My husband’s favorite candy in the whole world are Reese’s peanut butter cups. He will eat them in any form they come, but prefers the Christmas tree and Easter egg shapes, if they’re available.
While these are not my end-all-beat-all favorites, I cannot deny the magic of chocolate and peanut butter combined.
My cousins are prolific and wonderful chefs. For years at our annual Thanksgiving gatherings they have been encouraging me to try making my own peanut butter cups. Promises of how much more delicious these are homemade were made. (Spoiler alert: they are correct.)
I finally broke down and made some...and readers...there is no going back! Homemade peanut butter cups are simply too good and too easy not to make yourself.
I based my recipe on this one from the New York Times, however, I modified mine to the recipe presented below.
You Will Need:
5 Tablespoons good butter (I used Kerrygold)- set 1 Tablespoon aside
1 cup creamy peanut butter (spray the measuring cup with cooking spray before filling for easy release)
3 heaping Tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
¾ cup ground graham crackers (a food processor does this nicely)
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
In a pan over medium heat, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter until lightly browned- keep your eye on this and don’t let it burn. Once the butter is melted, change heat to low and add the peanut butter. Stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat.
To the skillet, stir in graham cracker dust until it is well combined. Next, stir in the confectioner’s sugar one tablespoon at a time until it is completely absorbed into the mixture.
Using a cupcake pan*, line each hole with a cupcake liner and fill about half way up with peanut butter mixture.
While the peanut butter mixture sets up in the tray, begin making chocolate topping. In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips and remaining butter. Microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring well after each round, until chocolate is melted. BE CAREFUL as this will be hot and the chocolate turns quickly from melty to burned. You can use a double-boiler method for this, if you prefer.
Once chocolate is ready, top the peanut butter cups with it. If you don’t want the chocolate to sink, give it a few minutes to cool before topping. Place cups in the refrigerator and allow to set up for approximately 6 hours. (You can eat these sooner, but they will be messy!)
Serve! Ta-daa! These will change your life...they are that delicious.
*This is totally up to you. You can use a cupcake pan, mini-cupcake pan, tart pan, baking sheet that you cut shapes out of with cookie cutters...whatever you like as far as shape goes. I like the cupcake shape because they are easy to transport and store.
Author's Note: I have since improved this process and recommend adding a layer of chocolate to the bottom of the cups before adding the peanut butter and final topping. This will give your cups a level of stability that makes them easier to eat!
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