"Scott" > wrote in message
...
> Has anyone made these, i.e., sort of like the Reeses's Peanut Butter
> Cups? I've seen two basic recipe variants. Most commonly, peanut butter
> is mixed with powdered sugar, 2:1 ratio, for the filling. The other,
> from a Tyler Florence show, uses a mousse:
> <http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/...OD_9936_24657_
> PRINT-RECIPE-FULL-PAGE,00.html>
>
> Any reason to favor the Tyler Florence version? The recipe is called
> "Frozen Peanut Butter Cups"; does this imply that the cup filling is
> overly soft at room temperature? All the recipes use plain semi-sweet
> chocolate for the shell.
>
> Some of the recipes call for adding vegetable shortening to the melted
> chocolate. How would this effect the shell's texture?


The mousse one sounds interesting..I may have to give that a try. It sounds
as if it's being frozen for the chocolate's sake more than the filling, but
who knows. I guess making the filling would be the best way to know the
consistency Shucks! lol
Adding shortening to chocolate is something some people do to thin it when
melting and using for coating. Using a good chocolate makes this not only
unnecessary, but IMO, a sacrilege. Making good peanut butter cups is
actually very easy. You can make mini with the candy cups sold in stores
like Michael's, or you can take the time to trim regular cup cake cups to
make full size.
Melt & temper some good chocolate. The easiest way is to save out a chunk
and melt the rest, then stir the chunk in the melted chocolate until you can
touch it to your lip and it is neither hot nor cold. Not exactly scientific,
but it works for this. Of course, you can google chocolate tempering for
more exact instructions.
I use a paint brush to paint the chocolate into the cups and allow it to set
up. You can do that well in advance, actually, but it helps to do it when
you're making the candy so you don't have to prepare the chocolate twice! I
like to get chunky peanut butter and whiz it in the processor until it's
somewhere between creamy and chunky, more towards creamy, but with a little
texture. Next, melt it slowly either in a double boiler or over low heat.
Let it cool to room temp, then spoon into the chocolate cups. Top with more
chocolate, tap to level and let set. You can chill them if you just can't
wait to have one, but letting them set up at room temp makes them more
flavorful (chill kills flavor), IMO.

kimberly