Shhh….these technically aren’t “cupcakes” so I’m cheating a bit. But…but…I happen to love peanut butter cups and The Comfort of Cooking had this awesome recipe to make some from scratch so I had to share. But really, you make them in a cupcake tin using cupcake wrappers so technically speaking they are almost cupcakes. It doesn’t really matter because everyone will eat them no matter what you call them.
Homemade Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Makes 12 standard cupcakes size peanut butter cups
Ingredients:
2 (12 oz.) bags semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Directions:
Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Melt one (12 oz.) bag of chocolate either in a double boiler or by microwaving in short increments, stirring after 30 seconds, for about 2 minutes.
With a small spoon or cookie scoop, evenly distribute melted chocolate into each muffin cup. Drop pan repeatedly on the counter to help chocolate flatten and smooth out. Freeze whole pan for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter. Whip with an electric hand mixer until smooth*. Remove pan from freezer and place small spoonfuls of peanut butter mixture on top of each chocolate layer. Drop pan repeatedly on the counter again, to help flatten peanut butter layer. Freeze whole pan for 15 minutes.
Melt remaining 12 oz. bag of chocolate. Working quickly, portion small spoonfuls of chocolate into each cups, three cups at a time, immediately dropping the pan repeatedly on the counter to flatten cups*. Freeze whole pan for 15 minutes to set the top layer of chocolate.
For a peanut butter cup with a firmer texture, serve chilled. For a softer, creamier texture, serve at room temperature. Store refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Enjoy!
TIPS
If your peanut butter mixture is not completely smooth, stir in an additional teaspoon of melted butter or vegetable/canola oil.
When portioning out the top chocolate layer, the chill from the frozen peanut will harden the top layer of chocolate very quickly, so you must flatten out the tops quickly after spooning on the chocolate.
You can also make ‘em mini! Use a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners to make double the amount of peanut butter cups in a smaller, kid-friendly size.