Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Two weeks until school starts and I have begun the annual ritual of reviewing my syllabi, which is not unlike reviewing scripture: the texts are canonical, the interpretations evolve. This year I'm adding Jhumpa Lahiri to the sophomore curriculum because it's long past time, and because "Interpreter of Maladies" does something that I want my students to understand: it shows how food carries culture across borders. The mother in Lahiri's stories cooks because cooking is the language she brought from a country she left, and the food is the vocabulary of belonging. I understand this. I understand this in my bones.

Sophie turned three on Sunday — or rather, she's been three since March, but the birthday party was this week because of scheduling. I drove to White Plains with a cake — a yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting, which is not a sophisticated cake but is the cake I made for David's third birthday and Rebecca's third birthday and every third birthday since, because three-year-olds do not require sophistication, they require chocolate frosting and the permission to put their hands in it. Sophie put her hands in it. I photographed the result. Some images are too precious for the internet. They stay in the phone, in the private gallery, in the place where grandmothers keep the things that are only theirs.

Marvin stayed home — David offered to come get him, but the drive and the noise and the two-hour party would have been too much. This is the calculus now: which events Marvin can handle and which will overwhelm him. I made the calculation. I made the cake. I left Marvin with the aide who comes twice a week now — a small woman named Gloria who watches television with him and makes sure he eats — and I went to my granddaughter's birthday party alone. Not alone. Without Marvin. There is a difference, and I am learning to live in it.

The yellow cake is the one I’ll always make for third birthdays — that part doesn’t change. But when I got home from White Plains that evening, quieter than I’d left, I found myself standing at the counter wanting something small and chocolate and manageable, something I could make with my own hands just for the pleasure of it. These Mini Peanut Butter Cups are that recipe for me: no layers to level, no frosting to smooth, just chocolate and peanut butter doing exactly what chocolate and peanut butter have always done. Sophie would approve. She approves of anything you can put your hands in.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 5 min | Total Time: 55 min (including chilling) | Servings: 24 mini cups

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Prepare the pan. Line a 24-cup mini muffin tin with small paper or foil candy cups and set aside on a flat surface.
Melt the chocolate base. Place 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted and smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes total.
Form the chocolate shells. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate into each prepared cup. Using the back of a small spoon or a pastry brush, spread the chocolate up the sides slightly to form a shallow shell. Transfer the pan to the freezer for 10 minutes to set.
Make the peanut butter filling. In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth and well combined. The mixture should hold its shape when pressed.
Fill the cups. Remove the pan from the freezer. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 24 small balls, roughly 1 teaspoon each, and press one gently into the center of each chocolate shell, flattening slightly so it sits just below the rim.
Top with chocolate. Melt the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips using the same microwave method. Spoon a scant teaspoon over each filled cup, spreading gently to cover the peanut butter layer completely.
Chill until set. Return the pan to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes, until the chocolate is fully firm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mini Peanut Butter Cups — The Cake You Make Because It’s Always Been the Cake