Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

WARNING!  The following are NOT vegan.  The following are NOT healthy. In the least.  But hey...it's the holidays, and I always said I'm doing this diet 90/10, so here is my indulgent 10%.  :)

(Note:  I think these could be veganized and next time I will try my hand at making my own vegan chocolate.  But for this first time, I went with good quality store bought bulk chocolate.  I cannot do it all, ya know.)

I have no idea why I got this urge but all I wanted to do yesterday was make chocolate.  Which is odd for me to begin with, because chocolate is not my go-to comfort treat.  But for whatever the reason, I am glad I did it because these two treats turned out to be amazing.  Yes, I made two.  I could not decide which one I wanted to make, so I made both.  Feast your eyes on these:

Homemade peanut butter cups 

Homemade peppermint bark

(see next post for recipe)

Say it with me, y'all.  YUM.

If you are like me, you probably get scared at the thought of making chocolate things when you hear words like "candy thermometer" and "tempering".  Have no fear, though.  It is easier than it looks (and no thermometer required).

Peanut butter cups (modified from Katherine Martinelli)

Ingredients (makes 25 cups, ~95 calories each):

1/2 lb. milk chocolate (or dark)

1/2 T. vegetable oil

1/2 c. natural smooth peanut butter

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 t. vanilla extract

First step is to chop up the chocolate block.  Various websites around will tell you it is okay to use chocolate chips, but others say you should not because there is an extra additive in them so they keep their shape.  I say go with bulk chocolate.

Then melt 2/3 of the chocolate and the 1/2 T. vegetable oil over a double boiler.  Or, if you do not have one, like most people, just put a heat-proof bowl on top of a pot, like this.  The pot should have about an inch or two of water, and bring it to a slow simmer.

(The vegetable oil will help "temper" the chocolate and give it that nice shiny, hard texture without the hassle of actually tempering chocolate, which you cannot do unless you have a candy thermometer and an OCD personality).

Stir the chocolate constantly until it completely melts and is a smooth and shiny texture.  Remove from heat and add the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate.  Stir until it melts into the chocolate.  This is also a pseudo-tempering method.  The two temperatures work to balance each other out which is necessary for that ideal chocolate texture.

Then place the bowl back on the double boiler but at the lowest temperature. This is just to keep the chocolate melted while you make your cups.

To make the peanut butter filling, combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl.

Be sure to mix it well, especially if your sugar is kinda clumpy like mine was (yes, this will hurt your hand by the end of it).

Spoon a small amount into the mini cups.  It should be enough to coat the bottom of the cup, so go ahead and tilt the cup or spread the chocolate with the spoon to make sure the bottom is covered.

Then place a dollop of the peanut butter mixture in the center of each cup, being careful to not let it touch the sides.  Feel free to get messy here and use your fingers to shape the peanut butter into mini balls.

Once they are all filled, spoon more melted chocolate on top of each cup to cover the peanut butter.  Be sure the chocolate covers all of the peanut butter.

Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let chocolate set.

Take a big bite and enjoy!

And who says you cannot have it for breakfast, too?  What goes better with chocolate and peanut butter than fresh sliced banana?  Add a frothy cafe au lait made with almond milk and voila.  Breakfast is served.