peanut butter cup stuffed blondies with peanut butter frosting & chocolate ganache

Peanut Butter Blondies are the ultimate peanut butter lovers treat! Fudgy blondies are stuffed with peanut butter cups, topped with a luxurious peanut butter frosting, and finished with silky chocolate ganache. They taste like a giant, fancy peanut butter cup in bar form!

this recipe

Why you’ll love these Peanut Butter Blondies:

• Chewy Blondies – These chocolate peanut butter blondies have a gooey center and a crispy edge. They’re baked to fudgy perfection!
• Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed – Peanut butter cup pieces stud these fudgy blondie bars, and whole peanut butter cups (or any holiday shape!) are stuffed inside.
• Peanut Butter Frosting – Spread a thick & creamy peanut butter frosting over the cooled bars. This is the same frosting I use in my Buckeye Brownies!
• Luscious Chocolate Ganache – Silky chocolate ganache finishes these blondies off beautifully.
• Easy Yet Fancy Dessert – This dessert has a few components, but each one is simple and it all comes together to make a show stopping dessert with peanut butter flavor in every bite (speaking of which, have you tried my Peanut Butter Tart?)

Ingredient Overview:

As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).

• Butter – I always use salted buter because in my experience, it lends the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if that’s what you prefer.
• Eggs – Use large eggs, at room temperature.
• All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
• Peanut Butter Cups – Use any brand of peanut butter cups you like! I like making these at Easter and using the Reese’s peanut butter eggs. You can use regular mini Reese’s (the foil wrapped cups), any other holiday shape of Reese’s, or any other brand you like. Trader Joe’s has great mini peanut butter cups too!
• Peanut Butter – Creamy peanut butter works the best here (instead of natural peanut butter). You can also use crunchy peanut butter!
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate – Use a good-quality baking chocolate bar (Baker’s, Ghirardelli, Lindt, etc.) for the ganache – chocolate chips won’t work as well because they have stabilizers that prevent them from melting.

Recipe Variations:

• Gluten-free – I have not tested a gluten-free version of this recipe.
• Dairy-free – Use your favorite, trusted, dairy-free butter sticks & heavy cream to make this recipe dairy-free.
• Nut Allergy – Use sunflower seed butter in place of the peanut butter if you need to make these nut allergy friendly. Omit the peanut butter cups and use sunflower butter cups or your favorite chopped chocolate candy bars that are nut free.
• Fewer Steps – These bars are delicious on their own, so you can skip the frosting &/or ganache if you prefer a less rich dessert.
• Mix-Ins – Feel free to use peanut butter chips or reese’s pieces with or in place of the peanut butter cups if you prefer.

How to Make Peanut Butter Blondies:

Step 1: Make the Blondies. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir in the dry ingredients, and add the chopped peanut butter cups.

Step 2: Stuff the Blondies: Spread half the blondie batter in a lined 9×13 pan. Add four rows of 3 peanut butter cups or eggs each.

Cover with the remaining batter, scraping the bowl well with a rubber spatula to get all the batter out. (This will look a bit different for you – in this round of photos, I forgot to add the extra chopped pb cups to the batter. Sigh.)

Step 3: Bake. Bake blondies at 350 degrees F. Follow the baking time as directed in the recipe card below, until golden brown and just set in the middle.

Step 4: Make Peanut Butter Frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together butter & peanut butter. Mix in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, & salt until creamy. Spread this on the cooled peanut butter bars.

Pop in the fridge while you make the ganache.

Step 5: Make Ganache. Heat heavy cream to a simmer, then pour over finely chopped chocolate. Let rest 5 minutes, then stir until completely smooth. Spread this on the chilled bars.

Sprinkle on chopped peanut butter cups, peanuts, & flaky sea salt before chilling in the fridge until ganache is set.

Serving + Storing:

Slice & serve the bars once the ganache is set. These are rich, so you can certainly slice them small and stretch the yield quite a bit! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Unfrosted bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Try my Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake or my Peanut Butter Cheesecake for more peanut butter bliss!

Expert Success Tips:

• Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
• Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.

FAQs:

More Peanut Butter Desserts

• Healthier Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
• Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie
• PB&J Thumbprint Cookies
• Bakery-Style PB Chocolate Cookies
• Buckeye Brownies

More Dessert Bars to Love:

• Brown Butter Butterscotch Blondies
• Gooey Caramel S’mores Bars
• Decadent Turtle Brownies
• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
• Key Lime Pie Bars

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