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Esurientes - The Comfort Zone

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Homemade peanut butter cups


These should come with a health warning. There is truly nothing nutritious contained inside, just peanut butter, sugar, butter & chocolate, but f%*@$ they're SO DAMN good!!!
Like many people I'd eyed off the chocolate peanut butter squares in Nigella's Domestic Goddess for years, savouring the idea of making homespun Reese's peanut butter cups, but when I saw her Christmas special last year, and noted she'd changed the idea slightly so they were served in individual mini-muffin cases, I was hooked. When planning food for my 30th drinks party, these were high on the list.

They're as simple to make as chocolate crackles, and don't involve any cooking except for heating up some chocolate, which in typical fashion, I stuffed up. I usually ignore calls for melting chocolate over a double boiler because it's annoying and I don't have a double boiler. I find my heavy Le Creuset pot on low heat works fine. This time, the cooking fairies had their revenge, and the chocolate seized within 30 seconds. It could have been because I chose to use eating chocolate rather than cooking chocolate, and it's more temperamental anyway. But I learnt my lesson, and although I persevered with dumping the chocolate on top of the peanut butter mixture, they looked disgustingly like wombat turds, so I melted another block in the microwave (duh!!) and poured that on top. Hence, these peanut butter cups had a pretty thick layer of chocolate to bite through...all GOOD!
You can have fun making these while gossiping with a friend, because it's slightly tedious work; you need to press peanut butter filling into each cup with your fingers, and then pour chocolate over each one. It's perfect friendship cooking, or something you could enjoy making with kids.

But phwoaaaarrr they're rich. I know of somebody who tried one and dreamt about them all week. I think she succumbed and made a batch of her own. They're worth it.
I found my recipe here:

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