Homemade Peanut Butter Cups are Wickedly Good

By Katie Barreira

As a child, it was difficult to imagine anything more awesome than holding up adults for candy while in disguise. But I was lucky enough to have a pair of fairy god neighbors who sweetened the Halloween jackpot. More hair raising than the Pinsky’s haunted garage, more engrossing than Mrs. Feldman’s eyeball punch, the enchanted Victorian at 14 Ferncroft Road promised a special and, to my parents dismay, sizeable confection meant just for me.

Bulk bags of the standard assortment are a must for the hoards of candy collectors who will come-a-knockin’ next Sunday. But for family, friends and that special trick-or-treater in your life, a piece of couture candy will cast an enchanting Halloween spell.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
These wicked sweets are simple, crafty and can be customized for your most discerning Hallows Eve callers. For me, the only thing better than chocolate and peanut butter, is dark chocolate and crunchy peanut butter, but you can make them with any combination of the two.

10    ounces dark chocolate, chopped
5    tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1    tablespoon sugar
¾    cup crunchy peanut butter
1/3    cup honey
12    cupcake liners

1. Place cupcake liners on a baking sheet. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler; remove from heat, keeping melted chocolate over the hot water.

2. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the melted chocolate into a cupcake liner and tilt cupcake liner cup to coat with chocolate about halfway up the sides. Repeat with the remaining cups. If the chocolate in the pot begins to set, return to heat until re-melted. Once all the cups are filled, refrigerate to set.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and honey. Transfer the filling to a plastic zip-top bag and use scissors to snip the tip off one of the bottom corners, making a hole just large enough to squeeze out the filling.

4. Fill the chocolate cups about three-quarters full with the peanut butter mixture; smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

5. Top each peanut butter cup with melted chocolate to enclose. Refrigerate until hardened.

Dress-up Your Cup: Why not costume your candy, too? While the top layer of chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with a festive topping like Reese’s Pieces, nonpareils or chopped Heath bars.

Note: You can melt chocolate in a microwave oven at medium power.  Microwave 1 ½ minutes, stir, then repeat microwaving and stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is melted. Be careful not to scorch the chocolate by overheating.

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