-Vegetable oil cooking spray

-16 ounce creamy peanut butter ( I used Jif)

-1 stick of very soft unsalted butter

-6 TBS unsalted butter

-1 tsp vanilla

-2 cups powdered sugar

-6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

-Flaked sea salt, optional

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-Spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside

-Mix peanut butter, the stick of soft butter, and vanilla until well combined in a medium-sized bowl. Mix in powdered sugar, a half-cup at a time. It will be thick so I used a hand-held mixer. Spoon into the parchment-lined pan. It will be sticky. Put a little water on your fingertips to pat it in the pan.

-Place chopped chocolate and 6 TBS butter in a double boiler and slowly melt. Stir until well combined. Let it cool for about 2-3 minutes. Pour over the peanut butter mixture. Move the pan back and forth to cover the whole top.

-I altered this recipe. First, after about 5 minutes of covering the top with the melted chocolate, I sprinkled the top with flaked sea salt which tasted fabulous! Also, the original recipe says to keep the pan in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight then cut into squares.

That didn’t work so well. The peanut butter was way too soft to cut. When I popped them in the freezer for about 2 hours, they were much easier to handle. I put the cut squares in a container and stored them in the fridge. I wouldn’t advise keeping them at room temperature.

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Who doesn’t have a hankering for a peanut butter cup once in a while? I think these taste better than the candy in the orange wrapper and they’re so easy to make! It took less than 30 minutes to whip up a pan.

Click here for the original recipe from Martha Stewart. See above for my changes and, what I think, are definite improvements.

I made them for Valentine’s Day and I’ll probably make them for an Easter treat too. Watch out, they’re addicting! Hope you enjoy making and more importantly, eating them!