Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Whoever invented the peanut butter cup basically has my heart. I’m totally obsessed with the combination, and quite frankly surprised that these lasted in my freezer as long as they did.

First off, I’m a sucker for dark chocolate. I have always liked it better than milk chocolate, maybe because I prefer the robust flavor over the creamy texture that milk chocolate often comes with. I also heard that the flavor descriptor for Hersey’s is like, baby vomit or something so now that’s all I can think about when I see it. Yum. 

Second, I filled these babies with Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter which is basically Nutella.. but better. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s totally worth the price tag. You could really fill these with any nut butter though. I’ve done peanut butter (obviously) and even cashew butter for a little different taste. I personally think you can’t go wrong with chocolate and nut butters. Have I mentioned how obsessed I am yet?

Regrettably, I’ll be offline for a couple weeks. I’m not too sorry though because we are going to EUROPE! You can follow my foodie family adventures on Instagram (@danasedibleaffair). We’ll be spending time in Germany, Belgium, and Paris over the course of 2 weeks and I absolutely cannot wait.

Chocolate. What about it? Go for the high quality stuff here, you won’t regret it. If there’s only two ingredients, then they better both be good, right? You’ll need 8oz of dark chocolate for this recipe. If you have a dairy free chocolate that melts well, go ahead and use that. I usually just take a couple bars and chop them up. DO NOT use unsweetened baking chocolate. Trust me.

When melting the chocolate, heat it up just enough to start the melting process, then use a spoon or spatula to mix until all the chocolate is melted. I usually start at 30 second time intervals in the microwave, stir, 20 seconds, stir.. you get the picture. Overheating the chocolate can cause scorching (ew) or blooming. You can read more about tempering chocolate and all that jazz here, but I won’t get into it today.

You’ll want to line your mini muffin tin with cupcake liners. You can find them in just about any baking isle these days. You’ll also want a small basting brush to help spread the chocolate up the sides of the liners. This makes it much easier to peel off the liner and it keeps the peanut butter all the way inside so it’s not oozing out between two layers of chocolate. Don’t forget to spray or grease the liners before you pour the first round of chocolate in. I like to use Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil Spray because olive oil and chocolate weirds me out.

Plan to pop your mini muffin tray in the freezer between each step to help the layers set. 10-15 minutes is more than enough. Because these are small, they don’t take very long to set.. you also don’t have to feel so bad about eating one everyday for almost two weeks (oops). At least, that’s what I tell myself.

 

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Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Cups

Servings: 12 mini nut butter cups

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 8 oz quality dark chocolate
• 6 TBSP Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (really, any nut butter works)

Directions:

1. Line mini muffin tin with cupcake liners. Grease or spray with coconut oil and set aside. Chop 4 oz of dark chocolate and place in a microwave safe bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave just enough to start the melting process, about 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate with a spoon or spatula and mix well. If the chocolate is still a little clumpy, heat in the microwave for about 20 seconds and stir again. Repeat until chocolate is completely melted. Watch for overheating, the chocolate can scorch or bloom.
2. Use a spoon to evenly distribute the melted chocolate amongst the tins. Next, use a basting brush to cover the sides of the liners. This will make removing the cups from the liners easier, and also keep the nut butter inside the chocolate for a little less messy treat. The fourth image in this post illustrates what I mean by covering the sides. Place tin in freezer for about 15 minutes.
3. After 15 minutes has passed, place 6 TBSP of your nut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 20 seconds. You want the nut butter to be easy to spread, but not completely liquified. Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and give each frozen cup about 1/2 TBSP of nut butter. Tap the tin on the counter a few times to evenly distribute the butter and place again in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
4. After the nut butter has set, melt the remaining 4 oz of chocolate the same way as before. Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and “top off” each cup, covering the nut butter entirely. Once you’ve used all your remaining chocolate. Tap the tin on the counter a few times to evenly distribute the chocolate and freeze for another 15 minutes to let the chocolate set.
5. Store your nut butter cups in the freezer for up to two weeks in an airtight container. When you are ready to enjoy them, simply let them thaw slightly at room temperature for a few minutes, and remove the cupcake liner before eating. These are perfect for an after dinner treat when you need just a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth.