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peanut butter cups
"It took my peanut butter cup experience to a higher level!" – Beatrix, recipe tester, age 11
Prepare Ingredients
Gather Cooking Equipment
Place chocolate in large zipper-lock plastic bag and seal, removing as much air as possible from bag. Use rolling pin to gently pound chocolate into small pieces.
In small microwave-safe bowl, add half of pounded chocolate. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate. Return to microwave and heat at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute longer. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate until completely melted and smooth.
Pour melted chocolate into one quart-size zipper-lock bag. Push chocolate to one corner of bag and twist top. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
Pipe chocolate in spiral in each muffin-tin cup, working from outside in, to cover bottom of liner. Transfer muffin tin to freezer and freeze for 15 minutes.
Pipe chocolate in spiral in bottom of each muffin-tin cup, working from outside in, to cover bottom of liner. Take a break every six cups and gently tap pan on counter to even out layer of chocolate. Transfer muffin tin to freezer and freeze for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, add peanut butter to second small microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave.
Add confectioners’ sugar, butter, and salt to warmed peanut butter and use clean rubber spatula to stir until well combined. Fill second quart-size zipper-lock bag with peanut butter mixture. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
Remove muffin tin from freezer. Pipe peanut butter mixture over chilled chocolate layer in each muffin-tin cup in spiral to cover chocolate layer. Take a break every six cups and gently tap pan on counter to even out layer of peanut butter.
Add remaining pounded chocolate to bowl used to melt chocolate. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate. Return to microwave and heat at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute longer. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate until completely melted and smooth.
Fill third quart-size zipper-lock bag with melted chocolate. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
Food for Thought
Hold on to that Bar!
Baking with milk chocolate chips is very convenient (no chopping or little bits of chocolate to clean up or, ahem, eat), but sometimes they won’t act in the same way as a milk chocolate bar. Confusing, we know. Our favorite milk chocolate chips, while delicious, contain stabilizers. That means that when they melt, they turn gloppy and thick, rather than creamy and smooth. It’s perfectly fine when you want the chips in your cookies or cakes to keep their shape, but for this recipe we turned to a milk chocolate bar for a smooth melted chocolate and great-looking peanut butter cups.
