Chocolate Stained Kitchen: National Peanut Butter Lover's Day!!

When it comes to food, my love for peanut butter falls right behind chocolate. So, when I found out that today is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, I spent all day yesterday scouring the internet for peanut butter recipes. I was a bit limited in terms of what dish I would make because I wanted to limit ingredients that I would have to buy and I needed something that travels well since most of my creations/dishes are donated to my sister’s co-workers. And office food is tricky because it tends to sit out at room temperature, so that ruled out anything dairy-related. After a few hours, I decided to make peanut butter cups 2 different ways – regular peanut butter cups and churro style peanut butter cups. I used regular-sized cupcake paper cups because that was the only one I had in my pantry but next time I would like to use a smaller size. Also, I'm a dingbat and only remembered to take pictures of the churro peanut butter cup process. Oops.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Adapted from Picky Palate

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup smooth peanut butter

Optional:

Use 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to help the melting process of the peanut butter

Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals and stir after each internal. Melt peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals and stir after each interval. Pour 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate into each paper cup tablespoon scoop to completely cover the bottom of the paper cup. Scoop 1 tablespoon of melted peanut butter over the chocolate and carefully coat an even layer on top of the chocolate. Pour another 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate over the peanut butter, making sure to completely cover it in its entirety. Once completed, place it in the refrigerator to cool and harden. Serve cool, frozen or at room temperature.

Churro Peanut Butter Cups

After deciding to make peanut butter cups, I knew that I wanted to create a kind of peanut butter cup that I have never had before. I couldn’t find any recipes for churro peanut butter cups, so I created my own. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a churro but I remember that it has a cinnamon sugar flavor and grainy texture. So, I chose to use ground graham crackers, cinnamon sugar, and cinnamon in hopes of recreating that flavor/texture. I tried it and it wasn’t bad but in the future I might add brown sugar just for fun.

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup smooth peanut butter

¼ cup ground graham crackers

1 tbsp cinnamon sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

In a bowl, combine cinnamon sugar, cinnamon, and ground graham crackers. Using a food processor or magic bullet, grind the graham crackers until very fine. Sprinkle a dash of the “churro” mix on the base of each cupcake paper cup. Whisk ingredients together until it’s completely incorporated. Set aside. Follow the melting directions from above for the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Scoop 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate over the dry ingredients and completely cover the bottom of the cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter on top and gently smooth over to completely coat the chocolate. Sprinkle an even and thin layer of the churro mix on top of the peanut butter. Sprinkle an even and thin layer of the churro mix on top of the peanut butter. Scoop 2 tablespoons of the chocolate and completely cover the peanut butter. Sprinkle churro mix over each peanut butter cup. Place in the refrigerator until it has cooled and hardened.

Note: During the cooling and hardening process, feel free to lick the bowls and spoons. Once they have been licked clean, leave the kitchen and keep yourself busy to avoid checking on their readiness every 2 seconds or eating them before it has completely hardened….Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. =)

While the peanut butter cups were resting, I got my breakfast ready. I made my usual stove-top oatmeal with old-fashioned oats but the star ingredients for my toppings were peanut butter. I used 2 kinds: Sun Harvest crunchy peanut butter and Trader Joe’s Natural creamy peanut butter. I also added Great Harvest Cville Cluster Granola, which I received from OpenSky yesterday. Best.Granola.Ever!!!