Peanut Butter Cups
By America's Test Kitchen KidsPublished on January 4, 2023
Time
40 minutes, plus chilling time
Yield
Makes 24 mini cups
WHAT KIDS ARE SAYING
"It took my peanut butter cup experience to a higher level!" —Beatrix, recipe tester, age 11
Ingredients
12 ounces (340 grams) milk chocolate ½ cup creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons confectioners’ (powdered) sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened⅛ teaspoon table salt
Before You Begin
You can substitute semisweet chocolate for the milk chocolate if you want. Make sure to use milk chocolate in bar form, not chocolate chips. If you do not have a mini-muffin tin, you can use a regular 12-cup muffin tin to make 12 larger peanut butter cups.
Instructions
- Line 24‑cup mini-muffin tin with 24 paper liners.
- Place chocolate in large zipper-lock plastic bag and seal, removing as much air as possible from bag. Use rolling pin to gently pound chocolate into small pieces.
- In small microwave-safe bowl, add half of pounded chocolate. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate. Return to microwave and heat at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute longer. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate until completely melted and smooth.
- Pour melted chocolate into one quart-size zipper-lock bag. Push chocolate to one corner of bag and twist top. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
- Pipe chocolate in spiral in each muffin-tin cup, working from outside in, to cover bottom of liner (see photo 1, “Step-by-Step: How to Pipe Peanut Butter Cups,” below). Transfer muffin tin to freezer and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add peanut butter to second small microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave.
- Add confectioners’ sugar, butter, and salt to warmed peanut butter and use clean rubber spatula to stir until well combined. Fill second quart-size zipper-lock bag with peanut butter mixture. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
- Remove muffin tin from freezer. Pipe peanut butter mixture over chocolate layer in each muffin-tin cup in spiral to cover chocolate layer (see photo 2, “Step-by-Step: How to Pipe Peanut Butter Cups,” below).
- Add remaining pounded chocolate to bowl used to melt chocolate. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate. Return to microwave and heat at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute longer. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate until completely melted and smooth.
- Fill third quart-size zipper-lock bag with melted chocolate. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
- Pipe melted chocolate on top of peanut butter layer in each muffin-tin cup in spiral to cover peanut butter layer (see photo 3, “Step-by-Step: How to Pipe Peanut Butter Cups,” below).
- Transfer muffin tin back to freezer and chill for 30 minutes. Remove muffin tin from freezer and remove peanut butter cups from pan. Serve. (Peanut butter cups can be refrigerated in airtight storage container for up to 2 weeks).
Time
40 minutes, plus chilling timeYield
Makes 24 mini cupsWHAT KIDS ARE SAYING
"It took my peanut butter cup experience to a higher level!" —Beatrix, recipe tester, age 11Ingredients
12 ounces (340 grams) milk chocolate
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
⅛ teaspoon table salt
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
12 ounces (340 grams) milk chocolate
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
⅛ teaspoon table salt
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
12 ounces (340 grams) milk chocolate
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
⅛ teaspoon table salt
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe melts broken-up pieces of bar chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Why go through the extra step? Most chocolate chips contain stabilizers, which prevent them from melting into a smooth, pourable liquid, the way that bar chocolate does. We melt our chocolate in the microwave at 50 percent power, which keeps it from burning. Have kids watch and listen to the microwave as it runs: What do they notice? Microwave ovens use a device called a magnetron to heat up water molecules in food. At full power, the magnetron is on the entire time the microwave is on. At 50 percent power, the magnetron turns on and off—it’s on for 50 percent of the time the microwave is running. You can often hear the magnetron cycle on and off if you listen carefully!
Before You Begin
You can substitute semisweet chocolate for the milk chocolate if you want. Make sure to use milk chocolate in bar form, not chocolate chips. If you do not have a mini-muffin tin, you can use a regular 12-cup muffin tin to make 12 larger peanut butter cups.
Instructions
- Line 24‑cup mini-muffin tin with 24 paper liners.
- Place chocolate in large zipper-lock plastic bag and seal, removing as much air as possible from bag. Use rolling pin to gently pound chocolate into small pieces.
- In small microwave-safe bowl, add half of pounded chocolate. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate. Return to microwave and heat at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute longer. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate until completely melted and smooth.
- Pour melted chocolate into one quart-size zipper-lock bag. Push chocolate to one corner of bag and twist top. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
- Pipe chocolate in spiral in each muffin-tin cup, working from outside in, to cover bottom of liner (see photo 1, “Step-by-Step: How to Pipe Peanut Butter Cups,” below). Transfer muffin tin to freezer and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add peanut butter to second small microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave.
- Add confectioners’ sugar, butter, and salt to warmed peanut butter and use clean rubber spatula to stir until well combined. Fill second quart-size zipper-lock bag with peanut butter mixture. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
- Remove muffin tin from freezer. Pipe peanut butter mixture over chocolate layer in each muffin-tin cup in spiral to cover chocolate layer (see photo 2, “Step-by-Step: How to Pipe Peanut Butter Cups,” below).
- Add remaining pounded chocolate to bowl used to melt chocolate. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate. Return to microwave and heat at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute longer. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave. Use rubber spatula to stir chocolate until completely melted and smooth.
- Fill third quart-size zipper-lock bag with melted chocolate. Use scissors to snip ⅛ inch off corner of filled bag.
- Pipe melted chocolate on top of peanut butter layer in each muffin-tin cup in spiral to cover peanut butter layer (see photo 3, “Step-by-Step: How to Pipe Peanut Butter Cups,” below).
- Transfer muffin tin back to freezer and chill for 30 minutes. Remove muffin tin from freezer and remove peanut butter cups from pan. Serve. (Peanut butter cups can be refrigerated in airtight storage container for up to 2 weeks).
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