All Day I Dream About Food

All the best low carb keto recipes for a healthy lifestyle

Keto Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut butter brownies are like a party in your  mouth! These amazing keto brownies are topped with a rich sugar free peanut butter fudge and a sweet chocolate glaze. Perfect for any occasion. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.

Keto Peanut Butter Brownies in a stack.

Can I confess that I am having a ball going back and re-vamping old posts and recipes like this peanut butter brownie recipe?

I create so many recipes, it’s hard to know how many there are in my archives. Thousands, for sure. And given that I write recipes for other websites in addition to my blog, and that I write all sorts of new recipes for my series of keto cookbooks, I can’t even fathom how many keto recipes I have made. And surely there are some I’ve almost forgotten about.

But I could never ever forget about these amazing peanut butter brownies. These have been on my mind since I first made them way back in 2013.

Low Carb Buckeye Brownies on a white cake stand

Buckeye Brownies go low carb

Are you a buckeye fan? These are also known as Buckeye Brownies. What the heck are buckeyes, you ask?

Good question. I’d never heard of them either until I began blogging about food. Which feels like a million years ago now because I feel like I’ve been a food blogger all my life. It was what I was destined to be, my friends!

Okay so the Ohio Buckeye is the state tree of Ohio, and it produces a nut that resembles a chestnut. Buckeye trees are also known as horse chestnuts.

That nut is the inspiration for buckeye candy, which is a ball of peanut butter fudge dipped in chocolate, made to resemble the buckeye nut.

Peanut butter brownies on a wooden cutting board with a blue napkin

WHOA! Wait a second, did you just say peanut butter fudge? Oh heck yeah, I did! And I will say it again. Peanut butter fudge, peanut butter fudge, peanut butter fudge. Who doesn’t love peanut butter fudge?

Buckeyes are so beloved in Ohio and that love has extended far and wide, so that now almost anything made with peanut butter and chocolate can be referred to as “buckeye”. I am not above exploiting that love of peanut butter and chocolate. Because I love it too and will eat just about anything made with these two ingredients. It’s hard for me to resist.

Keto peanut butter brownies with a hand picking one up.
The Best Ketogenic Cookbook!

How to Make Keto Peanut Butter Brownies

  1. Begin with the best, fudgiest, gooiest keto brownies around. I had a pretty great recipe back in the day but ever since I discovered using a little gelatin to improve the chewiness of my keto cookies and brownies, I’ve been using my Ultimate Keto Brownies recipe as the base for any brownie recipe.
  2. Use quality ingredients like Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. Not all almond flour is created equal, my friends. You may have heard me expound on this before and you will hear me expound on it again. Finely ground blanched almond flour is a MUST for all of your keto baked goods.
  3. Use the creamiest peanut butter you can find. A lot of natural peanut butters aren’t as creamy as I would like and have that thick layer of oil on the top. I have two that I really like: Justin’s and Thrive Market. Both are very creamy and not overly oily, and make the peanut butter fudge layer on these brownies so creamy and delicious.
  4. Use enough powdered Swerve to thicken the peanut butter layer so that it’s spreadable but not too thin. You really want this to be like a fudge layer on top of the brownies.
  5. Make a creamy sugar free chocolate ganache to go on top. I did some where I spread the ganache and some where I just drizzled it. You could spread the whole batch with a thin layer of the chocolate ganache. Or you could do as I did and cut the peanut butter brownies up first, and then drizzle or spread as you see fit.

Low carb buckeye brownies in a stack behind some dark chocolate and a scoop of peanut butter

Really, I am just so happy that I decided to tackle these keto peanut butter brownies again. The original version was very very good and I loved them. This new version, 5 years later, is even better. It feels like I’ve discovered the joy of Buckeye Brownies all over again!

Be sure to check out this Peanut Butter Fudge from Texanerin too!

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4.94 from 15 votes
Low carb buckeye brownies in a stack behind some dark chocolate and a scoop of peanut butter
Print
Peanut Butter Brownies
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Cooling Time
10 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

Peanut butter brownies are like a party in your  mouth! These fudgy keto brownies are topped with a rich sugar free peanut butter fudge and a sweet chocolate glaze.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Keyword: buckeye brownies, peanut butter brownies
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 248 kcal
Ingredients
Brownie Base:
Peanut Butter Fudge:
Chocolate Glaze:
Instructions
Brownies:

  1. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, with an overhang for easy removal. Prepare the keto brownie batter as directed and pour into the pan. Bake the brownies as directed and let cool in the pan. 

Peanut Butter Fudge:
  1. In a smal saucepan over medium heat, melt together peanut butter and butter. Stir in vanilla and salt.

  2. Stir in powdered Swerve a little at a time until the mixture thickens to a spreadable consistency. Spread over cooled brownies and refrigerate 1 hour, until set.

Chocolate Glaze:

  1. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until just simmering. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes to melt.

  2. Add the sweetener and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Let sit a few minutes to thicken, then spread or drizzle over the peanut butter layer. 

  3. Lift brownies out by edges of parchment paper and cut into squares. 

Nutrition Facts
Peanut Butter Brownies
Amount Per Serving (1 serving = 1/16th of pan)
Calories 248 Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 34%
Total Carbohydrates 5.5g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2.1g 8%
Protein 6g 12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Disclaimer

Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program.I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them.I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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Comments

    • need to share with the diabetics out there…my dad was a diabetic and had flash pulmonary edema and had to cut out salt…after a couple months he diabetes was GONE!!

      Reply

  2. What is the difference between unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder? I have yet to find a 100% Chocolate Bar. Am I confusing cacao with chocolate?

    Reply

    • Do you happen to live outside of North America? Because I’ve heard that Australia doesn’t sell unsweetened chocolate. Around the US and Canada, it’s just baking chocolate, with no sweetener in it (just cocoa solids and cocoa butter). Cocoa powder is the powdery stuff with no cocoa butter (cacao butter, same thing) in it.

      Reply

    • 3 level tablespooons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of butter or shortening equals 1 square cube of unsweetened baking chocolate

      Reply

  3. These look fabulous and I bet the taste is simply delicious. Do you use a particular brand of peanut butter?

    Reply

    • I go for the really creamy natural kinds. I don’t like the fresh ground, to be honest. As long as it’s super creamy, it’s good.

      Reply

  4. Yes, I was missing your recipes. I’m glad you had a fun, family vacation though…unplugged so that you could plug into your family!

    Reply

    • Cyndi I was just wondering if you’ve made these and if so, did you try the splenda?? I’m starting low carb next week and splenda is what I’d planned to use as my sweetener for everything, as I’ve read too many people saying stevia has a horrible bitter aftertaste.

      Reply


      • Splenda is not low carb friendly. I learned that the hard way. It has one carb per packet. Try stevia! Same great taste with no carbs.

        Reply

  8. I have 100% bribed/begged employees for wifi passwords, so I totally get it! I have a leeetle bit of a difficult time totally switching off. Glad you had a relaxing vacay away- and that you brought back these delicious GF brownies! I love PB & chocolate together.

    Reply

  11. I did wonder where you had been, but I got my fix by just visiting your web site and reading old posts I haven’t gotten to yet…. do you suppose coconut oil would work in place of butter?

    Reply

    • It may seep out a bit more in the brownie portion but I do think it would work. Once the brownies are baked, it will reabsorb.

      Reply

  13. I’m diabetic and have switched from using sugar to using Truvia (I even got my hubby to drink his sweet tea with it and now he doesn’t like it any other way). Will the baking blend of Truvia work in this recipe? I have a sister in law who has celiac disease and she is a brownie freak and I know she would love this!

    Reply

  16. I have, believed for ages, that technology is here to serve me not I it. So I check answer phone, email and newsletters when I want/need to. Shocking I know ;). We all need to rest as well as work. Coping with the stress of life is a skill I continue to work at. I think one of the best things I did for my kid was to take care of my needs which in turn taught him he has the right to do the same (not easiest for me). His protection and safety was a given priority. Still I found there is time enough as 10% is as much or more than necessary for me. As women we, often, like to care for everyone but do we need to. Are we fully in touch with the abilities of others. Can be a bit arrogant I think to presume only I can know what is best for anyone else. Saying no was (and is) a hard learned skill that has reaped benefit for myself and my loved ones, friends, neighbours ……… glad you took time to recharge. No apology needed. Take very good care. Roxanne
    PS do you know of any substitution formula for sucralose vs swerve? My budget is small and the small availability of supplies make swerve very expensive.lrd

    Reply

    • Serve measures cup for cup like sugar so sub in sucralose in the amount you would for sugar. However, recipes like this do rely on the bulk properties of erythritol and I don’t know that sucralose will work. You can give it a try, though.

      Reply

  18. These were great! I made a batch of these Wednesday night knowing i would need a pick-me-up when i got back from dropping off my youngest at college on Thursday. I still miss him but at least I was able to stay on plan 🙂

    Thanks for a great, simple recipe

    Reply

  20. Yum. Just made thes today. They are soooo good. Not as prett as yours but not too bad.
    I have a question about erythrathol – tried to substitute it for sugar in leamon sorbet recipe. It was a disaster. The erythrathol reacrystalized when the mixture got cold. Is there a way around that?

    Reply

  21. I made these the other day and they looked great. But when I took a bite they were WAY too sweet, so much so that they gave me headaches! I did a quick google and found that erythritol can cause headaches so I think next time I’ll use less sweetner. Otherwise a good sweet tooth fix. The next day it didn’t taste as sweet.

    Reply

  22. I made these today and found that the brownies were NOT done even with about 18 mins, so you may want to increase your time for the brownies. When I try this recipe again, I will try 21-23 mins probably as the brownie did not set up on my batch today except for the very outer edges.

    Reply

    • I am coming to the conclusion that different brands of chocolate and cocoa can make a big difference. Also, oven temps vary a lot, that’s why recipes always state “bake x minutes OR until…” Sounds like your oven is running a bit low maybe.

      Reply

    • Same here. I had to cook them exactly 22 minutes to get the results Carolyn describes. Just got a new oven too. I’m at sea level. 🙂

      Reply

  23. Made just the brownie layer as the low-carb and gluten free standby at my son’s birthday. At 18 minutes brownie top looked too wet to even consider taking out, 5 more minutes and there were still shiny spots but it looked (and turned out) great. I might take them out a little earlier next time, I like things a touch gooey. Has anyone tried making one of the variations on these brownies in a Baker’s Edge brownie pan?

    Reply

  24. Anyone try these with a substitute for the butter such as applesauce or date purée? I am trying to do sugar-free, low carb, and keep my cholesterol under control as well. Thanks for any replys!

    Reply

  25. Hi,
    Just wanted to let you know I am sharing your wonderful recipe tomorrow in my Gluten-Free Recipe RoundUp with a link back to your original post!
    Have a terrific weekend!
    Cathy from APeekIntoMyParadise.com

    Reply

  26. How is there only 54 net carbs in the entire batch? The Swerve alone totals 360!!
    Per the recipe: use 3/4 Cup Swerve sweetener for brownie portion
    Swerve has 5g carbs per teaspoon (per their linked website)
    There are 48 tsp per cup so 48 * 3/4 = 36 tsp in 3/4 Cup
    36 tsp * 5 carbs per tsp equals 180 carbs
    If you add the peanut butter fudged your adding another 3/4 cup of swerve so your doubling the carbs to 360!

    So the swerve alone is putting 20 carbs per serving, assuming 18 servings….that is not low carb. A box of regular brownies has 384 net carbs in 16 servings, that’s only 24 carbs per serving.

    Reply

    • You do realize that erythritol does not affect blood sugar and therefore is not counted into carbs, correct? As a diabetic, I have tested this over and over on myself. I am confident in it. Please research your sweeteners before accusing me like this.

      Reply

  27. In the research that I’ve done many sources state that sugar alcohols do indeed spike blood sugar levels as well. I’m glad that you’ve seen no adverse effects though, I do however notice a difference in my blood sugar if i consume high amounts of sugar alcohols.

    Reply

  28. I made this tonight, my husband loves anything peanut butter! These were awful! They look wonderful but the brownie part was just awful!

    Reply

    • I am sorry you feel that way. Everyone I know loves them. What did you not like? It’s hard to help with no specifics.

      Reply

  31. I made these yesterday for my daughter’s birthday party. Although there was ice cream cake, chocolate cake and vanilla cupcakes, I wanted to have a sugar free dessert option. I thought they were amazing. My niece and my daughter loved them too. The only changes I made to the recipe were, I used Splenda instead of Swerve and I was too lazy to make the chocolate drizzle, so I sprinkled sugar free chocolate chips on top. I would like to add, they were very easy to make and for someone who does not bake, that says a lot.

    Reply

  32. These were fantastic! I used salted butter because it didn’t specify but now that I’m going to try other recipes I need to know. When the recipe calls for butter is it a general understanding that it’s unsalted? Or salted?

    Thanks!

    Reply

  33. Hi I just tried this. When I stirred in the second egg, there was suddenly a lot of water/liquid separated out from the batter. I had to pour away the watery part and the rest of it seemed to have baked well. But what could be the problem? I had let the chocolate/butter batter cool for 5 minutes but maybe that was not long enough? Thanks for all your recipes btw! I’ve made a lot of good ones that wowed my guests!

    Reply

  34. I have just discovered these. Made them this afternoon and was dubious to use organic crunch peanut butter as that’s all I had and I only had a granulated sweetener. Oh my goodness, they are fantastic !!!!
    The fudge topping had a cheeky little crunch to it and the brownie base is fab too! I admit I did put it in the freezer to set it for 1/2 hr as I didn’t think it would set but, oh yes it did. Love love love them!!!!

    Reply

  35. Hello there,

    I made this last night and this turned out amazing. This will be my go to recipe when Im craving sweets!

    Thank you for such a great recipe.

    Reply

  36. OH MY!

    This is setting up in the fridge as I type this….I don’t think I can wait that long! The smells, the teensie taste “tests” while putting it all together….all have me impatiently tapping my foot for the minutes to hurry along.

    I LOVE your recipes, Carolyn!

    Reply

  37. This was sooo delicious! The brownie layer also took longer in my oven, about 25 minutes, it seems like a lot of people had this issue. After several hours, we tried it and it was like a tasty pudding. But after 24 hours in the fridge, it was just like a two layer fudge, so rich and decadent! I initially thought 18 servings was odd, but it really is the perfect amount since this is such a rich treat. Really, really divine!!

    Reply

    • Thanks. I think it must be a difference in almond flour that is giving some people trouble with the brownie bast. What brand did you use?

      Reply

      • There isn’t any flour in this brownie base. I wonder if your oven runs hot, ours are running cold? It doesn’t really matter, the brownies are delicous! We’re still eating them as I won’t let myself have more than 1/18th per day, it’s plenty!

        Reply

        • Sorry, I’ve made a number of variations on brownies and thought this one had some almond flour in it. It’s really hard to say, could also be the brand of unsweetened chocolate. As long as it still worked!

          Reply


          • Ive seen a couple comments saying there’s no flour… but thete is a half cup in the brownie base! 🙂
            You are right, Carolyn! These are great! I LOVE your cookbook! Thanks!
            … I’ve read a lot… what’s the best way to store these? I really don’t want to scroll anymore.. LOL!!

  38. I just wanted to say I love this dessert, these are my go-to low carb brownies. All of it is wonderful, but the the peanut butter fudge is so good I have even made it by itself (double the ingredients and pour it into a greased 8×8 pan). So it’s like you’ve shared two treats all in one recipe!

    Reply

  39. Hi I’m in Australia
    I made these they taste YUK
    I don’t know if we did something wrong I used stevia as the sweetener IDK if it’s different to the recipe
    I used cooking choc
    I read the above comment on the Australia doesn’t have unsweetened choc.
    Old help they where totally yum taste wrong…..

    Reply

    • Sorry, I have no idea. I don’t know what cooking chocolate is and I have no idea what kind of stevia you used.

      Reply

  40. Just made this yesterday, and am pretty pleased with the results. I have to say that, like many people have noted, my brownie base took FOREVER to set in the oven – a full half hour. I used Ghirardelli 100% cacoa for my unsweetened chocolate, and also Ghirardelli cocoa powder. Overall, great recipe.

    Reply

    • I often use Ghirardelli so I don’t think that is the issue. It must be oven temperature or the kind of pan you are using. Or a combo of both. Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply


  41. These taste great, though i definitely under cooked the brownies. They turned out more fudge like rather than a bit more cake like. They still taste good, they just need to cook longer and cool longer

    Reply


  48. These have to be my favorite Keto dessert so far! Carolyn I’m so thankful for your website whenever I need a recipe I come straight here. It has saved me from wasting countless ingredients on recipes that don’t turn out. I’ve never made anything that I don’t love from your site. These brownies are Gooey and delicious my children all gobbled them up as well.
    I’ve lost close to 40 pounds going low-carb. And you’ve helped to keep me on track, even with my killer Sweet tooth!

    Reply


  50. OOOH so good! I could tell my brownie batter was thin enough and chose not to add the water. They were perfection! The addition of the peanut butter and chocolate on top was divine! Thank you again, Carolyn – your recipes are always fantastic.

    Reply


  51. Best Brownies Ever!!! I refrigerated them and they are even better the next day! They are rich but still dangerous…I could keep eating them they are so good!

    Reply


  52. So, I use your recipes all the time. I just tried this one. You rock! My husband said we should send you flowers for this one. I have never had a bad recipe from this site. Amazing!

    Reply


  53. Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!! My husband, little boy, and I enjoyed this so much! The brownies were so moist, the peanut butter topping decadently creamy! You’re so awesome at making this ketogenic lifestyle a breeze, and the recipes are simply delicious! Keep them coming!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  2. […] så jeg satte mig for at lave en variant over den formel. For nyligt havde jeg desuden set, at min yndlings-lowcarb-kageblogger havde lavet netop en kage med noget peanutværk og chokolade, så den brugte jeg som basis for min […]

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  4. […] These are enjoyable, but I think I can do better The peanut butter mixture is a bit gritty (maybe a smoother brand of protein powder? mine is just the type that comes in bulk at the health food store). And the peanut butter mixture was too buttery and not peanut buttery enough for me, so next time I’ll try 3/4 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter. But these are pretty darned tasty anyway. (I think that next time I make these I’ll use the peanut butter fudge recipe from this brownie recipe instead.) […]

    Reply

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