Macaroni and cheese, milk and cookies, bacon and eggs—there are many food combinations I love, but none compare to peanut butter and chocolate. I eat a few spoonfuls of peanut butter pretty much every day and was possibly that girl who stole packets of Skippy peanut butter from the dining hall my freshman year. Peanut butter goes with absolutely everything, and during Halloween Reese’s cups are an obvious favorite of mine. As my dentist quite often likes to remind me, Halloween candy is a recipe for cavities. So, with that in mind, and Halloween right around the corner, these homemade chocolate peanut butter cups are a healthier alternative to Reese’s.
Made with dark chocolate, peanut butter and just a touch of confectioner’s sugar, this homemade candy avoids all of the artificial sweeteners and preservatives present in those orange plastic–wrapped Reese’s. Not to mention, since they’re homemade, you can achieve the perfect chocolate–to–peanut butter ratio. Make these peanut butter cups at home, and store them in your freezer for later. This recipe is simple to make; it only contains three ingredients. But the best thing about these chocolate peanut butter cups is that you don’t even need to go trick–or–treating in order to get your hands on them.
Servings: ½ dozen large peanut butter cups
What you’ll need:
- 2 ½ bars of dark chocolate or a bag of chocolate chips (about 10 oz.)
- 1/3 cup + 1 heaping spoonful creamy peanut butter
- 3 tbsp. powdered sugar
- Tablespoon
- Cupcake liners and tray
- Sea salt (optional)
- Pretzels (optional)
Procedure:
- If you have a chocolate bar, break it up into small pieces, or add the chocolate chips directly to a bowl with a heaping spoonful of peanut butter.
- Melt the peanut butter and chocolate in the microwave. Do this by setting the timer for short intervals of 20 seconds each and stirring the mixture in between each timeframe until it’s smooth and silky.
- Fill the cupcake tray with liners.
- Drop a tablespoon of the chocolate mixture into each cupcake liner.
- Shake tray back and forth to flatten the chocolate and make sure it’s evenly distributed in a thin layer.
- Freeze this layer for about 20 minutes until it sets.
- Put the 1/3 cup peanut butter into a bowl. Add the powdered sugar and mix together until consistently combined.
- Drop a scoop of the peanut butter mixture into each cup and shake the tray to flatten out this layer again, or press it down with your fingers.
- Freeze for about 10 minutes.
- Top each cup with another spoonful of the chocolate mixture you made earlier—you’ll have to reheat it in the microwave for a short time or approximately 30 seconds.
- Shake the tray again to flatten everything out.
- Sprinkle sea salt and sprinkles, or place pretzels on top if desired.
- Chill in the freezer until completely hardened.
- Peel peanut butter cups from cupcake liners and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks:
- Be careful not to burn your chocolate in the microwave. This can easily happen if you don’t stir the chocolate as it melts and microwave it for too long.
- Be careful not to overfill the cups! Aim for consistent, thin layers.
- If you have a mini muffin tin, this will work even better—the peanut butter cups are easier to make when they’re small.
- Store in the refrigerator or freezer to prevent melting.
