“Made a batch of these blondies on Sunday for school lunches and they were gone by Monday morning ~ shoulda made a double batch!” ~ Alan
Peanut butter chocolate chip blondies are a must for those who appreciate the incredible combination of chocolate and peanut butter. These simple bars vie for one of my top favorite recipes and prove that a great dessert doesn’t have to be complicated.
ingredients for peanut butter chocolate chip blondies
Brownies are typically chocolate-based and have a fudgy texture, while blondies are brown sugar-based and have a chewy texture and a sweet, buttery flavor. We’re blurring the lines with this recipe…
- peanut butter
- I use Jiff creamy pb for baking. It has a great consistency and a good roasted peanut flavor. See below for the details about why I choose this.
- butter
- we’re going to melt our butter so this recipe is super easy to make.
- brown sugar
- brown sugar is the ingredient that sets this ‘blondie’ apart from a brownie.
- granulated white sugar
- eggs
- vanilla
- flour
- salt
- milk chocolate chips
I almost called them peanut butter chocolate chip brownies!
These bars tread that line between blondie and brownie. Yes, they’re made with brown sugar, but because of the way the batter is made, it skews a little bit brownie as well. Here’s why: we start with freshly melted butter, and that little bit of residual heat in the batter is enough to begin to melt some of your milk chocolate chips, resulting in a chocolatey bar. (I pop some extra chips onto the surface before baking, just because.) They’ve got the butterscotch-y chew of a blondie, with the fudge-i-ness of a brownie. Double score.
why I don’t bake with ‘natural’ peanut butter
I choose a regular creamy pb like Jiff for baking. While natural peanut butter is a great product, it can be challenging to use in baking for a few reasons:
- Natural peanut butter is less suitable for baking compared to regular peanut butter because of its higher oil content and lack of added stabilizers. The stabilizers help the peanut butter incorporate into a smooth batter. The higher oil content in natural peanut butter can cause baked goods to become greasy and dense.
- Natural peanut butter has a more coarse texture than processed peanut butter, which can result in a grainy or gritty texture in cookies, brownies, and cakes.
- Natural peanut butter has a stronger peanut flavor and can be more savory than processed peanut butter. This can be great for some recipes, but can overpower other flavors in a baked good.
If you want to use natural peanut butter in baking, there are some things you can do to make it work better. One option is to mix the natural peanut butter with a small amount of flour or powdered sugar to help stabilize it. You can also try stirring the peanut butter until it is completely homogenized, and then chilling it in the refrigerator before using it.
storing, freezing, and shipping!
Because of their rich dense texture brownies and blondies keep well at room temperature for several days. They freeze beautifully, just be sure to let them cool completely first (we don’t want any condensation) and double wrap them in plastic and foil to prevent freezer burn.
These peanut butter chocolate chip blondies are good for shipping because they will stay moist even after a couple of days in transit, thanks to the brown sugar and peanut butter. They’re sturdy, too, and won’t crumble if you pack them properly. Pretty much the perfect dessert, eh?
variations
If you prefer that your chocolate chips don’t melt, let the wet ingredients cool before adding the flour and chips.
Use peanut butter chips instead of chocolate for a super peanutty blondie.
Substitute almond butter for a different flavor.
Bake up your blondies in a round pan or a skillet and cut it into slices like pie (or just dig in with a big spoon white they’re still warm.)
more bar desserts
- Brownie Recipe from a Chatbot!
- White Chocolate Pecan Cookie Bars
- Strawberry Lemon Blondies
- The BEST Maple Walnut Blondies
- Triple Lemon Brownies
- Toffee Bars
- Blackberry Pecan Bars
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Equipment
- 9×9 baking pan
- parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, do not use 'natural' style peanut butters.
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray your 9×9 baking pan and line with parchment paper. The parchment paper is optional and just allows you to remove the blondies after baking, for neater cutting.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. You can also do this in a medium microwave safe bowl.
- Whisk in the sugars and peanut butter until thoroughly mixed.
- Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
- Whisk together the flour and salt and stir into the wet mixture. Then fold in the chips.
- Bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out moist but clean. Don’t over bake—treat these blondies as you would brownies and err on the underdone side.
- Let cool before slicing. The blondies will keep, covered, at room temperature for several days. They freeze well.
So delicious! I sent to my daughter in college and they traveled great. I also used semi sweet and dark chocolate chips and keep the bars in the fridge for some reason the taste best to me that way.
I volunteer at hospital in the OR area .Made a double batch and boy am I ever popular. Disappeared quickly!