Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

First off, hurray for April Break! One week with no school, limited homework, and tons of baking!! It’s the last stress-free week before the annual end-of-the-school-year chaos kicks in, and I’m planning to do some serious relaxing.

For example, this weekend we took a super fun trip to Hershey Park! We went on a mini-family vacation for the weekend to visit some family friends in New Jersey, then headed east to Hershey, Pennsylvania for two days of amusement parks and chocolate.

Day 1 – At Katie’s house we whipped up a delicious Rainbow Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese frosting. The vanilla cake recipe comes from Sweetapolita, but we decided to be creative and make the layers rainbow instead. We had a great time mixing up 8 different colors and layering them like you would for these Rainbow cupcakes.

Day 2 – My favorite part of Hershey Park was definitely the World of Chocolate. They have all sorts of cool things to learn about chocolate and the history of the Hershey’s Chocolate Company. They even have a chocolate tasting exhibit where you can earn an official certificate for a Master’s Degree in Chocolate Tasting!

This may end up on my college application form…

Obviously the best Hershey’s product is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, so I was amazed and very happy to see the huge collection of Reese’s products for sale at the gift shop. Regular, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Reese’s Pieces, Reese’s sticks, Reese’s minis, and Reese’s Fast Break. PURE HEAVEN.

I may have a Reese’s problem healthy obsession.

As a homage to this super fun trip, I decided to make some homemade Peanut Butter Cups (because I clearly didn’t get enough of Chocolate and Peanut butter this weekend…). They do need some waiting time to let the various layers of chocolate and peanut butter harden, but it’s well worth it in the end. You can use the time to dream about all the glorious ways you can eat them once they’re done.

Chocolate and peanut butter is just the best combination ever. Sweet and salty, light and dark, and ALWAYS delicious 🙂

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter

2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons of light brown sugar

1/4-1/2 cup of powdered sugar

2 cups of milk chocolate chips

Line a mini-muffin tin with paper liners and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set them both aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is completely melted and is just starting to bubble. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the powdered sugar in gradually while constantly stirring. Set the mixture aside and let it cool.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each interval. Use a spoon to pour about 1-2 teaspoons melted chocolate into the bottom of each mini-muffin cup.

Use a teaspoon to scoop out little balls of the peanut butter mixture, flattening each mound slightly into a disk. Place on the baking tray, then refrigerate both the muffin tin and the peanut butter balls for 30 minutes.

Place a peanut butter patty on top of each chocolate lined muffin cup. If the chocolate has hardened, re-melt it in the microwave. Use a spoon to add more melted chocolate on top of and around each peanut butter patty, completely surrounding it. You don’t want anyone to see the surprise inside! Refrigerate the muffin tray again fro about 30 minutes, then serve! Be sure to store them in the refrigerator or freezer so that they don’t melt. Enjoy!

How crazy would it be to try these with nutella?

I leave you with this mouthwatering thought.

xoxo

Deanna