When I first discovered this recipe on
Design*Sponge, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. For some reason, these chocolate chip peanut butter cups just taste better than pre-packaged processed candy. They are DELICIOUS.
I made these for a going away party for one of the hubby's coworkers, so I refrained from Halloweening them.
Boo ya. New word invented.
But the chocolate cups would be SO CUTE with spider web designs on them. Or you could make the white chocolate ones into ghosts. Possibilities = endless.
The following is adapted from the original recipe
(found here). It makes 12 cups.
2 packages chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate and vanilla chips, but any chocolate will do)
1 cup peanut butter (about 1/2 an 18 oz jar)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar (for dusting)
1. Get out your muffin pan. Dust it off. Pop in some paper (or aluminum) muffin liners.
2. Melt one package of chocolate chips. This is my cheapskate version of a double boiler:
It would probably give Martha Stewart a heart attack. But it seems to work pretty well.
You could also use a microwave, but I am an utter failure at melting chocolate this way. Possibly because I have no patience.
TIP: When melting white or vanilla chocolate chips, the chocolate often "seizes", meaning it melts and then gets all grainy and hard again. If this happens, turn down the heat, add about a tablespoon of shortening, and mix it in as it melts. Voila!

3. Coat the muffin liners with chocolate. The easiest way to do this is to put a big glob in the bottom and then use the back of a spoon to coat the sides. Once that's finished, you can put more chocolate on the bottom if needed. Beware, this step is messy! You will probably get chocolate on your fingers.
Oh darny shucks.
Whatever will you do?
4. Put the chocolate shells in the fridge or freezer for about 15 minutes.
5. In the mean time, make the filling. I usually use my food processor. I grind up graham crackers in it first, then add all the other ingredients. You could also use a stand mixer, a hand mixer or a good old-fashioned wooden spoon.
6. Next, split the peanut butter mixture into 12 equal portions. Get out a cutting board (preferably not the one you use for raw chicken :-). Throw down some white stuff. Not that white stuff. Dump your peanut butter mixture on top. Sprinkle it with more powdered sugar. Then gently pat it out into a rectangle. Use as much powdered sugar as necessary to keep it from sticking to you/the counter/your face. Cut it into 12 portions and roll each one between your hands to form circle-ish shapes.
THE CHEATER'S WAY: If you're not
slightly OCD like me, you can simply add a bit more powdered sugar to the mix and spoon it into each chocolate shell. Which leads us to step number seven.
7. Get your chocolate shells out of the fridge/freezer. Place a peanut butter ball/spoonful in each one. Pat it down with your fingers. You may need more powdered sugar. Just don't wipe your nose with powdered sugar covered fingers and then go to the grocery store. People will look at you funny.
8. Melt the other bag of chocolate in your double boiler/microwave. Spoon a nice big dollop onto each cup and spread it around. Put it back in the fridge/freezer and let the chocolate set. It takes about 30 minutes in a freezer and an hour in the fridge.
9. Once the chocolate is hardened, decorate them! I used leftover melted chocolate to drizzle the tops. As you can plainly see, I'm not too skilled at this. But they still taste good!
10. Enjoy!
Caiti