Dark Chocolate Low Sugar Peanut Butter Cups

I've always loved peanut butter cups, but I'm pretty sensitive to sugar and I get a headache if something is too sugary. For years I've been wanting to make dark chocolate peanut butter cups, but the filling required way too much powdered sugar to get the right consistency.

Then my mom sent me some defatted peanut flour. At first, I really didn't know what to do with it, but I did some searching online and found that you can use it to make a candy filling. It has a very similar consistency to powdered sugar, so it can replace some of the powdered sugar.

Making the filling

Start with about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter. I get the Wal-Mart brand, and it's a bit too chunky--aren't they supposed to break up the peanut halves?--so I beat it with a meat mallet first to break up the big chunks, and I added a little creamy PB to help.

When you're satisfied with your peanut butter, add a big spoonful of peanut flour. Stir. It should get pretty moldable.

Melt a scant 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and stir the butter into the peanut butter mixture. Now it's wet and sticky again.

Stir in confectioner's sugar and salt until the filling is as sugary and salty as you want it. I think I used four small spoonfuls of confectioner's sugar and plenty of shakes of the salt shaker. It does not need to be very sugary, just enough to barely taste the sugar (same for the salt).

Now add peanut flour until it's back to the moldable consistency. Here is the peanut butter filling:

 

By this point, you may also have a mess (see above). Clean up the mess, take a deep breath, and get out the chocolate.

I've found the best source of good cheap chocolate is Trader Joe's. They sell a 500 gram package (that's more than a pound) for around $4. We don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, but I stocked up the last time I was in a city that had one, so I have plenty of chocolate. If all you have are chocolate chips, compare this recipe--they melt chocolate chips with shortening. In any event, you'll need about 3/8 lb. (6 oz.) of chocolate in order to do 25 candy liner sized cups.

Lining the cups

Technically, you're supposed to temper the chocolate, but that requires a candy thermometer (which I don't have), and I'd have to get out the stove and the stove would have to go right on my workspace. If you are fortunate enough to have a normal kitchen, a Google search will tell you how to temper the chocolate. It ends up looking better, more professional. But this is The Modest Kitchen, so here's the method I used.

Before you start, cover your workspace with wax paper. Cut chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a covered bowl in the microwave. Cook it for 30 seconds on 50% power, stir, and repeat those two steps until it's mostly melted.

Using a pastry brush, paint candy liners or mini cupcake liners with chocolate (there's a picture guide at this link). Put each one upside down on the wax paper and let it harden. This may take an hour or two. If you have a normal-size fridge, they will harden more quickly in the fridge. Tempered chocolate should harden very quickly.

 

 

Assembling the cups

When they are hardened, fill each one with the peanut butter filling and flatten it down with clean fingers. Leave a little bit of room at the top. Melt your chocolate again, if necessary. Use a spoon to spoon enough chocolate on the top so that the cup is filled. Let harden again. Store in fridge. Makes 25 candy liner sized cups.

 

Now you have a bit of chocolate left, but not enough to be worth saving. Of course, you don't want to waste it, so the only solution is to eat it. This is the best part.

Tips

My big mistake was that I painted 50 candy liner sized cups (smaller than mini cupcake cups) and then discovered I only had enough filling for 25. Fortunately, I hadn't licked the bowl or the utensils from the filling, so I made another batch of the filling, using the recipe above.

Also, when you're painting the cups, you're not trying to paint a paper-thin layer. It needs to be a couple of millimeters thick. A paper-thin layer will not behave very well, but of course you can still eat it.

When you're working with melted chocolate, tape your wax paper to the counter, and use enough wax paper to really cover the counter. When your hands are covered in chocolate (yes, they will be), you can't protect the counter if the wax paper slides (which it will).

Do not let the chocolate harden on the pastry brush and expect to use it again. Oops. I was so glad to find that a spoon worked better for the second go-round with the melted chocolate.

Honestly, this was a pretty easy recipe, although it did take some time. I just put on something enjoyable to listen to and went at it.