Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Ganache

These Peanut Butter Blondies are packed with chocolate chips and covered in a rich chocolate ganache for a dessert bar that's better than a brownie! They're easy to make and perfect for serving a crowd (or for midnight snacking by yourself).

(This recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Ganache was originally published in May 2008, but was updated with new photos and content in 2020).

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🥜 How to make peanut butter blondies
• 🍫 How to make chocolate ganache
• ⏲️ How to store
• ❓ Can I use other nut butters?
• 💡 Variations to recipe
• 🎉 More peanut butter chocolate recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

I think it's pretty much an agreed upon conclusion that peanut butter and chocolate is one of the best combinations in the world.

I know there are some people who don't like peanut butter and some people who don't like chocolate (why/how I'm not sure), but chances are if you like both of them then you LOVE them together.

I just happen to really enjoy peanut butter and chocolate. I also love blondies and almost always choose them over brownies, especially if there's still chocolate involved in some way.

So, these Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Ganache are pretty much a dream come true for peanut butter lovers. A dangerous, dangerous dream.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

If you've never made blondies before, you should know that they're just as easy to make as chocolate brownies... And peanut butter blondies are no different! Oh, and once you learn how to make chocolate ganache, you will be wanting to make it all the time and put it on everything!

You'll love this recipe because not only is it easy to make, but once you bring the blondies to a party or gathering, your friends and family will be asking for them all the time!

But they're also kind of nice to keep on hand at home... Peanut butter blondies go really well with a cup of coffee. And they also make a stellar midnight snack.

🗒 Ingredients

The ingredients for these peanut butter blondies are pretty simple. In fact, you may already have them all in your kitchen! I know I do.

Here's everything you need for the easy recipe (please see recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Creamy peanut butter
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Semisweet chocolate chips
• Heavy Cream

🥜 How to make peanut butter blondies

The blondies recipe has two parts to it... The actual blondies and then the chocolate ganache. You can skip the ganache if you want, but I highly, highly recommend it!

To start, put parchment paper (or aluminum foil) in a 13x9 baking pan, butter it, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Now, beat together the butter and sugar until it's nice and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. I like using my stand mixer for this, but you could also use a large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer.

Now it's time to beat in the peanut butter. I'm sure whatever kind you use will make your blondies taste a bit different. I usually use Skippy (Skippy for life!) and it works really well. If you use a more natural PB, these made not be as sweet, but that might be A-OK with you!

Beat in the eggs, extra egg yolk, and vanilla. Then mix the flour on low until it's just combined, taking care not to over-mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.

I use 1 ½ cups of chocolate chips, but you can certainly use more if you want the blondies to be fully loaded with chocolate!

Spread the batter in the pan making sure it's super smooth on top and bake for 40-45 minutes, until blondies are golden.

I know, it's a long time to wait, but it's so, so worth it!

And now comes another tough part... You want these to cool to room temperature before topping with ganache. And this could take about 1 ½ hours.

But please don't get impatient because the chocolate ganache will not coat the blondies and firm up if you add it when the blondies are too warm.

🍫 How to make chocolate ganache

When you are ready to make the chocolate ganache, all you have to do is put your chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Put heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil.

Then pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute and then add butter and whisk until the chocolate chips and butter are completely melted and mixture is smooth.

When your blondies are totally cool, pour and spread the chocolate ganache over them.

And give them another 15 minutes to rest so the chocolate can harden. You can put them in the fridge to speed this up even more.

Once the chocolate ganache is completely hard, you can remove the peanut butter blondies from the pan (by lifting parchment paper) and slicing them into squares.

I don't drink a lot of milk these days, but these are totally the kind of goodies that call for a cold glass of milk. Heavenly combination!

In my opinion, these peanut butter blondies have the perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate with the best chewy texture. I'd even choose them over peanut butter cookies, which is saying a lot for me!

The blondies are super moist and crumbly and the chocolate rich in contrast to the sweet peanut butter. You could use a dark chocolate for the ganache if you want, but I actually loved the semisweet here (and it's rare that I love semi-sweet chocolate chips over dark!).

⏲️ How to store

Because these peanut butter blondies are covered in chocolate ganache, I do recommend keeping them in the fridge. They should be OK in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, but when kept in the fridge, they should keep for 5 days.

These treats are a great treat for bringing with you to parties and I also think they'd be one of the first baked goods to go at a bake sale.

Do people still have bake sales? On second thought, you probably won't want to sell a single one of these anyway.

I may be speaking from experience when I say these chewy peanut butter blondies are also quite awesome when topped with a scoop of ice cream. But you didn't hear that from me.

❓ Can I use other nut butters?

Sure! If you're allergic to peanuts or you want to make an allergy-friendly snack, you can substitute the peanut butter with a different kind of nut butter, including almond butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter, etc.

Just note that the consistency of the blondies may change a bit depending on what nut butter you use... Also note that if you use natural peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter, the texture may be a bit different, too.

💡 Variations to recipe

Though I think the peanut butter and chocolate combination in these blondies is perfection as is, there's a lot you can do to switch up this recipe and make it your own (aside from using a different nut butter!). Here are a few ideas:

• Use white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, dark chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or butterscotch chips instead.

• Add rainbow sprinkles for a fun funfetti look.

• Add nuts, like walnuts, mini marshmallows, freeze-dried strawberries, mini M&Ms, mini Reese's peanut butter cups, or the other add-ins of your choice.

• Top the blondies with a white chocolate ganache or homemade buttercream instead of chocolate ganache. Or you can even use store-bought frosting if you're in a rush.

I feel that the blondie is a forgotten dessert. In main part because people probably think, "why would I want a blondie when I can have a brownie?" Well, now I can tell you why. Because peanut butter, chocolate chips, and chocolate ganache.

I swear these peanut butter blondies will be more popular than any old brownie any day.

🎉 More peanut butter chocolate recipes

If you love the peanut butter and chocolate combination, too, check out some of my other favorite baked goods:

• Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Brownies
• Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Granola Bars
• Peanut Butter Frozen Hot Chocolate
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Muffins
• Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies
• Peanut Butter Quinoa Chia Granola
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake (from Dinner at the Zoo)

Do you like blondies? Would you like them better if they involved peanut butter and chocolate?

📖 Recipe