Home-made peanut butter cups
These homemade peanut butter cups come from the cookbook ‘No Bake Makery‘ and are totally delicious. I also totally loved the sound of this book – ‘No Bake Makery: 80 Two-Bite Treats Made with Lovin’, Not an Oven‘ – I mean who wouldn’t?
Even though I’m rather obsessed with baking in an oven, I was a little intrigued and charmed by the notion of a collection of recipes of tiny sweet treats. The book is written by Cristina Suarez Krumsick who is of Cuban origin and lives in Brooklyn NYC.
The concept was born out of a desire to entertain without sweltering in front of the oven, which then turned into – as is often the case when someone is really passionate about something – a small business. The business led to a whole lot of questions from people wanting to make these sweet treats themselves, and this led to the book which is an answer to these questions.
This is a fun and endearing book about fuss-free two-bit desserts for all occasions. With clear step by step instructions, you will be mastering a few new techniques like tempering chocolate, drizzling and dipping (see what I did there?).
The books is divided into 7 chapters: truffles, clusters & bark, fudge & bars, mini pies & cakes, cold cravings & pudding, candy & cookies and breakfast for dessert. Its is further divided by special occasions and holiday, like Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I selected to make the ‘hey, butter cup‘ recipe, which is Cristina’s answer the classic peanut butter cup. Having not grown up with this in South Africa, but falling in love with it when I first visited the US, I thought it was the perfect one to try.
*Notes on the recipe: I used my mini cupcake baking tin, which made 24 small and deep cups. Cristina didn’t specify the size of the pan and hers looked a little flatter in the pics. I found I needed a bit more chocolate and I had leftover peanut butter filling which I rolled into balls, dipped in more melted chocolate, and made a few peanut butter truffles. Delicious.
I also decided to use a dark Valrhona chocolate with 70% cocoa solids as this is fabulous chocolate to work within dessert making.
After making the peanut butter filling, I found it didn’t set as quickly as I would have liked, so I popped it into the freezer until it set. It was then super easy to roll into balls.
Recipe | Hey, Butter Cup from No Bake Makery
Makes 24 treats
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup salted creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 ¼ cups dark or milk chocolate
- chopped into quarter-size pieces or Wilton Candy Melts
- Sea salt optional
Instructions
- Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar. Once the mixture is completely melted and begins to bubble lightly, remove it from the heat.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until smooth.
- Let sit until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.
- Melt and temper 1 cup of the chocolate (or melt 1 cup of Wilton Candy Melts), and pour just enough into each muffin cup to cover its bottom.
- Tap the tin gently against a hard surface to even out the chocolate.
- Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Roll the peanut butter mixture into teaspoon-size balls, using your hands, and place on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing evenly. They may flatten immediately, depending on how warm your mixture is. If
- they don’t, use your hands or a rubber spatula to flatten the balls into disks about ½ inch thick. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- To assemble your peanut butter cups, place one peanut butter disk on top of each chocolate-coated liner, making sure to leave room on the sides and top of the cups.
- Melt and temper the remaining 1¼ cups chocolate (or melt the remaining Wilton Candy Melts), and pour it on top of the peanut butter filling. Once again, tap the tin gently against a hard surface to even out the chocolate.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until solid. Sprinkle with salt, if using.
These peanut butter cups were utterly delectable, far better than anything that is commercially available (that I have found). I must warn you that the filling is so moreish, its difficult to get them into the cups.
A few of my other favourite sweet recipes:
Spicy buttercrunch brittle with roasted nuts
Toffee, salted pretzel, and chocolate bark
White chocolate & green tea fudge
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I saw the cookbook at B&N the other day and I love all the different parfait/trifle ideas. Great giveaway!
My favourite no-bake dessert is homemade ICEBOX CAKE! With homemade whipped cream (never ever cool whip)! So easy: pick your cookies or crackers, add homemade whipped cream, pick some add-ins like chocolate or nutella. Let it sit in the freezer a while. No one wants to turn on their oven on a hot summer day!
I would love to try more no-bake desserts if I win the No Bake Makery cookbook!
OMG…”Hey, butter cup?” Say no more…I’m hooked!
I just finished making a 60 year old recipe that my dear mom used to make…she always wanted us to have a sweet, now and then, but really couldn’t afford much. Oatmeal Chocolate/Peanut Butter No-bake cookies. Omg, it took me way back and my daughter loved them. Cocoa powder instead of chocolate for fiscal reasons. :-))
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My favorite no bake sweet is candy! lol ….. Therefore, this book would be great for me. And living in Florida, even better! Because no one wants to turn on the oven in the summer here! Yay!
I make homemade almond joy bites – coconut, coconut oil, vanilla and a smoked almond all coated in dark chocolate! The whole process takes 30 minutes or less and believe me these little bites barely last 5! Yummy, yummy fun treat to share!!
Good old fashioned coconut ice – in two colours, palest pink and white, gently layered on top of each other, then nestled in a tissue paper lined cake tin: for ‘fun-at-the-fair-school-fete-giggly-teenage-sleep-over’ jolt of deja vu and joy. Makes the kids run giggling around the house when it’s raining.
I love peanut butter cups, these look fabulous! My current favorite no bake dessert is ice cream pie.
Fabulous recipe & book. I love no-bake treats because when we lived in Southern Nevada & the idea of turning on the oven most of the year was really unappealing. Because of this my love for making yummies without baking grew & grew. Something tasty & quick is always at the top of my list.
Stunning post. Drooling.
I don’t bake. My mom didn’t, and I just never learned how. When I try to bake a cake, failure is the normal outcome. I do love fudge, and make it at Christmas time. Always wanted to learn to make pralines, but alas. Maybe with your delightful sounding book!! Thanks for the post, you continue to astound me.
I can’t make up my mind so I am going to say No bake Cheesecake w/Cherries on top.Also Chocolate Haystack cookies. I would love to have this cook book because summer is here and it’s too hot to be cooking all the time…
I could eat that whole tray. YUM!!
My favorite no-bake dessert is an ” Oreo Delight!” Crushed Oreo cookies. At different times of the year they have different flavors and colors. Christmas the cream is red and pepperminty, St Patricks Day the cream is green, and another minty flavor. Anyhow, you get the idea. You mix the crushed cookies with room temperature cream cheese. Roll the ‘dough’ into small balls and chill them. When firm enough , dip into semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate ….. it’s all up to you. Chill again and enjoy ! These delights taste like a trufel ( tra-fel) !!
Gosh that does sound delicious Denise, and I’m not even a fan of coconut. I think you had me at smoked almond 🙂
I would love to have this cookbook because I love to bake, but turning on my oven in the summer in the deep South is HORRENDOUS!!! This would give me the opportunity to have sweet treats without the heat 🙂
I love making the classic no-bake cookie. So easy but so delicious.
Pretzel rods dipped in melted chocolate and then drizzled with white chocolate are a very easy no-bake treat. Everyone loves it when I bring them to parties. The white chocolate drizzle can be tinted any color to match the occasion.
For last thanksgiving, I made a chocolate bark that was quite different, but amazing. I combined crushed oreos, peanuts, and candy corn and laid it out flat, then covered it with white chocolate. It sounds like an odd combination, but it is absolutely amazing!
I make a PB pie that’s no bake. Basically PB and ready whip in a premade graham cracker crust. Drizzle a lil chocolate over it. It’s amazing, quick, easy and people will be licking their plates! I’d love to win because after moving out of a home where I never had to cook because of my phenomenal mom-chef – I realized that I actually enjoyed cooking! I’m still fairly new at it so every cookbook/blog I can get is helpful!!!
Since I am originally from Ohio (the Buckeye state), my favorite no-bake treat is Buckeyes!!! Similar ingredients to these cups, but they are in the shape of a ball, leaving a little peanut butter exposed to resemble a buckeye. They are the best & I’ve eaten them every year of my life!
no bake cheesecake is a quick & easy recipe!
mt favorite no bake treat are peanut butter cups, hands down!!!
My husband loves peanut butter cups! With it being so hot and with a baby on the way no bake seems the way to go.
Love Love Love making sweets for family, friends and work buddies. I think this cookbook fits the bill completely. I would love to make the cheesecake with cherries yummy 🙂
My favorite no bake dessert is the Spring Breeze Cheesecake with heavy whipped cream instead of the cream cheese. It is so good with plenty of berries on top of course. And so pretty. I’d love to win this book.
Chocolate Bark with Roasted Pistachios, Chocolate-Covered Sunflower Seeds, and Sea Salt
Yay! I’ve been wanting this book so badly!
My favorite no-bake treat is scotcheroos, a version of rice crispy treats with butterscotch and chocolate frosting.
No-bake oatmeal cookies! So yummy! My mom makes them for special occasions! They are so good, I cant even tell you!!!!!
granita. hands down. 😉
My favorite no bake dessert are oreo truffles
Hey there, can you get the Valrhona chocolate in SA, or where would one order it?
Hi Ivona, Yes you can, you can buy in bulk from Wild Peacock – see the link to their site and contact details here: https://drizzleanddip.com/2013/05/27/pink-berry-and-white-chocolate-rocky-road
Sam these little delicious indulgences look divine
My favorite no bake dessert is Oreo dirt cake
These photographs are fantastic. I haven’t had a peanut butter cup in years but yours inspire me to make some!
Hi Kesha, I love the sound of Oreo dirt cake. Please supply recipe if you keen to share.
Thanks Anna, they were awesome too because of the quality of Valrhona chocolate that I used. This makes a big difference.
These are perfection and looks like a great book!
My favourite no bake dessert is peppermint crisp tart – yummy!
My favorite no-bake recipe to make is the Oreo ice cream layer dessert that I have grown up making with my mom! It’s always a hit! It has layers of Oreo, vanilla ice cream, fudge, cool whip, and peanuts. I am excited to try this because it is a dessert that I can leave out or people can snack on! I might use it at my sister’s bridal shower because she LOVES peanut butter and chocolate! Thanks!
You have me drooling over your Oreo cake Erin 🙂
You must be so tired of me saying: “Your pics and styling are absolutely beautiful!”, but I cannot help it! These peanut butter cups are looking delicious!
I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER TO BITS MORE THAN MY FRIENDS!!!!
these peanut butter cups are my favorite by far! peanut butter and chocolate..you can’t go wrong
My family’s favorite is Nanaimo bars. ( A sweet coconut, chocolate confection.)
I love the idea of peanut butter cups, a lovely combination of dark chocolate and creamy nutty peanut butter! One question though what would we substitute light corn syrup with in some of the recipes?
Hi Sheila the main purpose of using glucose in making confectionary is to prevent the cane sugar from crystallising. It acts a s a stabiliser, improving the texture of the sweets. Corn syrup / liquid glucose has dextrins in it which do this. It also helps give the candy a better shelf life. I am not sure if there is a substitute, other than to leave it out and simply replace the quantity with more sugar.
Ok so I don’t live in the States, but will def look out for this book, if and when it hits our shores. I love little snackie type desserts instead of these fussy duddy things. My Mum used to make a dessert with crushed Marie biscuits, coated in melted butter and syrup, squished into a piepan with a lavish layer of chocolate on the top. Set in the fridge, and cut into little biscuits. Heaven !… hhhmmmmm
I have always loved oreo “truffles,” which are pretty standard fare around these parts. I’d love to step up my game without cranking up my oven! Your peanut butter cups look gorgeous! Might I ask where you got your mini pan? Thanks!
Best,
Natalie
oystersandpearls.net
Hi Natalie, I’m not sure where you are living, but I bought my pan at the Baking Tin in Cape Town South Africa.
I just love the idea of recipes where you do not have to turn on the oven!
I still enjoy classic rice crispy treats!
My favorite no bake recipe is taking tea biscuits, dipping them in coffee until soaked and putting a layer down in a 9×13 pan. I then layer home-made ice cream on top, and put another layer of coffee soaked biscuits. I repeat with another layer of ice cream and then just keep it in the fridge until it’s time to eat! Best eaten on hot summer days when you least want to be in front of a oven.
I love the concept of this book. I tend to overcook treats and with three little ones under the age of five I love a treat that is simple and doesn’t require the oven. I would love a copy. I need to make these peanut butter cups.
I would love this book. I need a way to make treats without turning on the oven with three little ones under five. I also love this peanut butter cup recipe. Sounds straight forward and this is one of my favorite treats.
I have an excellent no-bake eclair type dessert, uses graham crackers, pudding mix, finish with a chocolatey layer….
I love making peanut butter and corn flakes….don’t have a special name for them but YUMMY
I would adore this book because I really havent tried many no-bake recipes before, but I really find them interesting! I would definately dive quickly into this cookbook.
I just made these and I think I may have been teleported straight to heaven. Subtracted 1 tbsp of powdered sugar and added 1 tbsp molasses just for a little more unique flavor and sprinkled a bit a coarse sea salt on top. I am going to be making them again for my husband, but I’d like to try and substitute some whey protein for the sugars. I used an unsalted natural pb and drained the oil before I mixed it up, and I like how it’s a rich sweet taste, but still isn’t too… “preserved”, I guess. Anyway. Have a great day. Thanks!
Hi Jill. thanks for letting me know – so stunning that you made the recipe your own
sam x
Hi! Would this work if I used sunflower butter instead of peanut butter?
Hi Sky, Im afraid I have never tried sunflower butter. If it is a similar consistnecy to peanut butter, I am sure it will work. Needs to be firm
olá poderia me passar a receita em portugues. Obrigada
What a fantastic idea for a cookbook! I’d love to win a copy. The white candy with the orange bits in it looks great – wonder what exactly it is. White chocolate or divinity or…? For a nice no-bake sweet, I like making chocolate bark with dark and white chocolates and a variety of nuts for a quick gift occasionally. With the two colors swirled together and nuts peeking through it makes a pretty treat.