I wanted to sneak in another edible gift recipe this week. For all of you last minute gift seekers, this will do it! I've been thinking about making homemade peanut butter cups, but after browsing over recipes, I wasn't feeling inspired. Traditionally you would make the chocolate cup, most commonly out of chocolate chips. Then you would fill them with a peanut butter and powdered sugar filling. The end product is great don't get me wrong, but if I'm going to make these, I'm really going to make these well. I was pondering different fillings, or different chocolates, but I wasn't making progress. Then my coworker gave me a spoonful of Asian Jazz Yumbutter. Whoa baby.
Produced by the OM Boys Food Movement in Madison Wisconsin, this peanut butter is not only the best peanut butter I have ever tasted, but every time you buy a jar you help put an end to malnutrition in developing countries. Check out their website, www.yumbutter.com and get the lowdown. Asian Jazz Yumbutter is ground from peanuts grown in the US and blended with cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic, sea slat, and love. I just received my first case at the Co-op (check out the deli cooler), and we've already sold several!! As you can imagine, it sparked visions of alternative peanut butter fillings for my homemade peanut butter cups.
I settled on peanut butter ground fresh here at the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op. You can't beat freshly ground peanut butter,or so I thought. (I will note that fresh ground peanut butter reacts very differently than other peanut butters. The flavor is remarkable, but it lacks the creaminess of jarred peanut butter. I thought it made the filling a little on the dry side, but the flavor was great. I would suggest using a creamy, all natural peanut butter from a jar. One of my favorite things about blogging about food is that it is one part writing, one part cooking, and one part chemistry. Some times recipes work out, and sometimes there is room for further exploration.) After my Yumbutter experience I knew I wanted to add some subtle spice to the peanut filling, and I settled on Garam Masala. This spice blend contains black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, and cardamon. The flavors make me think of apple pie, or spiced cider. I also wanted to make the filling sweet, but not too sweet. I settled on sweetening the peanut filling with honey. This gave the filling the sweetness it needed, and I flavor of the honey paired well with the Garam Masala. I should also mention that I used equal parts dark and milk chocolate, but you could use one or the other, depending on your preference.
Homespun P.B. Cups
8 ounces dark chocolate
8 ounces milk chocolate
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Prepare a mini muffin pan with liners. The recipe yields one 24 count mini muffin pan's worth of P.B. cups.
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Spoon a teaspoon full of the melted chocolate into each muffin cup and swirl it around with the backside of a small spoon. You want to get the chocolate up the sides, making sure you have a thick layer of chocolate on the bottom as well as the sides. (This part is the most involved, and I promise it gets better after this.) Allow the cups to harder in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
Prepare the peanut butter filling by mixing the P.B, honey, Garam Masala, honey, vanilla, and salt.
Place a spoonful of the filling in each cup, filling it about 3/4 full- leave enough space to cover with chocolate.
Spoon a half of a teaspoon or so of chocolate over the filling, sealing the filling in, finishing the chocolate cup.
Sprinkle tops with flakes of sea salt, or garnish with a roasted peanut. Allow to chill in the fridge until set, about 10 minutes. Share with friends, family, and radio hosts! Belly up!!
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