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Peanut Butter Poke Brownies

by Judith Hannemann

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Peanut Butter Poke Brownies
Peanut Butter Poke Brownies
Crazy for chocolate and peanut butter?  You’ll love these–easy too!

Poke cakes seem to be all over the internet.  I got an email the other night from one of my cooking sites featuring a lemon one with lemon curd in it.  I was seriously thinking of this BUT I had just made lemon bars so I wanted something a bit different.

I got to thinking I had a box of brownie mix I’d picked up on a sale a week or two before that I wanted to use, so I thought I’d try a “poke” style brownie.  If it didn’t set up, I could always use the experiment in something else.  Plus, I don’t recall ever seeing anything like this…not saying it doesn’t exist somewhere, just that I haven’t seen it personally.

I started with a mix (it was Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate I believe), but you could make a from-scratch recipe, just make sure they are cake-like brownies.  Even made from scratch, the whole thing is SUPER easy.  Make double the sauce recipe if you like.  If there’s leftover, it refrigerates and keeps well.  This is the same sauce I use when I make my peanut butter swirl ice cream (hint–I’ll have a home-made ice cream recipe up shortly 😉 ).  All you have to do is nuke the refrigerated sauce for about 15 seconds to get it all liquidy again.




Peanut Butter Poke Brownies


  • 1 box (19.8 oz) brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines)
  • Peanut Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbs light corn syrup
  • Ganache Frosting:
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vegetable shortening
  • 2-3 tbs heavy cream

Prepare brownies per directions on the box for *cake-like* brownies, and make in either an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch pan. Cool in pan on a rack.

Prepare peanut sauce by adding all ingredients to a small, heavy saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved completely and mixture just begins to bubble around the side of the pan.  Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm (do not refrigerate).

With a wooden spoon handle, poke holes about 3/4 way down into the brownies.  I did this about every 1/2 inch or so.  Spoon peanut sauce into each hole–it doesn’t matter if it overflows. Spread the “overflow,” if any, over the top of the brownies. Refrigerate until well chilled and the sauce is semi solid.

Prepare ganache by placing chocolate chips and vegetable shortening in a microwave-safe bowl.  Heat on HIGH for 1 minute.  Stir until smooth.  It may need an additional 30 seconds in the microwave.  Add the cream, 1 tbs at a time, until a smooth, glossy and almost a pourable consistency.  If chocolate seems to “seize,” return to microwave for about 10 seconds.  Stir well and add more cream if necessary.

Pour ganache on top of brownies and spread evenly over the top.  Refrigerate until ganache is firm.  

Cut into 9 bars.

Serves 9–store any leftovers in the refrigerator.


Peanut Butter Poke Brownies
Peanut Butter Poke Brownies

Peanut Butter Poke Brownies
Peanut Butter Poke Brownies

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