Gluten-Free Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

When I found out that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were gluten-free, it was like Christmas come early. Reese's have always been one of my favorite chocolate treats. Salty peanut butter surrounded by a sweet, delicious, milk chocolate shell, what's not to love?? When I came across a recipe on Pinterest for homemade peanut butter cups, I knew I had to try them.

These peanut butter cups were actually pretty easy to put together, and no baking was required. The most time consuming part was simply waiting for the layers to harden in the freezer. Not only were the cups easy to make, they were SO good. Maybe it's just because they were homemade, but I almost think I liked them more than Reese's...the jury is still out. 

Gluten-Free Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

You will need:
1/2 cup Jif creamy peanut butter (or other gluten-free peanut butter)
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
16 ounces Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips

1) Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners

2) Melt half of the chocolate chips in the microwave. Tip: heat the chips on high in 20 second increments and stir in between. Once there are still just a couple lumps, remove and continue stirring until smooth. Total time will be about a minute to a minute and a half. 

3) Distribute the chocolate into each lined muffin cup. If the chocolate does not flatten/smooth out, simply drop the pan repeatedly on the counter several times. Place pan in freezer for 15 minutes. 

4) Meanwhile, whip the butter, peanut butter, and confectioner's sugar in a mixer until light and creamy. Make sure to taste test the peanut butter mixture to ensure the sweetness is to your preference. Layer the peanut butter mixture on top of the chocolate layer by tablespoonfuls. Again, to flatten the layer, drop the pan repeatedly on the counter. Return the pan to the freezer for 15 minutes.
 
5) Melt the remaining half of the chocolate chips. Place a small amount of chocolate on top of the peanut butter layer. You will want to do one cup at a time and flatten it out before moving onto the next cup. Since the peanut butter layer is frozen, the chocolate will start to harden, so you will want to move quickly. Once all the cups are covered in chocolate, return the pan to the freezer for yet another 15 minutes.

You may store the peanut butter cups in the fridge for a crunchier treat, or at room temperature for a softer cup. Enjoy!

Adapted from Fifteen Spatula's Homemade Peanut Butter Cups