just fine! Sometimes I like to do a half butter/half coconut oil combination for the first time, and if that works I’ll back down even more. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
net says
OMG I have been looking for this for over a year. have you ever made it with oatmeal?
Julie says
No, but that’s a great idea. I’ll have to try it soon!
Raschelle says
These are in the oven right now! I’m hoping they satisfy my 38 week pregnant cravings 🙂 But, they’ve been baking for about 40 minutes and still super doughy on the brownie. I was very careful with all measurements. Baking in a glass pan. Is that the problem?
Julie says
Hi Raschelle, I hope these brownies do the trick for you. And yay, you are so very close to meeting baby! I would keep cooking until the brownie seems a little more set. I never think much about the difference between glass and metal pans for baking, but this post is helpful in knowing how they baking differently. Hope you enjoy!
http://www.thekitchn.com/glass-vs-metal-bakeware-is-there-a-difference-food-science-217961
Shawnie says
Made today 3/28/16. Did not like one bit. The peanut butter cookie batter was very bland. Would not make again nor recommend to anyone. I think it’s the lack of brown sugar in the recipe.
Becky says
I made these yesterday, and they turned out awesome! The only things I changed- I subbed 1/2 butter for coconut oil, turned out very well. Also, I only had crunchy peanut butter on hand, so I used that but added an extra ~1 tbs for the cookie portion. I baked it in a metal 9 x 9 pan, and they were done perfectly after 30 minutes. Thanks for this fantastic dessert recipe!
Julie says
Becky, thanks for letting me know how they turned out – so glad you liked them!
Aimee says
My brownie batter was much thicker than yours looks. Did I mix to much??? My cookies ended up just sitting on top, in the oven now hope it still works.
Julie says
Hope you enjoyed them Aimee! Not sure why your batter was thicker.
Lee says
I made these yesterday. The brownie is good, fudgy and chewy. I liked the concept of the peanut butter cookies, however I don’t think it works that well. It could use more peanut butter flavor and the cookies just sit in the brownie as thick blobs.
Tina says
I used extra crunchy peanut butter and special dark cocoa powder. Waiting for them to cool off eat. Hope they taste as good as they look.
Julie says
I bet that dark chocolate makes them extra good! Hope you enjoy Tina. Let me know how they taste!
Mara says
Would this recipe work if I make it in a 9×13 pan? or would I have to double the recipe?
Julie says
I think you might have trouble with the baking time if you were to double this recipe, and it may be too thin if you did not double it. I think it might just be best to stick with the pan size suggested this time. Thanks for your question!
Jenny says
Do I need to use regular creamy peanut butter or will natural creamy work?
Julie says
Jenny, I think it should be okay to use either kind of peanut butter. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Brittany says
Hi, would ai be able to sub the 9×9 for an 8×8? Thanks so much!
Julie says
I would be a little careful about that just because the brownie part might be hard to bake through if it’s too thick. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
Deborah says
Can I use natural unsweetened cocoa?
Julie says
Yes, that is the right kind to use for this recipe. Thanks Deborah.
Anne says
The recipe for the brownies and for the cookies are delicious! I read the comments and these were my tricks. I doubled the recipe to make it in a 9×13 pan. My pan was stoneware. Then I cooked the brownie base for 15 min. Then I added the cookies on top, I had extra dough, which I froze for next time. Then I cooked the rest together for 15-20 min. It was delicious and done. Thank you for a great recipe!
Julie says
Thanks for your feedback and great tips!
Lisa Watson says
Rated Do OVER
Talithia says
I’m making these tonight!! I want more of a fudgey peanut butter cookie. Should I use less flour or more peanut butter or both?
Thanks..they look so good in the photos
Brittany says
Saw a previous comment where it said the cookie ingredient had been changed from baking soda to powder-but it still says powder. Which should it be?
Brittany says
I’m sorry, I meant to say that it still says soda
Julie says
Hi Brittany – I totally see how this is confusing! I think it is written correctly as it is. There is baking powder in the brownie batter and baking soda in the peanut butter cookie dough.
Brittany says
Thank you. Was in the process of making them as I submitted this question. Made them as written with soda in the cookie dough. I ate maybe 3 bars myself 🙈
Julie says
Oh good! That sounds like my kind of Friday night!
Teresa says
Hey Julie these are in my oven as I post with 15 mins. left I will let you know how they turn out . It’s a sweet Sunday evening & my sons best friend is over who loves anything peanut butter 😀 But omg he also weighs over 270 😲Just hope unlike your hubby, Pray I don’t miss out on what’s smelling so “delicious ” right now! 🙏🙏🙏
Kait says
Is it ok to use a 9 by 13 inch pan?
Julie says
If you use a larger pan they will be very thin and will bake faster – not sure if it would work.
Alyssa says
Hi Julie, I’m a professionally trained chef (retired) and totally obsessed with food, particularly desserts and recipe development. I try to eat healthy and avoid sugar, so I’m constantly testing and adapting rich recipes to be a little lighter but still satisfying, as I love butter!
I’m puzzled by one aspect of your recipe and hoping you can explain it to me: the chocolate batter calls for butter, but the peanut butter batter calls for oil. Why oil, and not butter? In what way does the use of oil affect the flavor/texture?
If I use oil in a recipe, I usually opt for organic coconut oil, avocado oil, or olive oil with butter flavor. So, if oil works better in the peanut butter batter, which “healthy” oil would you recommend using? I’ve never made peanut butter brownies, but I am anxious to give it a try. Please help me out here!
Many thanks,
Alyssa
Julie says
Great question Alyssa. I need to go back and remake this recipe and tweak it so it makes more sense. I made this one a while back and was simply combining a brownie recipe and a cookie recipe that I liked! Let me know if you try it, what changes you make and how it works out! Thanks for your question!
Rachel says
I made these and ate WAY too many of them. They were so good and not too sweet.
Julie says
I’m glad you liked them! Thanks so much for letting me know, Rachel!
Sharon says
Do you use sweetened or unsweetened cocoa
Julie says
I used unsweetened cocoa.
Regina says
My peanut butter dough just kinds of stayed in globs, not swirled like the pictures show. I’m sure the brownies will taste good. They just look different than I expected.
Kayla says
Made these last night! They came out perfectly and everyone loved them! I added a little salt to the top while they were still hot and that added extra flavor! Might try adding dark chocolate chunks to the brownie batter next time. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★