I’ve bombarded this site with enough lunch and dinner recipes to last you guys for a week I think, so let me break the monotony by introducing one of my most favorite desserts of all time—Peanut Butter Cups. You’re probably wondering why I can’t just suggest you buy yourself a good bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (which I am currently munching on as I type this).

I’m close to saying just forget the idea of making your own cups and grab the keys and head off to your local sweet store, but there’s something fulfilling about smelling the peanut butter and chocolate while it cooks and then finally popping the cup in your mouth.

Ingredients:

* 1 pound milk chocolate, tempered or coating milk chocolate
* 1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
* 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Procedure:

Special equipment: fluted candy cup molds

* To temper the chocolate: Chop the chocolate in to small pieces and place in a bowl over barely simmering water to melt. Bring the chocolate up to 113 degrees F. Turn off the heat, remove the bowl from the simmering water, and let cool, stirring until it reaches 82 to 86 degrees F. It will begin to set a little around the edges at this point. Return the bowl to the hot (now turned off) water for a few seconds at a time, until it reaches 88 to 91 degrees F. Do not let it go over 91 degrees or it will go out of temper.
* Pour melted milk chocolate in a candy mold with individual fluted cups to coat the insides. Pour the excess chocolate back into the bowl and let set or chill to set.
* Meanwhile, mix the peanut butter with the confectioners’ sugar. Using a small spoon or pastry bag with a large plain tip fill each chocolate cup with the peanut butter filling leaving room for a chocolate seal and chill slightly.
* Using a paper cone or pastry bag filled with melted milk chocolate, fill in the surface of the cups to enclose the filling with chocolate. Let set, and then turn out of the mold.

Make sure not to overcook the chocolate. Burned chocolate may smell good, but they never taste as good when they’re melted properly. After finishing, make sure you’ve given yourself a tap on the back before popping these goodies in your mouth.