Make homemade peanut butter cups in less than 15 minutes with only four ingredients! Twice the size of store-bought, these are great to give as gifts or store in the freezer for when you crave that chocolate and peanut butter combination!
If you love this recipe, you’re also going to love Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars or Chocolate Ritz Peanut Butter Cookies.
To me, there is no better mid-afternoon treat than a homemade peanut butter cup paired with a cup of hot coffee. Sometimes when I need a little motivation to get going on a project, that little dark chocolate dollop encased around salty creaminess is all it takes. I’ve been making them for years and bringing them to church events, showers and parties. Every single time (no kidding), I bring home an empty platter.
Adaptions
Before we get into the basic recipe, I want you to know how versatile this recipe really is!
- More Crunch. Use crunchy peanut butter or add some pretzel pieces to the melted chocolate.
- Fruity Flavor. Add some chopped dried cherries or some coconut to the mix.
- Dislike peanut butter. Try using almond butter or Nutella for the filling.
- Dark chocolate or white chocolate. Prefer white chocolate or dark chocolate? Go for it. No matter how you make them, they are guaranteed to be enjoyed.
- Coarse salt. I LOVE coarse salt on top of these. Before the chocolate fully hardens, sprinkle a little coarse salt – it’s the next level for flavor!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for making homemade peanut butter cups in their simplest form.
- Melting chocolate. I prefer using melting chocolate and not traditional chocolate chips. Melting chocolate allows them to harden and not melt in your hands.
- Peanut Butter. Use your favorite peanut butter in this recipe.
- Powdered Sugar. Sift the powdered sugar to get the best results. The sifting of the powdered sugar prevents lumps in the filling.
- Butter. Use salted or unsalted butter.
- Optional. I use coarse salt on top which takes them to the next level. See above for more adaptations.
How to Make Mini Peanut Butter Cups
- Stir. Start by stirring together peanut butter, softened butter, and sifted powdered sugar in a bowl until smooth. Once your filling is smooth and creamy, taste it to make sure you like it. Stick the entire bowl in the freezer to harden.
- Melt. Meanwhile, place small paper cups in a muffin tin. Melt chocolate wafers or your favorite melting chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl according to the package instructions. With a spoon, drizzle about the melted chocolate into each paper cup.
- Add. Next, take the chilled peanut filling out of the freezer, and with another spoon, add 1 tsp of filling onto the chocolate bottom and do a little shake with the pan to even it out.
- Drizzle. Using the remaining melted chocolate, drizzle it generously over the filling and shake with the pan again to make it smooth.
Recipe Tips
Decoration. I like to take my spoon and create that little dimple that you see in store-bought cups and then sprinkle some kosher salt on top. I’ve decorated them with whole peanuts, drizzled chocolate of another color, and even chocolate-covered espresso beans in the past. Use your imagination or… keep ’em simple.
Powdered sugar ratio. This powdered sugar ratio to peanut butter is based on using natural peanut butter with no added sugar. If sugar is in your peanut butter ingredient list, then I would use a little less than 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar.
Make-Ahead. These can be made days ahead before you need them! Let them fully cool and then store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
Storing. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature. You can also freeze them store them for up to 3 months frozen.
Freeze. Let the cups cool and harden before plating or freezing them.
And there you have it! You don’t need me to tell you to enjoy… I know you will!
More Chocolate Desserts
- Best Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipe
- The Microwave Easy Way to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzels
- Blonde Brownies with Nuts & Chocolate Chips
Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 12 oz. melting chocolate
- 1/3 Cup peanut butter
- 1/4 Cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 Tablespoon butter softened
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt optional
Instructions
- Stir together 1/3 cup peanut butter, 2 Tablespoon softened butter and 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar in a bowl until smooth. Stick the entire bowl of filling in the freezer to harden.
- Meanwhile, place mini paper cups in a mini muAccording to the package instructions, melt tin. Melt 12 oz of dark chocolate wafers or your favorite melting chocolate according to microwave instructions. With a spoon, drizzle about 1 tsp. of the melted chocolate into each paper cup.
- Next, take the chilled peanut filling out of the freezer, and with another spoon, spoon 1 teaspoon of filling onto the chocolate bottom and do a little shake with the pan to even it out.
- Using the remaining melted chocolate, drizzle it generously over the filling and do another shake with the pan again to make it smooth.
- Let the cups cool and harden before plating or freezing them.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2014. It has been updated with pictures and more detailed instructions. The recipe remains the same.
Comments & Reviews
How do you spoon frozen peanut butter filing into the cups ?
Hi Rick!
Sorry for the delayed reply! The recipe here assumes that you only have the peanut butter in the freezer between steps 1 and 3… so maybe 10 minutes? You wouldn’t want to leave it in and walk away for later. If it ends up getting too frozen, you can you thaw it on the counter until it’s soft enough to spoon. Hope that helps!
Hi,first of all thank you for sharing a great recepie this is my favorite candy, I will b making a lot ?. How long do I leave on freezer the first time & the second time?
Hello Ivonne!
The first freeze is for the peanut butter filling – to harden it before adding it on the bottom layer of chocolate. The second freeze is optional. If you are making these to serve at a later time, I recommend storing them in the freezer. If you are going to serve them within the next 48 hours, you can either refrigerate or leave them out on the counter in a container – — pending the house temp! 🙂 Let me know if that doesn’t answer your question!
My question is in 1 part of the recipe it says 1 tbs butter in the ingredients part then in procedure part it says 2tbs I’m not sure which one to use
Hey Seline!
Great catch! The ingredients list should say 2 T instead of 1 T of softened butter. It won’t make much difference either way, but I would go with the 2 T. Sorry about that! I just fixed it 🙂