Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I love gift exchanges.  I immediately signed up to participate in Itzy's Kitchen's December Blogger Baked Goods Exchange when I saw it posted on Erica and Mandi's site.  A chance to bake and get something yummy in the mail in return?  Heck yes!  Thanks ladies :)

Corey from The Runner's Cookie was my recipient (please check out her lovely blog, and her post on receiving the goodies), and she requested something healthy as her baked good.  Since it's the holidays, I figured I could "healthify" a special treat for her by making it with natural ingredients.  Perusing my cookbooks, I found Alicia Silverstone's recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter Cups in her fabulous cookbook, The Kind Diet.

Since I am a PB and chocoholic, I thought this would be a great holiday treat for Corey.  Lucky for me, I found out later she loves PB and chocolate!   Phew :)

One of the great things about this recipe is that it's no-bake AND can easily be made with items you probably already have in your pantry.  Hooray for no extra trips to the grocery store!

Crush up the peanuts...

...and the graham crackers...

Line the muffin tin with paper liners...

I measured my peanut butter and gulped helped myself to a few extra tastes from the jar:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat:

Since the recipe called for crunchy PB and I only had smooth, I added a few extra crushed peanuts to the melted butter.  You can never have too much PB flavor, in my opinion.

Once the butter is melted, add in the PB and crushed graham crackers.  Stir it up!

Warm, gooey PB, butter, and graham crackers.  Why didn't I think of this before? :)  Yes, you can go ahead and eat a bite.  Just don't eat it all before you finish making the PB cups.

Spoon a few tablespoons of the PB mixture into your muffin tins.

Next, melt the chocolate and milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently,

Once it's nice and melted, you'll have this lovely mixture.

Spoon the chocolate mixture into the cups over your PB mixture until thoroughly covered.

Top with crushed peanuts.

Mmm.  You know you want some.

Pop these babies in the fridge for several hours or overnight to harden.  When they're ready, you'll have this morsel of deliciousness:

I couldn't resist a bite.  Besides, I had to show you what the inside looks like, right? :)

All ready to send off!

Can you tell I really liked these?  Why else would I take so many pictures of them? :)

Seriously, they are to die for: rich, chocolatey, peanut buttery, mmm.  This is one of the best recipes I've ever made, and it's incredibly easy.  What's not to love?  Go make 'em - you'll be glad you did.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups - adapted from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet
Makes 12 cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (or creamy - just add in a few extra tablespoons of crushed nuts), preferably unsweetened and unsalted
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
• 1/4 cup sugar or other granulated sweetener
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts

Directions:

• Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.  Set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat  Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar.  Mix well.  Remove the mixture from the heat.  Evenly divide the mixture, approx. 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.
• Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.  Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.  Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.  Top with chopped nuts.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set before serving.