These vegan peanut butter brownies are no-bake and incredibly easy to make. With under 10 ingredients, they're also gluten-free and can be adapted as refined sugar-free.
Add the walnuts, cacao powder, and salt to your food processor and blitz until they form a light crumb consistency. Add the dates and peanut butter blend further for a couple of minutes until the mixture starts to stick together to form a dough.
Line an 8x8" square cake tin with parchment paper and press the brownie dough evenly into the base of the pan using a spoon or flat-bottomed glass.
Peanut butter caramel
Add the peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla to a heat-resistant bowl. Heat over a double boiler (bain-marie) while stirring until all of the ingredients have melted into a smooth caramel.
Remove the bowl from the heat and fold the peanuts into the caramel using a rubber spatula. Use a spatula to evenly spread the caramel over the brownie base and place it in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours.
Topping
Melt the chocolate and 2 tbsp (30g) of peanut butter over a double boiler (bain-marie) and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, heat the remaining peanut butter over a double boiler. The consistency of both the melted chocolate and melted peanut butter should be similar. If one of them is too thick, add a little coconut oil and stir well to help thin it out.
Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter caramel layer. Transfer the melted peanut butter to a piping bag (or use a spoon) to create lines of peanut butter on top of the chocolate (refer to images in the blog post if needed). To make a fan design, take a wooden skewer and move it across the lines in one direction, and then in the opposite direction. Repeat this process alternating between going towards and away from yourself with the skewer.
Carefully transfer the brownie tin back into the fridge to chill for another 20-30 minutes.
To slice, place a sharp knife in a jug of boiling water to heat it. Wipe the knife dry and gently cut, allowing the heat from the knife to melt through the slices.
Storage
Store these vegan brownies in the fridge in order to keep them fresh as long as possible. Place them in an airtight container or wrap them well and they will keep for up to a week. You can freeze any leftover brownies and defrost them as needed. Make sure they are wrapped well or in an airtight container and freeze for up to a couple of months. Allow at least an hour to defrost them before serving.
Notes
Use a large sharp knife for slicing, a chef's knife ideally if you have one at home. Dip the knife in the hot water and wipe it clean so that it is hot before slicing the brownies.
If you want really precise slices, you can use a measuring tape, and very gently mark out the cuts of where you want your slices/bars to be with the knife.
Cut slowly, applying pressure to the pre-cut knife markings until you can see that the knife has made its way through the chocolate, then press down to cut through the caramel and brownie layers.