Peanut Butter m&m Brownies

Adding m&ms to these chewy bars makes them colorful and fun - they make a wonderful lunchbox surprise. Be sure to try these monster cookies, too.

❤️ Why you'll love it

• You won't need a mixer - these are made by hand.
• SO much chocolate flavor plus a creamy peanut butter swirl.
• The m&ms make them colorful and fun!

I can't resist a fudgy brownie.

These have all of the dark chocolate chewiness of my favorite brownies but with the addition of a peanut butter swirl and a generous amount of m&ms sprinkled randomly throughout.

When the brownies are cooled the candy coating and chocolate in the m & ms provides a crisp, dense burst of milk chocolate as you eat them.

The peanut butter stays smooth and salty-rich which keeps the brownies from being overly sweet.

They're perfect, I tell ya.

🥫 Storage

Leave the brownies in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Or store in an airtight container.

To freeze: Let brownies cool completely. Place in an airtight, freezer safe container with waxed paper or parchment between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months.

They freeze well and work great for school lunches.

• Let brownies cool completely.
• Cut into bars.
• Place in an airtight, freezer safe container with waxed paper or parchment between the layers.
• Freeze for up to 3 months.

I like to wrap these fudgy chocolate brownies individually and put them in a plastic freezer container. That way you can just get a few out when you are making the kids' lunches and pop them right into each lunch box. They'll be thawed and ready to eat at lunchtime.

💭 Tips

Expert Tip: Be sure not to overcook these brownies. They should be still somewhat soft in the middle when you take them from the oven and you'll need to let them cool a bit.

• The secret to dark fudgy brownies is using unsweetened dark cocoa powder.
• Don't over-mix! If you mix the batter too much with cause the brownies to be caky, crumbly, and tough. Stop mixing once you can't see the dry ingredients anymore.
• If you plan to take homemade brownies out of the baking dish before serving line it with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. The brownies will lift right out.
• Use a really good quality vanilla extract. It does make a difference.
• Make them even gooey-er by adding about ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips to the batter.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

📞 The last word

These are a combination of peanut butter and classic brownie flavors and they are irresistible. 

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

4.55 from 11 votes

Peanut Butter Brownies

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Easy, fudgy M&M Brownies have a salty peanut butter swirl that makes them irresistible. Always perfectly moist and chewy and they freeze well.

Course Bar cookies

Cuisine American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings:36 bars

Calories:232

Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

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• ▢ 1 ½ cups butter, melted
• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ 3 teaspoons vanilla
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup dark cocoa powder, (the darkest you can find…do not substitute baking chocolate)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or ¼ teaspoon regular table salt
• ▢ 1 cup M&Ms candies
• ▢ 1 cup smooth peanut butter

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F
• Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan (line with parchment if desired)
• Whisk cooled melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
• Blend the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.
• Stir in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until well blended but do not over beat.
• Fold in the M & Ms, reserving about ¼ cup to sprinkle on top.
• Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• Place the peanut butter in a small mixing bowl. Make sure it's microwave safe.
• Warm it for a few seconds, just until it is soft enough to spread easily.
• Spoon it in thick lines across the brownies.
• Use a spoon to swirl it through the brownie batter - don't overmix.
• Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup M&Ms.
• Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until done but still soft in the middle.

Notes

Expert Tip: Be sure not to overcook these brownies. They should be still somewhat soft in the middle when you take them from the oven and you'll need to let them cool a bit.

• Don't over-mix! If you mix the batter too much with cause the brownies to be caky, crumbly, and tough. Stop mixing once you can't see the dry ingredients anymore.
• If you plan to take the brownies out of the pan before serving line it with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. The brownies will lift right out.

You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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First published August 14, 2014. Last updated June 21, 2021 for to add tips.