I happened upon this treat by accident, or desperation this summer when my son was going to a pool party and needed to bring a snack to share. My first thought was brownies, then cake, then cookies and I went on down the list until I came up with something that would be really good but not make a lot of mess in the kitchen. So I took a standard peanut butter bar recipe and flipped it into peanut butter cups.

I was not prepared for the reaction.

Every speck was snatched up and I received text messages and even emails telling me how wonderful Mrs Jordan’s Homemade Peanut Butter Cups were.

I’ll be derned if it didn’t put a spring in my step! So I decided to bring them to you today in case you might need a little spring in your step, too. Because no matter what, I think you’re pretty wonderful!

You very well may have all of these ingredients on hand already. You’ll need Confectioner’s Sugar, Peanut Butter, Brown Sugar (dark or light), Vanilla, Butter (or margarine), and some Chocolate chips. 

Place butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave this for 1-2 minutes, or until everything is melted.

You can do this on the stovetop if you prefer.

Stir it until smooth and creamy, preferably with a little piggy spoon.

Add in your vanilla and stir that well.

Add in confectioner’s sugar and stir that up really well, too. At first, it will seem like it is going to be too dry but keep stirring and it will come together into a dough. If you find after stirring it that they are still a little dry, you can melt 1/4 cup more peanut butter and add to it BUT this is the exact recipe I use and I’ve never had to add more.

All ya need is a little faith, trust, and pixie dust!

Here is our dough.

Now take off pinches and roll it into balls.

Mine are about 1 – 1+1/2 inch balls. You can also make smaller ones and make mini peanut butter cups if you like.

Press the ball into the muffin paper with your fingers like this.

Repeat until all of the dough is used up.

This will make about 24 full sized peanut butter cups and a gazillion mini sized ones. I’m estimating on the quantity of the minis

I don’t put chocolate on the bottom, only on the top. It is easier and you get more of that yummy peanut butter taste that way. A lot of folks will try to put chocolate on bottom and spread it up the sides to make these look like store bought but I think that when you take homemade treats and try to make them look store bought, you’re kind of demeaning them. When did we start to think store bought was best? That’s crazy! Give me a hand iced cake with bumps and ripples and a homemade peanut butter cup with no chocolate on the bottom any day of the week.

Pour about 2 cups of chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and nuke that for about a minute.

Stir. Nuke one minute more, or until it is all melted, and stir again. 

Note: Make sure no water gets into your chocolate. Not even one little drop because it will cause it to clot something terrible.

I guess I should say microwave it. Nuclear phrases lose their dazzle when you live as close to nuclear plants as I do. Funny story about that (if you are a sadist)… When I was in middle school, it was tradition that each year the eighth graders got to go to Opryland for a day trip. This field trip was a grand send off, the culmination of our middle school years before we headed off to High School. Kids looked forward to it for the entire time they were at that school, beginning in kindergarten.

Then I got to eighth grade.

That year, that one year, they decided to do something different. Something more educational. Instead of the trip to Opryland, they took us on another field trip.

Two nuclear plants in one day.

Yes. We got to tour nuclear plants. Now this was back in those days when the threat of nuclear war was something every kid had nightmares about. It was the height of our generation’s Cold War and around the time The Day After was released. While all other eighth graders rode the Wabash Cannon Ball, we went in elevators down deep into the earth to rooms ensconced in gray concrete to listen to engineers explain how reactors worked – Twice.

Fascinating stuff, that.

Next year, they went back to the Opryland trip but by then I was already navigating the halls of an overtly cliquish high school while focusing my energies on feeble attempts to call upon my powers of invisibility.

Stir it up really well and you’re ready to top your peanut butter cups.

Top each cup with a good spoonful of chocolate.

Once you have a few topped, go ahead and spread it around.

I start by banging my muffin tin on the table a few times.

Then I use the back of my spoon to spread it the rest of the way. If you make a circular motion with your spoon it makes the tops pretty Place these in the refrigerator once you have them all topped, until the chocolate hardens.

Store room temp (or fridge if you prefer) and try to eat within a week – which has never been a problem at my house

This photo is from my friend Conni at The Foodie Army Wife. I took her some of these in this cute little box I happened to have and she posted this photo on her instagram. I immediately texted her and asked if I could use it for this post and she agreed. Thanks, Constance!

~Unknown

<!–

–>