With Halloween in the rear view mirror and the holiday season coming up fast, candy is all over the place. One of the most popular candies by far is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Seriously, try to name three people who don't like them--not counting people with peanut allergies.
While perusing Pinterest recently, I noticed quite a few people pinning make-your-own-Reese's recipes. No doubt the sudden popularity can be attributed to people wanting to cut back on overly processed food this time of year.
It made me wonder, does this really work? Anyone who has tried a Reese's, or attempted to dip plain old peanut butter in melted chocolate to recreate the experience (what, just me?), knows that there is definitely more to it than just the two hallmark ingredients. So, I picked one of the recipes and decided to try for myself.
The recipe calls for:
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- \0xBC cup softened butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 11.5 oz. bag chocolate chips
- 1 Tbsp. shortening
The instructions say to mix together the peanut butter, softened butter, and powdered sugar until a dough forms. It warns that you will probably have to use your hands. I did. Once the dough stays together in a play dough-like consistency, roll it out on wax paper.
If you don't have a rolling pin, you can place another piece of wax paper on top of the dough and press it flat with a glass baking dish, like me. Work with what you have.
-The instructions say to press it to \0xBC inch thickness, but the beauty of making it yourself is you decide how thick or thin you want the peanut butter patty. I tried a few at \0xBC inch thickness and a few at \0xBD inch.
-Once the dough is flattened, cut out the shapes. A cookie cutter or the clean lid of a spice shaker makes this easy. If you don't have either, simply cutting with a knife works fine.
-Place the cut outs on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and put it in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate. Empty the bag of chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl and add the shortening. For authenticity, I used milk chocolate chips.
-Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until everything is melted and smooth. It took me two intervals, but I have a low-powered microwave. Be sure to watch it, because shortening can catch fire if it gets too hot too quickly. A double boiler could be used instead of a microwave if you want to be more careful.
-Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, get your peanut butter patties out of the freezer and find some elbowroom to work in.
-If you want traditional peanut butter cups, place cupcake liners in a muffin pan. If you plan to dip different shapes, make sure you have wax paper ready to go. The instructions say to use toothpicks to maneuver the patties in the chocolate, but I found one fork and one toothpick made it easier to flip, coat, and lift.
-Let the excess chocolate drip off before placing the chocolate-dipped peanut butter patty onto the wax paper. I did some guesswork to make the cups. I found that adding a spoonful of chocolate to the cupcake liners, letting it set for about a minute, then placing a patty in the middle and covering it with more chocolate got the best results.
-Once you've dipped or covered all of the peanut butter patties, place them in the fridge so that chocolate will harden. This took mine about 30 minutes.
After they set, take them out and voila! You just made your own peanut butter cups. The number of pieces that the recipe yields will depend on how thick you make the peanut butter patties. I ended up with about 18 thinner pieces and 6 thicker.
The only major flaw I found with this recipe is that one bag of chocolate chips is not enough. I ran out before I finished dipping my patties. I recommend buying at least two bags, especially if you plan to make the iconic cups. They require more chocolate than dipping.
Other than that, the taste is spot on. The peanut butter middle tastes just like the one in a Reese's. It has that sweet, nutty flavor and unique texture that absolutely melts in your mouth that makes the pre-packaged candies so irresistible.
While this recipe took a little over an hour total, I'd say it is worth it on occasion. For large events, buying good ole Reese's in bulk may be the best option. This would be a great recipe to make for a smaller party or tailgate if you want a more natural treat.
No added preservatives here. You can amp up the health factor even more by customizing the recipe to your own tastes. Use natural peanut butter to decrease the amount of hydrogenated oil and sugar. Use dark chocolate chips to add antioxidants and cut back on sugar and fat. Substitute shortening for butter in the patty mixture to reduce the amount of saturated fat. Allergic to peanuts? Make the recipe with almond butter. Really, the options are endless.
Do you have a Pinterest recipe that you want tested? Email intrigue@theplainsman.com with the link and your suggestion may be featured in Tried and True!
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
