Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

  Who doesn't love Reese peanut butter cups?  Wouldn't it be great to have a slightly healthier, homemade alternative?  I found this recipe on Pinterest that I think you will love!  Of course, I did some tweaking of my own.  I absolutely love dark chocolate, the darker the better.  It has two benefits really.  More antioxidants and the richness of it will prevent you from eating too many!  Well, that's the idea anyways!  ;) 

  Here's a piccie of the final result, along with a background shot of the board game, Hansa Teutonica.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups  (makes 18 cups)

Peanut Butter Mix:

• 1/2c of crunchy peanut butter (or smooth if you want)
• 2 Tbsp butter (can be subbed or omitted to make this vegan)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3/4c of powdered sugar, sifted

 Chocolate Mix:

•  350g of bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2c of powdered sugar (if using a semi-sweet chocolate, you can omit)
• 2 Tbsp of vegetable shortening (I used the vegan EarthBalance brand)

1. First, heat up the peanut butter with the butter and sugar.  Stir constantly.  When it has reached a boil, remove from heat.  Slowly add the powdered sugar.  If it's not too hot, put it into the fridge to cool down.  Don't forget to put something underneath it in the fridge!
2. While the peanut butter is cooling, start a double boiler (pot of boiling water with a bowl on top) to melt the chocolate.  Add the sugar and shortening and wait until the chocolate is melted to stir around.
3. Once the chocolate is melted, spoon a tbsp into each 18 muffin cups.  Then place on a cookie sheet in the fridge to cool down.  
4. After about 30m the chocolate bottoms and peanut butter should be cooled enough.  Roll the pb into little balls and flatten them a bit inside of the muffin cups.
5. Next, spoon the rest of the chocolate into the muffin cups to cover the pb and place back in the fridge to set.
6. Once they are cooled, maybe another 30m, they will be ready to eat.  Don't forget a napkin, because these dark chocolate peanut butter cups can get messy, but they are oh-so-good!