homemade peanut butter cups

I briefly mentioned in this post that I had discovered Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream and how it rocked my socks off. That stuff didn't last 3 days in our freezer.

I've tried the classic American Reese's peanut butter cups (and my favourite, Reese's pieces), and think they are annoyingly delicious, but they definitely contain some questionable ingredients and are generally not the healthiest choice. I am not at all against having such snacks now and then, but I was convinced that I could try and whip up something similar at home, with fewer (and pronounceable) ingredients.

So I experimented, and it actually worked!

I'm sure this isn't an original idea and no doubt you can find countless versions of this on Pinterest, but here's what I did (and it was so easy & quick!):

Ingredients:
100g dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa Green & Blacks)
100g milk chocolate (Again, used Green & Blacks)
120g no sugar added smooth peanut butter 
10g agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup, can add more)

To make:
1) Prepare a mini muffin tin (or a regular one, or any moulds you like), line with mini muffin cases.
2) Heat half of each chocolate bar in the microwave until completely melted.
3) Fill each muffin case with 2 teaspoons of the melted chocolate, make sure it's levelled, place in fridge or freezer until hardened.
4) Stir the peanut butter with the agave nectar until mixed.
5) Once the chocolate is hardened, fill each muffin case with 2 teaspoons of the peanut butter mixture, level, place in freezer until hardened.
6) Repeat 2 & 3. Freeze until hardened, and then tuck in!

They can be stored in the freezer if you prefer them to be rock hard (E and I both preferred them frozen), but they can be stored in the fridge too - the peanut butter portion will just be a little softer. They are pretty virtuous as far as chocolatey treats go, and as with the B&J ice cream, these didn't last very long around here either.

And if you're thinking how cute those polka dot mini muffin cases are, me too.

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