Double Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Rich, chocolaty brownies studded with mini peanut butter cups and swirled with thick ribbons of peanut butter.

Need I go on? How about a testimonial?

As the husband devoured one of these decadent treats, he stopped drooling long enough to mutter reverently, "This is how every brownie should be made."

And I rest my case. Now it's time for you to make Double Peanut Butter Cup Brownies. It is how every brownie should be made after all.

P.S. Thanks to Mo for the original recipe for these brownies. Click here to check out her version, loaded with ROLO candies and a caramel swirl. They really are ROLO-ver and die good.

Double Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Adapted from Mo's ROLO-ver and Die Good Brownies

2 sticks butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mini peanut butter cups* (or quartered bite-sized peanut butter cups)
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add cocoa and stir until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in peanut butter cups.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Heat peanut butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds until it's more liquid and pour-able. Drizzle peanut butter evenly over batter and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter. Bake for about 35 minutes, until brownies pull away from the side of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

*I used mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's. If you've never seen them before, they're about the size of a pencil eraser and ridiculously addictive. Be warned that if you don't use them in this brownie recipe, you'll eat them by the handful until the whole container is gone. Not that I know this from experience... Anyway, if you don't have mini peanut butter cups, just use quartered bite-sized peanut butter cups or very roughly chopped regular-sized peanut butter cups.