Line your 8x8 baking pan with wax paper on all four sides (this helps the peanut butter not stick!). Melt the peanut butter in the microwave or on the stove.

Pour the melted peanut butter into the pan and then freeze for one to two hours – you’ll know it’s ready when you can remove the peanut butter in one piece.

Once the peanut butter has frozen, preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, combine the flour with the salt and cocoa powder.

Melt the butter in the microwave or over the stove, then pour into a medium bowl. Add in both sugars and whisk until it becomes very thick and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, then finally fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Take the frozen baking pan out of the freezer and remove the wax paper with the peanut butter. Line the pan with parchment paper, making sure it is slightly overhanging so you can easily lift the brownies out once cooled.

Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Peel the peanut butter layer off of the wax paper and place it on top of the brownie batter.

Pour the rest of the brownie batter on top and spread it so it is evenly covering the peanut butter layer. You can sprinkle over chocolate chips or peanut butter chips now if you wish!

Bake the chocolate peanut butter brownies for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few wet crumbs.