Peanut Butter Brookies are the marriage of fudgy brownies and chewy peanut butter cookies! This recipe features even more decadence with the addition of Reese’s peanut butter cups. This easy to make dessert blows everyone away!
Have you learned how to make Brookies yet? It’s no more difficult than making a pan of brownies or peanut butter bars, but the results are doubly impressive!
Why this Recipe Works
I don’t know a lot of things, but here’s one: people love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter!
People also love brookies–the result of adding a layer of cookie dough to a pan of brownie batter before baking.
Today’s recipe combines ALL of those favorites into one delicious and easy dessert bar.
- Can’t decide between a pan of brownies or a batch of peanut butter cookies? Peanut Butter Brookies are the answer!
- Both layers of this treat are moist, fudgy and chewy.
- We added peanut butter morsels AND peanut butter cups to put these over the top!
If you love today’s recipe, be sure to try our chocolate peanut butter cookies next. So fudgy and good.
Ingredient Notes
- Crisco. Using shortening in the cookie layer is vital for the ideal texture. We used butter flavor but plain shortening works well too.
- Unsalted butter. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the saltiness of the finished peanut butter brookies. You’ll need melted butter for the brownie layer and softened butter for the cookies.
- Creamy peanut butter. We prefer the consistency of regular shelf stable peanut butter like (Jif or Skippy) when baked into cookies. Natural styles of peanut butter have oils that separate as the cookie layer bakes, which would make it crumbly or greasy.
- Vanilla. For best flavor, use pure vanilla extract. Our homemade vanilla extract gives these brookies an incredible depth of flavor.
- Reese’s peanut butter cups. For this recipe, you will need mini peanut butter cups unwrapped. You can also use full sized peanut butter cups cut up into 1 inch pieces. Use our homemade peanut butter cups for a delicious twist.
Easy Instructions
For the brownie layer:
Melt chocolate chips with butter and stir until smooth. Mix in sugar, flour and eggs until combined. Pour the brownie batter into a baking dish lined with parchment paper.
For the cookie dough:
Beat the shortening and butter together. Then, mix in the remaining ingredients. Fold in the peanut butter morsels and Reese’s cups.
Assemble and bake:
Smooth the cookie dough over the brownie batter layer and bake.
Let the Peanut Butter Brookies cool completely at room temperature. Then, transfer to the fridge to chill before cutting into bars.
Tips and Tricks
- It’s okay if the cookie layer still looks a bit soft when you take it out of the oven. It will continue firming up as the brookies cool down.
- These Peanut Butter Brookies taste amazing served cold straight from the fridge. You can also let them come to room temperature if you prefer. They’re delicious either way!
- Use a clean plastic knife to slice the brookie bars for a perfectly smooth cut.
Recipe FAQs
Yes–don’t let your lack of unsalted butter stop you! If using salted butter, you may want to reduce or omit the added salt in the cookie layer.
Once they’ve firmed up and chilled, you can store them at room temperature if you prefer. Make sure to keep them in an airtight container either way!
Using butter instead of shortening will affect the appearance and consistency of the baked brookies. Shortening helps them brown and maintain a chewy texture, so I highly recommend making the recipe as directed.
I haven’t tested peanut butter brookies with natural peanut butter. However, I have found natural peanut butter tends to make peanut butter cookies greasy and crumbly, so I wouldn’t recommend using it in this recipe.
More Chocolate Peanut Butter Desserts
- Craving peanut butter and chocolate? How about some Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge?
- Maybe a batch of these SKINNY Chocolate Peanut Butter NO BAKE Cookies are the answer to your cravings?
- Oreo Peanut Butter Dip: a treat on a spoon, and the perfect hostess gift!
- These Reese’s topped Fluffernutter Rice Krispie treats are a delicious solution to your cravings too!
- Our peanut butter cake is stuffed with Reese’s and simply amazing.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section below!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Peanut Butter Brookies
Ingredients
For the Brownie layer:
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
For the Cookie layer:
- ½ cup butter flavored Crisco
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup peanut butter morsels
- 8 ounce bag Reese’s mini peanut butter cups cut in half
Instructions
- For the brownie layer, melt chocolate chips with butter for 1 1/2 minutes in microwave safe glass bowl. Stir until smooth. Add sugar, flour and eggs and combine completely.
- Pour into a 13×9 baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- For the cookie dough, beat crisco with butter. Beat in milk, vanilla, sugars, peanut butter and egg. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Fold in peanut butter morsels and Reese's mini PB cups.
- Drop cookie dough onto brownie batter layer. Smooth evenly.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Refrigerate and cut into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Why choose between 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies and Peanut Butter Brownies when you can have BOTH? Peanut Butter Brookies with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are a homerun every time.
These look delicious. I’m wondering if they can be frozen?
Made these this weekend. They were perfect in every way. We were a house divided… I liked them room temp but my husband like them cold. Either way, delicious!
Thanks for sharing, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hello,
What can I use in place of Crisco?
Thanks!
Thanks!
These are absolutely delicious. I have tried a brookie before and gave up because the brownie part was gooey and the cookie was dry. So I tried this recipe and baked it in my pampered chef stone ware 9X13 pan. It tasted good, but did not look like yours. The only changes I made to my recipe was to use all butter and no Crisco and a variety of chips instead of Reeses PB cups. The brownie was slightly gooey, but the cookies was slightly overcooked especially on the edges. Do you think next time I should cook the brownie layer for about 5 min. then top it with the cookie layer? Would 350 degrees work? Should I use a glass pan instead?I really love brookies and would like to find a way to make it work so I’d appreciate suggestions. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
I too have Pampered Chef stones, and find that bars like this need a longer baking time. The crisco DOES make a difference in the cookie base, so switching to all butter will make a slight difference in the browning part too.
I baked these for a bake sale and they went over quite well. I agree that the bake time should be less than 35 min as mine were a tad crunchy on top…awesome recipe!
Hi would love to make these, can you tell me what butter flavoured crisco is? I’m in Australia and haven’t seen this before. Thanks
Crisco is shortening. Here in US they have butter flavored.
I made this recipe and it was wonderful! All of my co-workers loved them! Sinfully delish! I baked them for 35 minutes and the top got a little brown, but they still tasted great. I would just keep a closer eye on them and bake them for a shorter period of time.
These look amazing! I don’t get peanut butter morsels here in Germany, do you have an idea how I can replace it?
Wow! I want one of this pronto! So yummy!
These are out of this world!!!
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them!
These look so good! Just like my monkey bars! I will have to try them
I thought you’d like to know that I found these on a facebook link that wasn’t yours. I went back to look for them, couldn’t find it, googled you and arrived here. They had tweaked the recipe, but were using your photo.
I just pulled my batch out of the oven, and it smells awesome.
Oh my goodness…. these look divine!!!!!!! What a great idea!!!! They sound absolutely delicious!!!
Oh my goodness….anything with peanut butter and chocolate makes me drool! This looks amazing! I’m stopping by from Tatertots & Jello (#79 Budget Bathroom Makeover) Have a great weekend!