Thursday, May 17, 2012

Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Recipe

I got a recipe similar to this from my aunt in a little book she put together for me for my wedding. I altered it a bit to make it a smaller batch, but I love the texture and flavor of these peanut butter cups.

And if you want, you can also make them in a pie-sized piece. I've made them mini-cupcake size, standard-cupcake size and in those little mini foil pie tins.

What You Need:
1- 12 oz. bag chocolate chips (I recommend milk chocolate.)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy, but whatever you like.)
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (1/3 of a standard box of graham crackers.)
1 cup powdered sugar

Yield: About 3 dozen mini cupcakes, 2-3 of the mini foil pie pans.
These are really easy to make, although, I didn't bother to temper the chocolate. If you wanted to do that, the easy factor would probably go down considerably.

Start by melting the chocolate chips in the microwave. I use power level 3 for about 3 minutes to start, stirring every 30 seconds. Then continue by 30-second intervals until it's just melted. Keep an eye on it so that it never gets too hot or it will seize.
*Note: You could really easily here use Chocolate Candy Melts or chocolate-flavored almond bark. That would eliminate the need to temper the chocolate.

To make the mini-sized peanut butter cups, line a mini-cupcake pan with paper liners. Spoon about 1 tsp. of melted chocolate into each cup.

Use a food-safe paintbrush to brush the chocolate up the sides of the paper. (You can get these paintbrushes online or at your craft stores like JoAnn, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby.)
Be careful that you keep the chocolate relatively thick. You don't want to see the paper liners at all through the chocolate. If you do, it can be harder to get them out of the paper.

Put the pan into the refrigerator to set.

While your chocolate sets, make the filling.
Crush one package of graham crackers (not the entire box! Just one of the "sleeves" of crackers.) Set aside.

Partially melt the peanut butter and butter. I use the microwave for about 45 seconds on high.

Stir the butter and peanut butter to combine. Add the graham cracker crumbs and the powdered sugar. Stir to make a thick dough-like filling.

Place a small ball of the filling mixture into the chocolate cups that are now "set." Gently press the filling mixture to flatten the tops.

Spoon another small dollop of melted chocolate on top, and use that paintbrush to smooth it. I found that doing a little swirl after spreading the chocolate helped to make the tops prettier and smoother.

Be careful not to put too much chocolate on the top. I think if the chocolate is too thick it kind of overwhelms the peanut butter flavor. This is also why I'd prefer milk chocolate. I think the dark chocolate of the Ghirardhelli chips (that I usually love) is a little too much for these peanut butter cups.

Place the cups back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so to set the tops.
When they're set, you can peel back the papers, and enjoy!

It can be hard handling these and not leaving little fingerprints on the chocolate. Keep them in the refrigerator for as long as possible, and try to keep your hands from getting too hot.
Keep them in the refrigerator or they will get a little mushy because they're not tempered.

Click the Links Below to See:
Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Special K Bars (More Chocolate-Peanut Butter Yumminess)
How to Temper Chocolate Tutorial

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2 comments:

  1. Looks good ! Does it taste like Reese's though? I live in malaysia and its a bit difficult to get my hands on them and when I do, its usually rly expensive. So knowing I can bake them at home instead is just fantastic! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they do.
      I would say getting the chocolate right to taste just like Reese's might be the hardest part.
      -Beki

      Delete

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