Filed Under: Dessert | Homemade

A Homemade Kitchen: Peanut Butter Cups

Recipe By Tessa Arias

May 7th, 2011

21 Comments

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Homemade Peanut Butter Cups taste infinitely better than store bought ones, plus they're easy to make!

Yield: 2 dozen cups

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Last week I kicked off a new series called A Homemade Kitchen with a tutorial for creating peanut butter at home. I was thrilled to realize that I’m not the only person who thinks homemade is a thousand times better than store-bought! Homemade is better for your budget, body, and taste buds. The post ended up being much more popular than I could have imagined so I know you guys will love today’s recipe, which happens to be the one I promised on last week’s post.

Today’s recipe incorporates last week’s homemade peanut butter into one of my favorite candies – peanut butter cups. Except when made at home there are no hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, or preservatives. Not to mention homemade peanut cups taste infinitely better than store-bought ones. When I took my first bite into a homemade peanut cup months ago I literally shouted, “YES!” because they were so damn good.

This recipe would be really fun to make with kids, too. All it entails is surrounding sweetened peanut butter with melted chocolate and refrigerating. Pretty simple. Yet so, so, so good. And, don’t feel bad if you need to use store-bought peanut butter, just make sure to avoid the ones with hydrogenated oils and pounds of sugar (especially since this recipe adds sugar). If you’re concerned about the confectioners’ sugar in this recipe, you could try to substitute honey or agave nectar, although the texture might be affected.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

How to make

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Yield: 2 dozen cups

Total Time: 2 hours

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups taste infinitely better than store bought ones, plus they're easy to make!

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter, preferably homemade
1/4 - 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet, if you prefer)

Directions

Line a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
Mix together peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl until smooth and well-combined. Taste and adjust sugar and salt as necessary. Set bowl in fridge to chill.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 15-second bursts until smooth and shiny. Drop teaspoonfuls of the melted chocolate evenly into prepared mini muffin cups, reserving the remaining chocolate. Using a small spoon or small silicone pastry brush, push the melted chocolate up the sides of each mini muffin cup. Place muffin tin in fridge until chocolate is firm, up to 30 minutes.
Once chocolate is firm, remove muffin tin from fridge. Remove peanut butter mixture from fridge. Top chocolate cups with teaspoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture, pressing mixture down with your finger to smooth out. Top peanut butter with teaspoonfuls of the remaining melted chocolate. Return muffin tin to fridge and chill until peanut butter cups are set. Peanut butter cups can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from All Recipes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

Recipe by Tessa Arias

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Find Tessa on

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All Comments Questions I Made This

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Tracey — May 7, 2011 at 4:18 pm

These look incredible Tessa! Reese's are my favorite candy so I'm not sure why I've never attempted a homemade version.

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Melissa — May 7, 2011 at 4:35 pm

This sounds so cool. Saving this one for baking day with the kids.

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Stacey — May 7, 2011 at 7:48 pm

Looks good! Can't wait to try them!!!

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lisamichele — May 8, 2011 at 1:08 am

These look fantastic! Sawt hem on foodgawker and was completely wowed!

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lemonsandanchovies — May 8, 2011 at 4:34 am

I'm sold on homemade peanut butter cups, too. They were a byproduct of another recipe that became a fast favorite. Love you version, too. 🙂

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Caroline — May 9, 2011 at 4:53 am

Those are so beautiful! A definite must-try! :
)

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Melissa — May 9, 2011 at 10:34 am

Mmmm… those look absolutely decadent and I would love to try them.

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Susan — May 9, 2011 at 1:28 pm

I love that the filling doesn't include 17 pounds of butter like another recipe I saw did, I'll definitely be trying these. I'm always looking to health things up, and if you're craving peanut butter cups — these seem like the way to go. My kids will worship you. :0)

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Rachel — May 9, 2011 at 2:26 pm

Oh my word. These look amazing. I can't wait to try them.

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Lori @ RecipeGirl — May 9, 2011 at 4:48 pm

I've always wanted to make these things! They turned out great!

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Maris — May 9, 2011 at 4:53 pm

These look absolutely perfect!

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Jenelle — May 11, 2011 at 1:53 am

Tried and loved it! Maybe with dark chocolate next time

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Lucy — May 11, 2011 at 5:02 pm

Just made a batch and put them in the fridge – looking forward to a tasty treat later!

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Cookin' Canuck — May 11, 2011 at 7:32 pm

I love that these are free of all the bad stuff (hydrogenated oils, etc) and full on flavor. I'm going to make these with my kids.

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Pretty. Good. Food. — May 12, 2011 at 1:26 am

Uh oh…this spells trouble! These look too amazing not to each every last one!

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Jen Schall — May 12, 2011 at 7:26 pm

These look just amazing! 🙂

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Pnutbuttercups — May 25, 2011 at 11:10 am

Wow! The Peanut Butter Cups photos are great. I am going to try your recipes. Nothing better than peanut butter and chocolate. I like your idea of home made peanut butter. I will suggest home made peanut butter to my friends over at pnutbuttercups.com. They also make peanut butter and Concord Grape Jelly Cups and peanut butter and Nutella cups.

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Zenzeroni — May 27, 2011 at 5:26 pm

See, living in the Uk, I'd barely even heard of peanut butter cups. I don't even like peanuts! But my boyfriend adores the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, so I think I'll have to make an exception to my 'no-peanuts in the bakery goods' rule.
I'm not sure if I'd make my own though, Brit peanut butter contains no sugar or hydrogenated fats anyway. I'm pretty sure it has palm oil though, so environmentalists might still shoot me.

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  handleheat — May 27, 2011 at 5:36 pm
  
  Honestly, I'm not a big fan of peanuts by themselves either. However, I adore these PB cups. You must try them! I think you'll like them, and if not at least your boyfriend will 🙂 That's awesome that Brit peanut butter is of such quality, wish more American companies would manufacture that way. Hahah, everything in the world is bound to piss off at least one group of people.
  
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Flygirls — August 24, 2011 at 10:34 pm

I made these this past weekend! They are soo good! I posted your recipe here http://3flygirlz.blogspot.com/2011/08/homemade-pe…

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GAIL STEVENS — February 18, 2014 at 8:15 am

Yum, what a deilcious site~!

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