p e a n u t b u t t e r c u p s

I found a recipe for peanut butter cups posted on design*sponge a week or so ago and I just HAD to make them. It never occurred to me that they would be so simple to make, not to mention fun! So here is my version, adapted from Ashley English’s recipe. They taste delicious.

 

 

P E A N U T B U T T E R C U P S

200g dark belgian chocolate

200g milk belgian chocolate

2-3 plain digestive biscuits

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup vanilla infused icing sugar, sifted

generous pinch Maldon sea salt

 

L I N E a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

Take 100g dark and 100g milk, and C H O P into pieces. Place in a double boiler and melt the chocolate stirring it well to combine.

Pour a tablespoon of M E L T E D chocolate into each paper case and roll it around the sides by tilting each case in your hands, or use a pastry brush to get the chocolate about two thirds up the sides. Cover the tray in cling film and put in the fridge for about 15 minutes or until set.

Place your biscuits in a ziplock bag and S M A S H them with a rolling pin until they form fine crumbs. Put into a large bowl with the icing sugar, peanut butter and salt. Combine well and use your hand to help bring it all together into a smooth ball. Cut into 12 equally sized  pieces, and roll each one into a small ball.

Take the tray out of the fridge and D R O P a ball of filling into each case, pressing gently to flatten a little.

Now get the remaining chocolate, and M E L T in the double boiler as before. Once melted, and stirred well, pour a little over each cup until you’ve used up all the chocolate. It should cover the filling so you have none poking through the surface. Give the tray a gentle shake from side to side to knock out any air bubbles. Cover the tray in cling film and place it flat in the fridge for about an hour to set.

Makes 12. Lasts about 12 minutes.

 

l o u i s i a n a p e c a n p r a l i n e

I woke up today to find that bristol is under a blanket of snow. It’s beautiful! But instead of braving the cold, I thought I would stay in today and make something with what I can find in my cupboards (not a lot). This is a simple recipe that is more akin to the traditional praline recipes of the 19th century. There’s no cream or condensed milk, just a small amount of butter. The rest is sugar, water, pecans, and a dash of vanilla! YAY I have ALL these things!

 

 

P E C A N P R A L I N E

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup dark muscovado sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup pecan halves

2 tsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

 

To make the P R A L I N E , put  the sugars and water in a heavy based medium saucepan. Bring to the boil on a medium heat stirring occasionally until all the sugar crystals dissolve. This will only take a few minutes. Then with your hands, crush the pecan halves gently into the saucepan, so you have a variety of pecan pieces. Stir these into the sugar syrup, and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally. Cook for anywhere between 15-30 minutes, until the syrup begins to thicken and reaches setting point. You can test this by dropping a small amount on a saucer and putting it into the freezer for a minute. It should start to set pretty quickly if it’s ready and the mixture will look much more opaque at this point. If it just spills out on the saucer it needs longer.

 

 

When it’s ready, remove from the heat, add the butter and the vanilla, and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon unil it starts to stiffen slightly. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking tray lined with wax paper and leave it to set. If it goes too stiff to spoon onto the tray, just add a few drops of hot water and beat well to loosen the mixture.

You can either eat the morsels of candy goodness as they are, or crush and sprinkle over icecream etc… I am going to A T T E M P T to make some cookies with the praline later on today. So there may be another post on the way soon!