Sweet, Salty, and Soft Peanut Butter Cups

There is something wonderful about biting into a soft peanut butter cup, the sweet chocolate contrasting the creamy peanut butter filling beautifully. I have tried homemade peanut butter cups before, and often times they taste great, but lack in texture. Sometimes the chocolate is hard on the outside, while the filling is creamy. When a bite is taken out of this type of cup, the cup cracks and falls apart. These cups, however, have a soft chocolate shell and a rich, velvety filling. They make great gifts to neighbors, friends, and loved ones!

Filling:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 4.5 sheets un-crushed. You can simply whirl the graham crackers in a food processor or buy pre-crushed graham crackers).

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Chocolate shell:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Supplies:

one muffin pan

6 silicone or paper muffin liners

one immersion blender

measuring cups and spoons

2 mixing bowls

1.To make the filling, first melt the butter in the microwave. It took me about 30 seconds to melt the butter.

2. Mix the 1/4 cup of melted butter with the 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs in a medium-sized bowl.

3. Add the 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the mixture, and stir.

4. Stir in the 1/2 cup of peanut butter to the mixture.

In order to take that grit out of the filling, blend the filling with your immersion blender. If you do not have one of these, the filling can be added to a food processor to smooth out the mix. When the filling is shiny and velvety, the blending is done!

After this step, place the filling in the freezer until firm.

Let me take a second, however, to caution you. BE CAREFUL with your immersion blender! They are not built with a safety switch. This means that it is easier than it should be to cut yourself. Last year, while making some biscuits, I wasn't thinking very clearly, and one thing led to another, leaving me with a badly cut finger, a trip to the emergency room, and about 4 months of healing time. My finger is all good now, but it sure was a close call!

While the filing is in the freezer,

1. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave with the 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.

2. Melt the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until silky and smooth.

3. Mix the butter-sugar mixture with the melted chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter.

To assemble the cups, spoon a heaping teaspoon in each of 6 silicone muffin liners. Top with the evenly distributed peanut butter mixture (removed from the freezer). Evenly top once more with the chocolate mixture. Freeze these cups until the chocolate is firm but not frozen.

Remove the cups from their liners, and dig in! You're friends will thank you (that is, if you don't eat them all yourself!).