Peanut butter cups are a simple, well-loved treat that are fun to make. They’re easy, cheap, addictive and you don’t need an oven. I’m in.

My friend brought these up to my cottage earlier this summer, and needless to say they were devoured. I’ve always been a fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups but I find them to be a little salty (and over-priced as usual for junk food) so making them at home was perfect. She adapted the recipe from the Joy of Baking.

I don’t own a double-boiler and I’ve had some failed attempts at making my own in the past, so although I’m not a huge fan of microwaving foods I used it for this recipe. Feel free to melt the chocolate in whichever method works for you, as long as you stir consistently so it doesn’t burn or clump.

I made some large and some mini cups, so feel free to experiment with size as well. I wrote out the exact directions below, but you essentially want the chocolate to cover the peanut butter filling that’s in the middle. I also played around with using white candy melts for some of them which turned out well too.

Ingredients

Makes roughly 72 mini cups or 24 large cups

Filling:

• 1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter (I used smooth), such as Kraft or Skippy
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Cups:

• 3 1/2 cups milk chocolate discs (or chopped up larger chocolate)
• 3 1/2 cups dark chocolate discs (or chopped up larger chocolate)

**For the cups, I experimented with white chocolate as well. Feel free to layer the chocolates if you’re feeling up to it.

Method

Depending on whether you choose to make mini or large peanut butter cups, line the proper sized muffin tins accordingly with paper liners.

In a large heatproof bowl, mix peanut butter, butter and salt with a fork. Place bowl in the microwave and heat in 20 second intervals for a total of one minute. Remove, stir in confectioner’s sugar until all clumps have disappeared, and set aside.

Melt both the milk and dark chocolate together in a double boiler, or microwave in small batches to melt. Make sure the balance between milk and dark is even.

For the mini cups: Spoon a teaspoon of melted chocolate mixture into each paper liner. Add a small teaspoon of peanut butter filling in the middle, and top off with more melted chocolate until the peanut butter is covered.

For the large cups: Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted chocolate mixture into each paper liner (chocolate should be just under 1/3 of the cup). Add a large tablespoon of peanut butter filling in the middle, and top off with more melted chocolate until the peanut butter is covered.

Allow peanut butter cups to cool in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Remove paper liners and store in airtight containers; you can leave the liners on for less mess, the removal is more for appearance.