dark chocolate peanut butter cups....

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these, i think, are the best peanut butter cups i have ever had. this recipe is no joke!!!  i made them to take a few to my girlfriend who is having a birthday party tomorrow night. the recipe is fairly quick and easy, but i made the "mistake" of using the whole jar of peanut and adjusting the other ingredients to follow the recipe....i ended up quadrupling the recipe and was in the kitchen all night....not what i was planning but the outcome was soOOO super delicious that i felt quite accomplished. (it doesn't take much ;))working thru this recipe made me wish for a big kitchen and be a professional chocolatier with a bounty of decorating bags, fancy decorating tips, bavarian creme, sprinkles and handmade chocolate curls. i was always mesmerized with the happenings in the european pastry room during my years of working at the bakery in st. louis.

 

dark chocolate pb cups 12 oz bittersweet chocolate (60-70% cacao-no exceptions) 1/3 cup (16 oz jar) creamy peanut butter (I added in an extra 1-2 TB) 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers (finely, but not a powder, but not chunks either) (I added in 1 tsp salt to peanut butter mixture)

 

-In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt, and graham crackers. I put mine in the fridge to harden up a bit as it’s easier to form into balls....i skipped this step because mine was already like thick cookie dough....it must have been the brand of pb i used. -in a microwave safe glass bowl melt the chocolate. run microwave in cycles of 15-30 seconds and stirring in between to prevent burning, lessening the time the more melted the chocolate gets. -Use mini cupcake tins and line them with cupcake liners. i would double up on the cupcake liner to add some stability. -Using a spoon, drop a small scoop of melted chocolate on the bottom and push it up around the sides of the cupcake liners; when in doubt, add more chocolate, since this will be the base for your candy. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes. While those are in the freezer get out the peanut butter mixture and form into teaspoon balls, they don't have to be rolled in balls.....since my peanut butter mixture was already thick i just pinched some off as i went along. -Remove the cupcake tins from the freezer, and place about one teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture in each cup, make sure to put it in the middle, not touching the sides of the cup. Spoon more melted chocolate on top of each cup, make sure to fill in along the sides too. -Place the peanut butter cups back in the freezer for another 15 minutes to set. Let them sit at room temp before devouring...or not!! makes about 12 mini peanut butter cups.

 

i found the recipe on vanilla kitchen. with a few slight adaptations in the process alone, the ingredients are the same.