I’ve decided to kick off 2011 by do something a bit different with Chocolate Chip Thursdays! You can read more about the change
here.
In deciding on a January theme, I discovered that January is
National Candy Month. A bit ironic, I thought, as the majority of America tries to avoid that five-letter word in January. Not me, though! In fact, if it were nutritionally feasible, I’d follow Buddy the Elf’s four food groups of candy, candy canes, candy corn (duh!), and syrup.
The
January theme of Chocolate Chip Thursday is
Candy! And
Michelle is kicking things off quite deliciously if I do say so myself. Take it away, Michelle!
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Hi everyone! I’m Michelle from Hit the Bricks. I write about food, fitness, adventure and a healthy balance. I am so excited to be part of Chocolate Chip Thursday!
Did you know that January is National Candy Month? Neither did I. I love finding out about all these fun food celebrations! I’ve altered a recipe for a classic candy and given it a couple of twists. These peanut butter cups are easy and delicious. They’d be a great thing to bring to a party or give as a Valentine’s Day treat or to just have around the house!
I tried making some of these with natural peanut butter and some with Jif. I found the Jif easier to work with and the taste is a little better, but either tastes great. I also found the cups easier to coat when i put them in a mini muffin tin, spooned the chocolate in and then spread it out. I did make some that did not go into the tin, and those came out fine. Lastly, these taste best after they’ve been frozen and then transferred to the fridge for awhile.
Snow and winter make me happy, so I decided to go winter-white with these treats. And I put an extra little something on the inside. Have fun!
White Chocolate Mini Chip Peanut Butter Cups
2 cups (1 bag) white chocolate chips
2 tbsp shortening
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp mini chocolate chips
You will need 30 paper mini muffin cups.
Put chocolate chips and shorteninig in a pan over medium-low heat and melt, about 3-5 minutes. Brush the inside of each cup with approximately 1 teaspoon of chocolate to be about 1/8″ thick. Do not go over the sides of the cups. Refrigerate cups.
Melt the butter and peanut butter and stir together. Mix in the sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Fold in mini-chocolate chips.
Put about 1/2 tbsp of the peanut butter mixture into each cooled and hardened cup.
Top each cup with 1/2 tsp melted chocolate. Freeze for at least two hours.
Store refrigerated. Enjoy!