These dark chocolate, fudgy brownies are layered with a peanut butter, peanut butter whiskey filling and a peanut butter swirl topping for the perfect sweet, salty and boozy dessert.
Be sure to check out more of my brownie recipes including my fudgy, sweet potato brownies and traditional gluten-free brownies. For an easy gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free cookie check out my flourless gluten-free peanut butter cookies with brown sugar.
Peanut Butter Filling
The peanut butter filling is a mixture of peanut butter, butter, whiskey and powdered sugar. This yummy, boozy filling is scattered inside the brownie batter. The remaining peanut butter is used on its own to create a beautiful swirl on top.
Peanut Butter Whiskey – Yes, peanut butter whiskey is gluten-free! Even if made from a grain that contains gluten, distilled liquor is gluten-free. Gluten does not make it through distilling, so there’s no need to worry!
Peanut butter whiskey is sweeter than your average whiskey and is like dessert in itself. The combination of peanut butter and whiskey flavor is absolutely amazing. Whiskey has hints of vanilla and honey flavors making it an ideal pairing with PB and chocolate. I use Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey but there are other brands (Sheep Dog and Tennessee Legend) that will work too.
Peanut Butter – It’s important to use natural, (not no stir) peanut butter. The no-stir peanut butters have palm oil in them and don’t combine well with the other ingredients. So the ingredients in your peanut butter should be just peanuts and maybe salt. Santa Cruz Peanut Butter has a nice creamy texture
When you first open a jar of natural peanut butter, there will most likely be a pool of oil on top. DO NOT pour it out! This is what makes the pb creamy. The least messy way to handle this situation is to pour the entire jar of pb along with the oil into a mixing bowl. Stir it with a fork until the oil is incorporated, then put it back in the jar.
Fudge Brownie Recipe
The brownie batter gets a double dose of chocolate from dark chocolate chips (or bars) and cocoa powder. The solid chocolate adds to the moist, fudgy texture of the brownies. For an allergy-free chocolate, Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels are my favorite. The cocoa powder assures that the bittersweet chocolate will be front and center.
The batter is also flavored with peanut butter whisky to make this a perfectly boozy treat.
The rest of the ingredients are just the basics – salt, eggs, sugar, butter and flour. King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour is my go-to for gf recipes.
Baking the Brownies
These brownies work best in an 8″ square pan. A 9″ pan will work too, but the brownies will be a little thinner. I highly recommend greasing the pan AND lining it with parchment. Brownies have a tendency to stick to the pan and the parchment will make removal from the pan super easy. Here’s how to cut the parchment so that it will cover the bottom and sides of the pan:
Peanut Butter Whiskey Fudge Brownies (Gluten-Free)
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Ingredients
Peanut Butter Whiskey Filling
- Β½ c natural peanut butter (NOT no-stir, no palm oil)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ΒΌ c powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp peanut butter whisky
- ΒΌ tsp salt
Brownie Batter
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate or ΒΎ c + 1 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
- 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (ΒΎ c)
- 1ΒΌ c sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter whiskey
- ΒΎ c gluten-free flour blend
- ΒΌ c unsweetened cocoa powder
- Β½ tsp salt
Peanut Butter Swirl Topping
- ΒΌ c natural peanut butter (NOT no-stir, no palm oil) for swirl topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350Β°F. Grease and line an 8" or 9" square baking dish with parchment. The parchment will make removing them from the pan MUCH easier,
Peanut Butter Whiskey Filling
- Place the peanut butter, butter and whiskey in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 20 seconds.
- Stir to combine. If the butter is not completely melted, heat another 10 seconds.
- Stir in the the powdered sugar and salt.
- Set aside.
Brownie Batter
- Place the chocolate and butter in a large microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Stir. If the butter and chocolate are not completely melted, heat another 20-30 seconds and stir until the chocolate is melted.
- Add the sugar and stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the eggs and peanut butter whiskey and beat until combined.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and salt.
- Stir until smooth.
Assemble
- Pour Β½ of the batter into the pan.
- Scatter spoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture on top.
- Top with the remaining batter.
- Heat the 1/4 c of peanut butter for 15-20 seconds in the microwave. Use a spoon to drizzle stripes of peanut butter on top of the batter. Run a toothpick across the pb stripes to swirl.
- Bake 33-38 minutes for an 8" pan or 28-32 minutes for a 9" pan or until set.
- Cool the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour, then transfer to the fridge to cool completely.
- These brownies will last at least 3 days at room temp in a sealed container. They can also be frozen wrapped individually in plastic then in a zip top bag.
These brownies were to LJVE FOR!
Thanks so much!
From Tim, those were some of the most mouth watering brownies I have ever tasted!