Peanut Butter Fudge Marbled Brownies

This recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge Marbled Brownies comes from my best friend Shawnee Sax in Portland, Maine. She is the quintessential sweet tooth and a true connoisseur of all things dessert. The first time she made these brownies for me it was May of 1998.

I don’t make them often but at least once a year I break down and HAVE TO have them. Tonight, I ran into a neighbour going through a tough time. My reflex to try and console her was to go home and make a batch of these. The look on her face as she took a bite of one – still warm from the oven – was just what I hoped for. If only we could send these to everyone feeling low right now!

Well, I may not be able to do that but at least I can share the recipe with you and if you know someone who needs a little lift, you could make them and share these little of morsels of TLC in my place. Thank you in advance! Read on for the recipe.

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Peanut Butter Fudge Marbled Brownies

Time: 60 – 70 minutes

Yield: 24 brownies

Equipment: spoons, whisk, bowls, stand mixer, 9×13-inch glass baking dish

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For the Peanut Butter Fudge-y Bit:

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Place all the ingredients in a mix master and beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

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For the Brownies:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Coat a 13×9-inch glass baking pan with butter.
3. Prepare the peanut butter fudge-y filling and set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a small bowl in a microwave.
5. Place the sugar, vanilla and melted butter in the bowl of a stand mix and beat until smooth.
6. Add the eggs one and at time, beating until smooth and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
7. Sift the cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and then add them to the mixer, beat until smooth.
8. Stir in the chocolate chips.
9. Remove 1 cup of this batter and set aside.
10. Pour the remaining batter into the prepared baking pan.
11. Spread the peanut butter filling evenly over the brownie layer.
12. Drop the reserved chocolate batter by Tablespoon over the filling – about 6 drops.
13. Using a knife, gently swirl through the top layers to create a marbled effect.
14. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a wooden tooth pick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
15. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
16. Cut into bars.
17. Enjoy on their own or with ice cream and chocolate sauce. P.S. Shawnee just added a note in the comments of this post to say that the ice cream should be coffee to complete the level of decadence induced by this recipe!