Brownies with Peanut Butter Topping

Peanut butter brownies belong to the school of bake-sale recipes that look fancy but skip the frosting drama. The trick is sprinkling peanut butter chips over the hot brownies straight out of the oven. The pan does the melting for you.

Let them sit for about five minutes until the chips look glossy and slumped, then run a small offset spatula across the top. They smear into a glossy peanut butter glaze that sets as the brownies cool.

Light brown sugar deepens the cocoa flavor and keeps the crumb tender, while baking soda gives just enough lift to keep them from going dense and gummy. Cut them once they’re fully cool or you’ll end up with sticky, ragged edges.

Pro Tips

• Sift the cocoa with the flour. Lumpy cocoa makes for streaky brownies.
• Don’t overbake. Pull them at 30 minutes even if a tester has moist crumbs, since they keep cooking in the pan.
• Spread the melted chips while the surface is still warm. Cold brownies won’t take the swirl smoothly.
• Wipe your knife between cuts with a hot damp cloth for clean-edged bars.

Variations

• Swap peanut butter chips for butterscotch or white chocolate chips for a different sweet topping.
• Press chopped salted peanuts into the still-warm peanut butter layer for crunch and salt.
• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the batter to amplify the chocolate flavor.