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Classic – but updated, Healthier Buckeye Brownies. Think fudgy, rich chocolate brownie, layered with creamy peanut butter, and sweet salted chocolate on top. All made with simple wholesome ingredients: almond flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, eggs, pure maple syrup, natural peanut butter, and dark chocolate. They’re sweet, salty, heavy on the peanut butter, extra chocolatey, gluten-free, and butter-free. Every last bite is truly delicious and just as yummy as a sugar-filled buckeye ball (if not more so).
Happy Friday everyone! We’re celebrating a long week with a new favorite dessert that just so happens to be pretty good for us, dare I say healthy?
To me, with no added sugar and large amounts of dark chocolate, I’d say these brownies can actually be considered a rather wholesome treat! Of course, everyone has their own opinion, but for me personally, knowing that I’m using real, wholesome ingredients makes me happy!
I usually hate to use the word “healthy” because I really don’t believe in labeling food as healthy or not. But I couldn’t come up with another word that really got the point across clean and simple.
To me, these are buckeye brownies without the sugar and with the addition of lots of rich dark chocolate. I really love them!
I actually made these with just one person in mind, my mom. It was her birthday this week and I knew the only thing I could make her was a sugar-free dessert. She’s no longer interested in consuming any added sugars. So instead of giving her an unwanted birthday sugar overload, I made her these.
They’re not cake, but she didn’t care. Like me (my dad, and every other person in my family), my mom loves chocolate peanut butter anything.
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, the two of us would make buckeyes (chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls) during the football season. They were always everyone’s favorite.
Traditionally they’re loaded with powdered sugar and lots of butter, so I definitely wanted to skip the sugar. Brownies sounded yummiest to mom, so I did a buckeye brownie, but made all with real food – wholesome ingredients!
Details
To my surprise, these healthier buckeye brownies actually come together rather easily. For the brownie base, you need eggs, coconut oil, milk, maple syrup (for sweetness), vanilla, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
Mix all of the above together, then bake away. Nothing fancy and no hard-to-find ingredients either. The only thing I want to note is that this is not a sweet brownie recipe. If you need something sweeter, I would skip the dark dark chocolate and use semi-sweet.
While the brownies bake up, make the peanut layer. Just peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil lightly boiled together to thicken the mix. The secret to making this layer really delicious is to use a peanut butter with just peanuts and salt. Don’t use a no-stir peanut butter that contains oils and/or sugar. You just want a natural peanut butter. This will give you the best flavor and texture.
Once the brownies cool, pour the peanut butter layer overtop, then freeze the bars. You only need them to freeze for 30 or so minutes. This helps the peanut butter set up quickly. Just make sure the peanut butter is really set before you pull them out.
Once the peanut butter has chilled and is stiff, pour some melted chocolate overtop to finish the layers up. My one piece of advice here is to slice the bars before the chocolate top becomes too hard. This will make the bars much easier to cut and prevents the peanutty filling from getting squished out.
If the bars do firm up before you cut them, run a sharp knife under hot water, then wipe it dry. Quickly cut half of the bars, then repeat. Keep in the fridge.
The final review? Very rich and fudgy with a perfect brownie layer on the bottom and the creamiest peanutty filling – that’s perfectly salted – on top. The chocolate top adds a nice “crack” with every bite.
Delicious! And great for parties too. Perfect for January game nights ahead!
Looking for easy party desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Twix Bars
Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Lastly, if you make these Healthier Buckeye Brownies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Healthier Buckeye Brownies
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 175 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
PEANUT BUTTER MIX
- 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper.2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for 1 minute until bubbly on top. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix in the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the brownies are just set. Let cool.3. Meanwhile, make the peanut mix. In a medium pot, mix 3/4 cup peanut butter, the maple syrup, and coconut oil. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Pour over the brownies. Freeze 30 minutes, or until firm.4. Melt together the chocolate and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter in the microwave. Let cool 5 minutes and then spread the chocolate over the peanut butter mix. Return to the fridge to set, about 10 minutes, then slice. The chocolate will not be totally set, but slicing is easier this way. Keep in the fridge.
Notes
If Having a Hard Time Slicing: run a sharp knife under hot water, then wipe dry and quickly cut half the bars, then repeat. Keep in the fridge.
Substitution for almond flour, have a nut allergy. Thanks!
Hi there,
You can use all purpose flour or a gluten free flour blend. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Love your recipes! These look amazing and I can’t wait to try as I’m trying to reduce processed sugar. I know you said to use the natural peanut butter but could I use regular peanut butter since I already have that on hand?
Hi Susan,
Sure, that will work just fine for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Maple syrup is still added sugar. Also – sugar isn’t dangerous. People with a healthy relationship with food isn’t this restrictive and negative about food.
Tieghan, you are sooooo right! This whole week has felt long and tiring. Friday NEEDED this post. I love dark chocolate and peanut butter so much! I have a question. The serving size is 24 bars, but the recipe is developed for an 8×8 pan. How small do you cut it? Just curious, because I would cut BIG. 🙂
Hey Abigail,
Lol right?! I do 3 rows with 8 cuts to get the 24 bars, but you can cut them any size that you want! Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx
We make brownies here and they always hardened; no matter how soft they were when removed from the oven and putting some sliced bread to keep the moisture does not always help. I feel trying this recipe would end up the same; so where to purchase this once it is baked…I am sure there must be a place to buy this as described in the recipe. Looks delish and thank you for sharing.
Hi there,
Sorry, I don’t sell my recipes:) But let me know if you give these a try! xT
I think she is asking where she can buy Buckeyes! As in, what kinds of places in Ohio (or otherwise) might sell them! I am not American so I cannot answer, but hopefully someone here can recommend a place to enjoy buckeyes for purchase. 🙂
Tieghan! I love your recipes and often refer my patients to your website for inspiration (I’m a pediatric dietitian)!
I wanted to note one thing since the sugar topic can get confusing. Maple syrup does contain sugar, but this recipe is unique in that it doesn’t have the granulated sugar that standard brownies typically have. From a health perspective, sugar is still sugar, no matter what form, and there’s absolutely a time and place to enjoy it 🙂 (fellow dessert person over here). I love that this recipe includes a little almond flour and peanut butter for healthy fats, protein, and FLAVOR. The maple syrup also introduces another level of flavor!
As someone else mentioned, one could try to further reduce the maple syrup by adding in some mashed banana, but it may take some experimentation to get the desired texture/consistency. At the end of the day, 1/3 cup of maple syrup and some dark chocolate divided over 24 servings isn’t something to stress about – enjoy the dessert!
Sending hugs to you, Tieghan – thank you for your awesome, beautiful content!
Thanks for sharing your feedback Hannah! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
So happy to see a healthier dessert option! Hope there are more coming 🙂
Thanks, I hope you love the recipe Jess!!
Definitely want to try… the list of ingredients and instructions have different measurements for peanut butter. Should there be 1 cup or 3/4 cup in the bar mixture? Thank you!
Hi Andrea,
So sorry about that, it’s 3/4 cup of peanut butter:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
Could you sub a mashed banana for the maple syrup ingredient to make it no sugar? Would you alter anything else if making this sub?
Hey Lindsay,
So sorry, I’ve not tested this so I really am not sure what the results would be:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi, is there another type of flour I could use? I have a gluten and almond allergy🙃 they look amazing
Hi Carly,
You can use an equal amount of gluten free flour:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I made these last night and stuck them in the fridge to chill with the peanut butter layer. I finished the chocolate layer in the morning and put them back in the fridge for a bit. When I took them out to cut them, I found the brownie layer to be so soggy and wet 😩 I could hardly get them off the parchment paper because they were so wet. The brownie looked good when I took them out of the oven last night. Did I ruin them by refrigerating them overnight?? Maybe the condensation?? I thought I had let them cook completely before putting them in!
Hey Megan,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! The brownie layer will get soft just due to the layer of peanut butter and chocolate. Sorry about that! xx
Thank you for this! I’m thrilled to see a grain free and low sugar option and hope you are developing more! Happy Birthday to your mom!
Thanks so much! I hope you love these brownies:) xx
Love the no sugar added! Makes it so much easier to try making multiple recipes when I know I’m not adding a ton of sugar to my diet.
Thanks so much Ashley!! I hope you love this recipe! xx
When do you add the crushed flowers? I don’t see it in the ingredients
Hi Jill,
The crushed flowers are not part of the recipe, I just used them for decoration:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Teighan….what is the pink flower you have crushed and sprinkled throughout the photos?? Is there a significance to this for the recipe? Or just for decoration?
I’m curious about superfine almond flour. Is this a variety of almond flour, labeled as such? I wonder if whirring regular almond flour in the blender would achieve the same thing. Thoughts?
Hey Melinda,
Sure, that should work well for you! I was able to find the superfine almond flour and my local grocery store. I hope this helps! xT
Hi Linda,
I used dried roses and they are just for decoration, you don’t have to use them:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Can I sub a cashew or almond butter for peanut? Even hazelnut? These look awesome, perfect for a very picky non-dessert person like myself, but will keep guests happy.
I too am curious about the almond butter!
Sure, almond butter would work for you!!
Hey Kim,
Totally, that would be great to use! Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Friday! xx
Can you do 1:1 sub for regular flour? So excited to try these!
I would like to know also!
Hi Angela,
Yes, you can use all purpose flour here:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hey Karlyn,
Yes, that will work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx