Gluten Free Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

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These gluten free peanut butter brownies are ultra fudgy with peanut butter swirls on top and jam packed with chocolate chips. It's the ultimate brownie for chocolate and peanut butter lovers everywhere.

After experimenting and eating five too many brownies I decided to use my gluten free brownie recipe as the base for this one and then swirl peanut butter into the top of it. This may be cliché but why fix something that isn't broken? And trust me when I say these gluten free brownies are a chocolate lover's dream!

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Ingredients

Unsalted butter
Dark chocolate chips - Melted dark chocolate makes the batter even more fudgy!
Cocoa powder - You can use regular or dark cocoa powder
Sugar - I've tried these with part brown sugar as well and to me just regular sugar tastes the best.
Eggs
Gluten free flour - I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 All Purpose Flour for my brownies and I usually recommend you do the same so the recipe comes out as intended but since brownies have such a small amount of flour in them any brand of gluten free all purpose flour will work just fine.
Baking powder - A lot of brownie recipes don't call for leavening but I find the leavening helps achieve that beautiful crackle you want on the top. The brownies rise but don't have much flour to keep them risen so they fall a bit when they come out of the oven and you get that lovely crackled top.
Kosher salt - I always use kosher salt in cooking and baking. It has a more pure salty flavor than table salt. If you only have table salt cut the amount of salt in half.
Semisweet chocolate chips - I jam pack these with chocolate chips using an entire cup full. If you prefer a bit less you can certainly add ¾ cup.
Peanut butter - For the peanut butter swirl on top!
Maple syrup - Maple and peanut butter belong together friends! They just complement each other so well so I used maple syrup to sweeten up the peanut butter before swirling it in.

How to Make Gluten Free Brownies

Brownies are such a cinch to make - even more so than cookies! You only need one large microwave safe bowl for these and no mixer. I used a large glass bowl for the batter and then a smaller bowl to mix up the peanut butter and that's it!

Here's how to do it:

Preheat the oven and spray your pan with nonstick spray. Just make sure you didn't accidentally buy the nonstick spray that contains flour.
Melt the dark chocolate and butter in the microwave and stir until smooth.
Whisk in the cocoa powder and then the sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time until mixed in. If you do anything to these brownies don't overmix! This is essential to achieving fudge brownies instead of cake-like brownies.
Add the gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt to mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and use the spatula to scrape the batter into the pan.
In a small bowl stir the peanut butter and maple syrup together well. Drop small amounts of peanut butter all over the top of the brownies and then use a butter knife to swirl it into the brownie mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes and then enjoy!

Gluten Free Brownie Baking Tips

Don't overmix! I said it above and I'll say it again if you want fudgy brownies than don't overmix the batter. You don't want to incorporate any air into the batter or the brownies will become more cake-like.
Let them set up. The longer your brownies sit the fudgier and denser they will become. This is the precise reason I love second day brownies even more than fresh baked!
If you want to make the brownies easier to cut you can refrigerate them first. Cut them, plate them, and then let them come to room temperature before digging in.
You can substitute in another gluten free all purpose flour brand but I wouldn't recommend using a single flour like almond or coconut. Single alternative flours don't contain xanthan gum for binding but they also respond differently to liquid and flour ratios. I would use a recipe specifically created for that flour. These almond flour chocolate chip cookies are delish!

Can I freeze brownies?

Yes! Brownies, bars, and cookies freeze exceptionally well. I like to freeze them on a sheet pan first then once they're frozen you can throw them into freezer bags without any worry they will get smooshed. Date the bag and use within 3 months for the best flavor.

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