A week or so ago, I posted a question about peanut butter cups, mainly
about the difference between fillings made from peanut butter and
(powdered) sugar, and one recipe (from Tyler Florence) that used a sort
of peanut butter mousse (whipped cream).

I've made both now, and think I can make some comments:

1) the qualitative difference between the two styles is pretty close, so
I'd have to give the edge to the peanut butter and sugar recipes, as
they are MUCH simpler. Stylistically, they are also closer to the
Reese's product, as the mousse filling is very light.
2) lesson learned: keep the bottom coat THIN. I found that it seemed I
needed more chocolate than I actually did, but in fact it works best
with a relatively thin coat--not thin enough that the liner showed
through, but still relatively thin. Before learning this (rather too
late) I found that I'd run out of chocolate for coating, but still had
plenty of filling. In fact, with the peanut butter mousse filling, I had
almost a cup of filling left over (after melting some additional chips
to finish the cover layer).
3) As instructed by various recipes, I cut the cupcake/muffin liners in
half. This may actually be TOO small. With the liners I had, it would
have been better to leave about 60% of the sides attached to the bottom
section--this might have helped with the leftover filling issue.
4) work on the cups one at a time. If you put some chocolate in
(especially the top layer) into several at once, the chocolate will
solidify, making it impossible to spread (due to the cold stuff
underneath).

Below are the recipes I used.

Top Secret Recipes version of Reese's® Peanut Butter Cups

12 paper muffin cups
One 12-ounce pkg. milk chocolate chips
1 cup reduced-fat peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Paper muffin cups and chocolate -- what a glorious day!*

1. Cut the top half off of the muffin cups so that they are shallower.
2.*Pour the chocolate chips into a glass bowl and melt them in the
microwave: Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes. Stir the chips gently,
and let them sit for a minute or so. If the chocolate needs more
melting, microwave those chippies again at half power for 30 seconds.
Stir gently. Continue the process, stirring gently as you go. But be
very careful not to overcook the chocolate or it'll seize up on you like
day old Carolina roof tar.*
3.*Using a teaspoon, spoon a portion of the chocolate into the middle
of a muffin cup. Draw the chocolate up the edges of the cup with the
back of the spoon. Coat the entire inside of the muffin cup with
chocolate and place it into a muffin tin. Repeat with the remaining
muffin cups and then put the whole muffin tin in the fridge so that the
chocolate hardens.
4.*Combine the reduced-fat peanut butter, powdered sugar and salt in a
medium bowl.
5. When the chocolate in the muffin cups has hardened, pop the
sweetened peanut butter into the microwave oven on full power for 1
minute. This will soften up the peanut butter so that it easily flows
into the cups.
6.*Spoon a small portion of peanut butter into each of the
chocolate-coated cups. Leave room at the top for an additional layer of
chocolate, which we'll add later. Pop the candy back in the refrigerator
to harden the peanut butter. This should take an hour or so.
7. When the peanut butter filling has hardened, re-melt the chocolate
chips in the microwave on half power for 30 to 60 seconds. Use a
teaspoon to spread a layer of chocolate over the top of each candy.
Chill the candy once again to set up the chocolate.
8. Finally, remember to take the paper off the outside of the peanut
butter cups before eating them. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)
Makes 12 candies.
--------------------------------
Frozen Peanut Butter Cups
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

*Recipe Summary

Prep Time:*30 minutes
Cook Time:*5 minutes

Inactive Prep Time:*20 minutes
Yield:*2 dozen
1 pound semisweet chocolate, cut in chunks
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 tablespoons chopped salted peanuts

Have 2 mini-muffin pans, a can of non-stick spray, a pastry brush, and a
package of paper/foil candy cups out and ready; clear some space in the
freezer.

Slowly melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water or in a
microwave set on high for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through the
heating time to smooth it out. Dot a bit of chocolate in the center of
each muffin cup and press a candy wrapper in the molds so it sticks in
place. Lightly spray the insides of the wrappers with a little non-stick
cooking spray. Brush about a tablespoon of the melted chocolate into the
paper liners, pulling it up the insides of the wrapper so it's all
coated. Stick the chocolate cups in the freezer to harden while making
the peanut butter filling. Keep the remaining melted chocolate warm so
it stays smooth; we'll need it again in a few minutes.

Combine the peanut butter, warm water, and honey in a mixing bowl,
blend with a whisk until smooth and thinned out a bit. Using a rubber
spatula, fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to make a
light mousse * don't overdo it, it's ok if there are streaks of cream in
the filling. Spoon the peanut butter mousse into a pastry bag filled
with a large plain tip. Take the chocolate cups out; they should be
pretty solid by now, and pipe the peanut butter mousse into the centers,
leaving room for a cap of chocolate. Freeze again for a few minutes just
so the mousse sets up a bit.

Spoon more melted chocolate on top to cover the peanut butter and fill
the cup to the top; spreading evenly with a knife so it's smooth and
level. Sprinkle a little chopped peanuts on top and stick the peanut
butter cups in the freezer to set up for 15 to 20 minutes. Invert the
muffin pans on a cutting board to pop out the peanut butter cups.

Episode#: FO1D37

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