Something Sweet: Salted and Crunchy Reese's

If you agree with me when I say that peanut butter and chocolate is one of the best food combinations ever created, then you will love this recipe!  I thought it would be fun to create my own Reese's cups but add in a few of my favorite ingredients, salt and pretzels, to give this recipe a crunchy and savory touch! I also decided to make half of the Reese's with white chocolate...and they turned out delicious!

I would like to point out that I was first inspired by the "Fluffer Nutter Cups" over at Miss Anthropist's Kitchen (which I must say, look mighty yummy!)

Click below to view my recipe and tutorial!


Salted and Crunchy Reese's

Ingredients
Approx 2 heaping 1/2 cups chocolate candy melts
Approx 2 heaping 1/2 cups white chocolate candy melts
Tbl Kosher salt
24 bite size pretzels
*Mini cupcake liners and a mini cupcake pan
*Disposable frosting bag, or Ziploc bag

For the peanut butter filling...
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Step 1. Pour 1 heaping 1/2 cup of chocolate melts into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second increments until the chocolate is completely melted (stir chocolate in-between each 30 sec increment).

Step 2. Place the mini cupcake liners into the cupcake pan. 

Step 3. Using a spatula, fill a frosting bag or Ziploc bag with the melted chocolate and cut off the tip. 

Step 4. Starting from the top, fill each cup with chocolate. Make sure the sides and bottom are covered fairly well. (If you are doing 1/2 white chocolate like I did, only fill 12 of the cups). 

Step 5. Using the backside of a small spoon, smear the chocolate on the sides of the paper liners. Start at one point and glide the spoon around the perimeter of the cup in a circular motion (shown below). Make sure the sides and bottom are completely covered in chocolate. 

Step 6. Sprinkle some kosher salt into each chocolate cup, then repeat these same steps but use white chocolate for the remaining 12 cups.

Step 7. Let the chocolate cups sit in the fridge while you prepare the peanut butter filling. To make the filling, first cream the butter and peanut butter in a bowl with an electric mixer. 

Step 8. Then add the vanilla and powdered sugar and stir until everything is well incorporated. 

Step 9. Take the chocolate cups out of the fridge and fill each one with about 1 tsp of peanut butter filling.

Step 10. Now place 1 pretzel into each cup and top it off with a little more peanut butter (so the pretzel is sandwiched between the PB). Make sure not to over-fill the cups.

Step 11. Heat 1/2 heaping cup of regular and white chocolate and smear it over the top of each cup, making sure the yummy insides are covered well. (refer to step 1)

Step 12. Sprinkle a little more kosher salt on top of the chocolate cups.

Step 13. Let the chocolate harden in the fridge. When you take them out, you may have to run a knife around the edges of the peanut butter cups to free and chocolate that may have spilled over the edge.

Carefully take your homemade peanut butter cups out of the pan and enjoy!