Brownie Alert! These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies, inspired by Claire Saffitz's Malted Forever Brownies are a must-try for any peanut butter & chocolate lover!
Step aside cakey brownies! These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies are ooey-gooey fudge brownies lovers.
What makes a brownie perfect to me?
I want loads of chocolate, in the form of cocoa powder & a high quality chopped chocolate bar.
I'd like to compare these brownies to Fudge, in a way. If baked for less time, they resemble a square of fudge with a lightly crisp exterior crust. If baked for a bit longer, the result will still be fudgy, but a thicker crisp texture around the edges.
Jump to:
- Brownie Alert! These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies, inspired by Claire Saffitz's Malted Forever Brownies are a must-try for any peanut butter & chocolate lover!
- Let's talk chocolate & peanut butter!
- The Best Peanut Butter to Use
- Peanut Butter Alternatives
- How to Make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
- If you like these Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies, you may like:
- Best Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
- Questions & Reviews
Let's talk chocolate & peanut butter!
This flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter is a lifetime favorite of mine. It started with my best friend's mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter layer cake - this way a treat! And I can't forget the margarine-filled chocolate peanut butter diamonds from the Jewish cookbook growing up- those were always incredible.
There's something incredible about how these two flavors complement each other, and it makes for magical recipes!
The Best Peanut Butter to Use
As much as I love and advocate for Whole Foods, real ingredients store-bought items, there is nothing like Skippy Naturals peanut butter in baked goods. Personally, I like to choose a conventional brand for baked goods like this, so that the results will always be consistent and reliable. Any other conventional brand will work in this recipe as well.
You can definitely try a real unprocessed peanut butter that is freshly ground. This would probably taste phenomenal too!
Peanut Butter Alternatives
If you're allergic to peanut butter or simply don't enjoy the flavor, their are plenty of other nut butters or seed butters that can be used in its' place. Try out almond butter or even a sweetened tahini; both should work wonders!
How to Make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
Making these peanut butter brownies is essentially a one-bowl recipe (aside from the quick cocoa-water blooming that happens in a small bowl).
Start with "blooming" the cocoa powder in boiling water. This will help enhance the flavor and also allow the cocoa powder to evenly distribute in the batter without any clumps. Thank you to Claire Saffitz for teaching me this trick!
Once the cocoa is bloomed, it's added to a ban-mare setup, along with chopped chocolate, plant based butter and oil. This gets cooked slowly, taking about 6-10 minutes.
Next, you'll remove the bowl form the heat and mix in sugars, followed by eggs & vanilla extract.
Add your dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture!
Last but not least, add in the melted peanut butter. Only half though! Save the remaining peanut butter to create a swirl on the brownie batter once in the pan.
Baking time matter. Once the brownie is set in the pan and ready to bake. You can bake for about 35 minutes for a super fudgy brownie. Alternatively, bake a couple more minutes for a slightly more set brownie with a cakier texture.
If you like these Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies, you may like:
Gluten Free Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Mini Chocolate Cream Cakes
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Sticks
If you make this recipe and love it, I would greatly appreciate it if you would share your feedback by leaving a rating below. Thanks a million! ❤️️
Best Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder I recommend Hershey’s brand
- 5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate roughly chopped
- 6 tablespoons plant based unsalted butter cut into small cubes
- ¼ cup neutral oil such as vegetable, grapeseed or canola oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour/starch
- ½ cup peanut butter divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8” x 8” square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl mix together ¼ cup boiling water with the cocoa powder. Set aside.
- Fill a medium pot with 1-inch of water and set a heatproof bowl on top (the water should not be able to touch the bowl). Bring the water to a simmer, then turn to low heat.
- To the heatproof bowl add the chopped chocolate, water-cocoa mixture, plant-based butter & oil. Mix until completely melted.
- Once chocolate is melted, turn the stovetop off. Carefully remove the heatproof bowl from the pot and set onto a towel on the counter. Allow to cool slightly, about ten minutes.
- Next, mix both sugars into the chocolate mixture. Then, beat in the egg & egg yolks, along with vanilla extract.
- Stir in the gluten free flour, almond flour & tapioca. Mix until flour is no longer visible, about 1 minute.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter for about 20 seconds until thin and soupy.
- Mix half of the melted peanut butter into the chocolate mixture, until no longer visible. Save the remaining peanut butter for later.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
- Drizzle the remaining melted peanut butter over the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the peanut butter through the batter, creating a marbled texture.
- Bake the brownie for 30-35 minutes for a super fudgy brownie or up to 45 minutes for a less fudgy brownie.
- After baking, allow to cool completely and place in the fridge for up to 1 hour before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Both semisweet or bittersweet chocolate work perfectly. You can choose whichever you like best!
- I prefer to use a chocolate bar rather than chocolate chips. Chocolate bars have less stabilizers and tend to be a bit higher quality.
- You can use dairy butter if you like instead of the vegan option.
- Be careful not to over mix the batter otherwise it can become tough from mixing the eggs too much.
- Feel free to use smooth or chunky peanut butter. I used smooth peanut butter here but either option will work!
Lori Green says
What's your opinion on using a different gluten free flour blend?
Dalya Rubin says
Hi Lori,
I think you can swap a different 1 to 1 gluten-free flour for this recipe, such as King Arthurs or another brand. As long as the flour is known as a "1 to 1 cup" substitute, it should work similarly.
Best of luck!
- Dalya