Double Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Brownies (V, GF, DF): an easy recipe for rich, fudgy peanut butter brownies slathered in chocolate PB frosting. Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy-Free, Whole Grain.
By now, you might have detected the fact that I have a sense of humor. Or, not… because I’ve totally failed on the humor front. Dagnabit! Also, in that case, what the peanut butter brownies have I been doing with my life? My life’s mission, my meaning in this world?? For without jokes, chocolate, peanut butter, and skillfully-timed eyebrow raises, I am nothing.
Just nothing.
Wait a minute, you can’t see my skillfully-timed eyebrow raises… can you?
J/k about being nothing!! But totally serious about the eyebrow thing. Man, I’ve got to fix that (somehow). ???? Anyway, every Christmas, I usually get to see my whole family, all in one place, and it’s my opportunity to finally make them laugh. Or at least feed them all the treats that I’ve coerced Erik into helping me make Erik and I’ve been happily making as a festive team! In fact, I’m planning on making these very double chocolate frosted peanut butter brownies in like… 10 minutes. <– Last minute treat-making is the craziest!
Anyway, back to what I was saying, by now, I’ve kind of got the whole treat thing down. Oh, alright, I’ve semi-got it down because people’s tastes change every year. Can you imagine? What were they thinking, changing their taste preferences without notifying me in writing at least two months before Christmas? Pfft. 😉
But besides humoring and feeding folks, the one thing I’ve been trying to get us all to do is take a family portrait. With those goofily charming matching Christmas sweaters clearly tasteless people refer to as “ugly.” J/k!! We all have good taste in our own way. Ahem. Anyway, one year, Erik and I even spent an entire weekend searching for matching sweaters, picking out everyone’s sizes and everything.
We even called a department store and booked an appointment for a family portrait session. We double-even purchased the very-necessary package that included our soon-to-be awesome portrait on cute glittery tumblers. Come on, now!!
We were SO excited to finally get this photo on the books. All schedules were coordinated to coincide with everyone being at the mall at the same time (what is up with my sisters needing to meet their “friends” while they’re in town??? So selfish. ????). It was actually about to happen.
Except it didn’t. Who can even remember why at this point? Traffic on whatever freeway caused delays, a friend lunch thing ran over, my mom got lost shopping for purses… etc.
Anyway, I totally had it up to here. Clearly, you can see where I’m vigorously jutting my hand in the air. It’s high. Like, slightly above my eyebrows, but not past my hairline. This is important because… who even knows why. It’s HIGH. Okay?
But it didn’t work out. So I took matters into my own hands. Well, Erik and I did. One of the only ways we knew how: Photoshop, baby! After some clever scanning of google’s images search thingy, we found several charming photos of people who’d gotten their act together. They’d actually booked a family photo session and stuck to it. Can you imagine?
With our dear old friend Photoshop, we went to town. Would you like to see one of our very fine results? Here ya go:
What do you think? Don’t we all look so natural and just… REAL in this photo? Erik, Jenny and one-and-a-half-year-old PB are proudly gracing the center. I don’t know why PB insisted on wearing his bike helmet to this very serious family portrait session. However, I will say that it matched wonderfully with our pj’s.
See me on the far right bottom corner? For some reason, I’m just looking a bit tinier than Erik… Perhaps it was just an angling issue… On the far left bottom corner, my mom seems to be experiencing the same issue. Hmm… must’ve just been the lighting that day.
Now don’t mind PB, Monica and Kevin’s (top center) tops… there really isn’t any reason why their shirts are oddly more squiggly than the rest. It’s not like Erik and I had to hand draw them in. Or anything. There’s my big sis Penny, lighting the entire portrait up like a Christmas tree with her awesome dimple. And um… don’t mind the monkey above PB, uh… we simply had an opening in the portrait for a… cartoon. You know how those darn cartoons are always hanging out at department stores. 😉
On Christmas Day, Erik and I handed out treat baskets, mini gifts, and most importantly, full-color, 8″ x 11″ prints of the most official family portraits we’ve ever taken. Seen above. 😉 We all had a good laugh over how stunningly attractive we all appeared… and Erik and I cooked up more ideas for years to come.
What kind of goofy lengths have you gone to to make something happen?
This year, Erik and I are skipping the 3-day long search of matching Xmas sweaters, and just sitting back to make a batch of these double chocolate frosted peanut butter brownies. We’re also gonna go ice skating, hit up the mall with Grams, PB and Jenny. And hopefully, just maybe, we might swing by a certain department store for an impromptu family portrait session. 😉
And, we’re obviously gonna be frosting All the Things with this chocolate peanut butter frosting. But just in case you’re in the mood for a non-peanut-buttery frosting, you must try my talented friend Sharon from What the Fork’s Vegan Chocolate Frosting. Just… look at it. ????
And while you’re at it, why not indulge those chocolate cravings with these incredible low carb brownies with almond butter from Wholesome Yum! To veganize: swap the eggs for flax eggs.
While we finalize our last requests to Santa, allow me to tell you all about these double chocolate frosted peanut butter brownies. They’re:
- divinely rich and decadent
- made especially for Chocolate Peanut Butter Lovers
- vegan, gluten free, dairy-free, whole grain
- so easy to make
- thick, fudgy and simply put, Chocolate Heaven
- slathered with a generous layer of chocolate peanut butter frosting
- plant-based and allergy-friendly
- one of my favorite recipes to date
- perfect for holiday parties, gift giving and more
- begging to be part of your dessert tonight
I hope you get everything you want this holiday season. Wishing you plenty of quality time filled with relaxation, bear hugs, corny jokes, cozy socks and cozier pajamas and fun! Thank you for spending the holidays getting ready with me. I can’t wait to hear about how your holidays are going!
In the meantime, tell me:
What do you love to do most this time of year?
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
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- ¼ cup natural, unsalted peanut butter*
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons water, whisk together, set for 10 mins)
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free oat flour
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
- ¼ cup natural, unsalted peanut butter*
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted, natural peanut butter*
- Make the brownies: Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup and coconut oil. Whisk until it resembles caramel.
- Add cocoa powder in ¼ cup increments, whisking until shiny and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Add flax eggs, whisking until well incorporated. In thirds, whisk in the oat flour. As the batter gets harder to whisk, switch to folding with a rubber spatula.
- Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into pan. Using a rubber spatula, smooth batter into an even layer.
- Bake for 28-32 mins. Cool for about 2 hours. Once completely cool, it’s time to make the frosting.
- Make the frosting: In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the Chocolate PB Frosting ingredients: peanut butter, maple syrup, cocoa powder and water. Whisk until this mixture thickens and resembles frosting. Lift brownies out of the baking pan and set onto a baking sheet. Using a rubber spatula, pour and spread the frosting into an even layer. Freeze for 20-25 minutes to harden the frosting for easier slicing.
- Drizzle the brownies: Remove from freezer and slice into 16 bars. Thoroughly stir your drippy, natural peanut butter and remove any clumps. Pour into a zip bag and cut off a tiny corner. Pipe peanut butter in a zigzag motion over one brownie. Repeat for all brownies. Enjoy! Storing notes below.
- Adapted from my Best Vegan Brownies and my Chocolate Peanut Butter Spiderweb Brownies
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.
- These brownies freeze well. Store in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before enjoying. Or, heat in 20-second increments in the microwave until warm.
- More delicious peanut butter recipes (all V, GF, DF): No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, PB Ice Cream Smoothie, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.
- More Vegan and Gluten Free treats: Almond Butter Cups (paleo), Paleo Almond Joy, Peanut Butter Cup Brownies.
© beamingbaker.com. All content and images are protected by copyright. Please do not use my images or recipe without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please re-write the entire recipe using your own words and include a link to this post for the recipe.
☀︎ More Peanut Butter Love Recipes ☀︎
Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles (5 Ingredients, Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy-Free)
Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy-Free)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy-Free, Whole Grain)
Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy-Free)
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Oh My GAWD!!!!! I think you know how badly I need a good laugh right now, and GURL, you just delivered! That family holiday portrait is EVERYTHING! And I don’t mean that in the figurative “everything” type of way. No no no. I mean it LITERALLY. EVERYTHING! I can’t stop freaking laughing!!! That is the best thing I have seen in a very very long time! I love that you look like a little baby just hanging out, so posh like, in the bottom corner!!! I can’t. Lol Lol. LOL! Thank you for that, Demeter! Anyways, I’m going to try and reel in my laughter so I can talk about these brownies…..
Hold on. I need a minute or 7.
… So, these brownies. YUM!! PB and chocolate ON PB AND CHOCOLATE! Straight up deliciousness going on here! Boy would freak over these, chicka! They look bomb diggity! Pinned of course!
I hope you and your adorable family have THE BEST Christmas EVER, sweets! Sending you all the holiday love and hugs! xoxoxoxoxoxo <3 MWAH!
My dear, sweet Chey, I’m SO happy that you I could bring you a good laugh during this time. <3 <3 If I had to photoshop my head onto people doing goofy things to make you smile, I would. Okay, now I demand you save this photo on your computer to look at when you feel bad. Also, super secret bestie side note: I have MORE. ???? When you need one, just send me the word and boom: it's yours! Sending you big hugs and so much love, xoxoxoxoxo.
So what would it take to get you to do my family’s portrait this year?? Because I’ve never seen a portrait quite like that one and it just showcases the festive family spirit so perfectly you know I’m jealous. It also showcases the mutual family love for striped jumpsuits, which is always something I am trying to portray in family photos???? Oh man, that is some photoshop skill right there!! Getting my whole family in one place to (somewhat willingly) take a photo is always SO hard, and there’s only 4 of us…I can’t even imagine the struggle. It’s one of those things that everyone hates so much it kinda becomes fun in a way. Unlike peanut butter and chocolate–that’s just LOVE all the way. Oh yes you did just frost AND drizzle these beautiful brownies???? I hope you are brownie munching, ice skating without face planting, and having the best time with your family over there! Big holiday hugs❤️
Just say the word, Nat! 😉 Also, what kind of theme are you looking for? ???? A theme ALWAYS makes for the most fun family pics! For example, a matching overalls Xmas theme? How about an animal print theme? Lolol. The options are endless! Bahahaha on your striped jumpsuits. Moral of the day: everyone MUST match, or else these photos are no good. 😉 Hopefully one day y’all will get it together. In the mean time, send me some high-res pics of your family members and I’ll go to town! ???? Big hugs to you Nat. I hope you’re having a fantastic time celebrating the holidays! ❤️
Hehe, that photo is so funny, yet cute! And totally looks real 😉 And these brownies, well, they are just chocolate peanut butter heaven! They look absolutely delicious! xo
Thanks so much, Marsha! I think I should become a portrait photographer… not! Lolol. So glad I could give you a good laugh. 🙂 Happy holidays!
OMG!!!! I SOOO LOVE reading your posts. You always make me laugh. This time I almost spit out my tea when I saw the photoshop photo. LOL girl! 😀 BUT as much as this photoshop photo of your family is funny, STILL couldn’t steal my attention from these heavenly looking chocolate brownies. One word – delicious! Sharing! Happy Holidays my friend! <3
Aw, thanks so much, Natalie!! That photo is the best, isn’t it?? Lolol. Anytime we can be BIG, huge goofballs and give someone a laugh, I’m game! 🙂 Thank you for your sweet words. Happy holidays my dear! <3
Oh my! They really do look rich and decadent 😀 It’s funny how people’s tastes keep changing. Although mine always stays the same because I’ll anything and everything 😛
Merry Christmas!
Rich and decadent: what more could you need in a brownie? 😉 Hehe. That’s nice and easy! Merry Christmas, Nadia! 🙂
Hmm… they look so good… but I’ve had mine in the full 32 minutes now and they’re still bubbling… I’m a little worried. Anyone else have this trouble?
For anyone else whose batter is bubbling away in the oven – don’t worry, pull them out anyways, and they’ll set while cooling. Make these now – they are SO good! Huge hit even among those not hugely tolerant of different vegan or gluten-free food.
Hi Cin! I’m so glad to hear that these worked out! 🙂 Every time I make these, people are so surprised to find out that they’re vegan! <-- Bodes well for people who usually shy away from vegan goodies. 😉 Enjoy & Happy Holidays!
Loving the looks of these brownies!! I mean, could you EVER go wrong with double chocolate and peanut butter?? Drooling over here!
Thank you, Sarah! 🙂 Nope, you can NEVER go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter! 🙂
Just had these today- made by daughters friend-they were seriously delicious and I highly recommend even without frosting they were scrumptious. Can’t wait to have a go at making them myself.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed these, Rachel! 🙂 Isn’t it the best when you’re introduced to a new recipe like that? Yep, they’re SO good, even without the frosting! I can’t wait to hear what you think! And thank you so much for stopping by!