Chocolate and peanut butter are made for each other. This recipe tugs at the nostalgia of those boxed brownie mixes from childhood—but ours is made entirely from scratch.

Photography Credit: Aaron Hutcherson

Chocolate and peanut butter are a definite contender for best dessert duo. Personally, my love for the pairing has a lot to do with the irresistible combination of sweet and salty.

These rich, chocolatey brownies with enticing swirls of peanut butter throughout send my taste buds into a tizzy with every bite. (And it doesn’t hurt that they’re so visually appealing.)

Our Favorite Videos Get Recipe »

NO MORE BOX MIX!

The base of this recipe, of course, is the brownie. As a kid, I grew up on boxed mixes and loved them (especially the corner piece), but it took some time for me to develop a homemade version that I liked.

A lot of recipes that I tried tended to be more gooey and fudgy brownie. I, on the other hand, am all about the chewy and dense (in a good way) brownies.

THE SECRET IS A DOUBLE DOSE OF CHOCOLATE

This recipe uses both cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate for a double dose of decadence. A bit of brown sugar in addition to white sugar helps to give that chew I was looking for, and some instant coffee powder makes the chocolate flavor even more pronounced.

These are the adult version of the boxed brownies I loved so much as a kid.

A DOUBLE BOILER TO MELT THE CHOCOLATE

The instructions below call for using a double boiler to melt the chocolate and butter. This just means melting the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl placed over a pot with a few inches of simmering water, which works to melt the chocolate gently and helps avoid scorching.

However, you can also use the microwave (or even a pot directly on the stove) as long as you keep a careful watch so as not to burn the chocolate.

ABOUT THAT SWIRL….

When it comes time to swirl in the peanut butter, heating helps loosens it up and allows you to drizzle it over the top of the batter. (I’ve only used standard commercial brands with sugar in them; it might work differently with varieties that don’t have sugar, or where you have to stir the oils together.)

Then use a butter knife to swirl the peanut butter into the batter. Use both the thin blade and the flat edge of the knife so you get an artful mix of thin swirls and large swooshes of chocolate and peanut butter.

TRY THIS! TAHINI SWIRL BROWNIES

If you love peanut butter, try tahini! Tahini is a paste or sauce made from ground sesame seeds and used in a lot of Middle Eastern recipes. Like peanut butter, tahini has a nuttiness that works well with chocolate. Give it a try instead of the peanut butter in these brownies—it also makes your brownies allergy-friendly!

MORE BROWNIE RECIPES TO TRY