I know that the last thing I posted was my recipe for my peanut butter bars, but I love peanut butter and chocolate so much that I had to post my super easy peanut butter cup recipe. I have been making peanut butter cups for years now, but I only just started working on perfecting the recipe. Before I started really working on my recipe, I would sometimes end up with the peanut butter in the middle be slightly runny, or the chocolate would be too hard.Now my peanut butter cups are just right, they have nice soft but firm peanut butter middle, and crunchy outer chocolate shell . These peanut butter cups are great if you’re craving something sweet, and chocolatey, but want a healthier option than something like Reese’s peanut butter cups. These are also vegan, gluten-free.
I love these peanut butter cups because they are sooo easy to make, and whenever I have a sweet craving these completely satisfy me.
After lining up all of my ingredients, I went ahead and lightly greased my muffin pan with some coconut oil. This makes it easier to remove the peanut butter cups from the pan. After I did that, I started melting my chocolate. I turned my burner on to low heat, and added my chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small saucepan. This process is very easy and it only takes a few seconds for the chocolate to melt, but it is very important that you stir the chocolate chips continuously until the chocolate is completely melted, or it might burn. When my chocolate was nice and smooth I filled ⅓ of my muffin pan with the chocolate, then I put it in the freezer for about ten minutes. While I was waiting for my chocolate to freeze, I started working on the peanut butter mixture. I put my peanut butter into a small bowl and melted it in the microwave. It’s not totally necessary to melt the peanut butter, but it does help to combine it completely with the powdered sugar. When my peanut butter was melted I added my powdered sugar to it, and mixed until it was well combined and I achieved a dough like texture. At this point my chocolate was done freezing, so I added my peanut butter mixture to the muffin pan. I filled it with peanut butter about ⅓ of the way. I made sure to leave enough room so the remaining chocolate could completely cover the peanut butter, and leave a nice chocolate layer. I smoothed out the top of the peanut butter, then filled the muffin cups the rest of the way with the remaining chocolate. I popped that back into the freezer for about an hour, then I pulled it back out and started removing the peanut butter cups. I like to take a butter knife and go around the edges of the peanut butter cups to separate the top of the peanut butter cup from the edge of the muffin cup, then I press the knife down on one side of the peanut butter cup, and it pops right out. Sometimes my peanut butter cups separate when they pop out, so I put them back into the freezer, because this means they aren’t completely frozen. I store the peanut butter cups in a glass container in the freezer, and thaw one or two before eating them. If you don’t like your peanut butter cups to be as firm, you can store them in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Layer:
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp coconut oil
Peanut Butter Mixture:
½ cup peanut butter
3 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions:
In a small saucepan on low heat, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Stir constantly until the chocolate is completely smooth and the coconut oil is all melted.
Oil a mini muffin pan with coconut oil, then fill the mini muffin pan ⅓ of the way with the melted chocolate, then put the pan in the freezer for ten minutes.
While the chocolate is freezing, put the peanut butter for the center into a bowl, and melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Once the peanut butter is melted, pour in the powdered sugar, and mix together until the powdered sugar is well combined and the peanut butter has a dough-like texture.
Once the chocolate in the muffin pan is frozen, remove it from the freezer and fill the middle with the peanut butter mixture.
Smooth the top of the peanut butter mixture, then pour the remaining chocolate on the top of the peanut butter, until the peanut butter is completely covered.
Place the muffin pan in the freezer, and freeze the peanut butter cups for an hour.
When the peanut butter cups are completely frozen, use a butter knife to go around the edges of the peanut butter cups to loosen them, then take the knife and push down on a corner of the peanut butter cup. The peanut butter cups should pop out easily, and should be completely together. If the peanut butter cups are separating when you pop them out, put them back in the freezer for another 30 minutes.
Store them in a container in the freezer, and thaw them for a few minutes before eating, or store them in the refrigerator.
Makes 12 peanut butter cups.