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Bon Appetit called this the tastiest version of mac and cheese that they’ve ever made….but did it sway the taste buds of my blue-box obsessed boyfriend?  Find out by checking out my latest post over at Culinary Covers!

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About two weekends ago, I participated in a marathon. Of the baking variety.  Not only did I have to make something for the NYC Food Bloggers Bake Sale to support the No Kid Hungry Campaign, but I had two dozen cupcakes and some pretzel bites to make for a bridal shower, as well as two desserts to bring to The.Boy’s for Easter. To say I was all sugared out by the end of the weekend was an understatement.

In order to make my life slightly less insane that weekend, I decided to make something for the bake sale that could be made days before and would keep well, so I took to my pinterest boards with reckless abandon and as soon as I spotted these peanut butter cups, I knew the deal was sealed. They were absolutely positively “the.one”.

Not only would they stay delicious for days in the fridge, so I could make them at the beginning of the week when things were a bit calmer, but they would also allow me to showcase almost all of the delicious chocolate that was sent to me by Divine Chocolate for just this purpose.  I must admit that I nibbled on a bit of this chocolate while I was making these and it was one of the tastiest, richest chocolates I have ever tasted. It definitely gave these peanut butter cups a bit more depth than they would have been had I just used plain Jane chocolate chips.  Not only that, but I could feel good about eating it because it is the premium fair trade brand owned by cocoa farmers. No guilt = better peanut butter cups. That’s a fact.

To connect with Divine Chocolate and see what they’re all about, check them out at their website: http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/, on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/divinechocolateUSA, and on twitter: https://twitter.com/divinechocusa.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups
Makes 2 dozen, adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups chopped semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate (I used a half and half mix), divided
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Whisk in the brown sugar and let cook until it is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Let sit and cool, about 20 minutes.
  2. Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners. Melt 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate, either in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, or in a double boiler. Drop 1 tsp of chocolate into each paper liner and, using a pastry brush, brush it up the sides of the liners. Freeze for 20 minutes.
  3. Whisk in the powdered sugar, flour and salt to the peanut butter mix. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  4. Remove the muffin tin and cookie dough. Place 1 tsp cookie dough in the center of each chocolate cup, flattening it a bit with your finger. Freeze for 10 minutes. Melt the remaining chocolate. Cover each cookie dough top with chocolate and smooth with a spoon. Freeze for 15-20 minutes until hardened.
You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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58 Responses to Pimiento Mac and Cheese and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups

  1. I absolutely love those little flower liners you used for the peanut butter cups, they’re perfect! Shane would love these, I should surprise him sometime!

  2. Beth says:

    I’m seriously tempted by that mac and cheese – on my way to check it out!

  3. Holy Moly, mac and cheese AND peanut butter cups!? I love you… that is all.

  4. I grew up eating pimiento-stuffed green olives and had no idea until ‘the Internet’ that there is a whole culture of pimento-loving in some regions of the country (i.e. pimiento cheese). I’m not a big M&C person but I love the idea of using pimento in more hot cheesy applications. No comment on the ‘blue box’–you know, I don’t think I have ever had boxed M&C.

  5. Kevin Lynch says:

    These cookie dough peanut butter cups sound so good!

  6. I make layered PB cups with dark chocolate and white chocolate. I would gladly swap out that white chocolate for some cookie dough – this looks divine!

  7. Monica says:

    Oh boy…love the look of these cookie dough PB cups. Anything covered with dark chocolate calls to me! : )

  8. Sara says:

    Those little cookie dough PB cups look incredible! And I would love a scoop of that mac and cheese, wow! 🙂

  9. Ohh these look beyond scrumptious – and easy to make!! I’m going to fix a couple of trays of these for my daughter’s b/day party!!! thanks 🙂
    Mary x

  10. Lucky you for getting free chocolate.. although I probably would have simply eaten them. These looks great, though. (and prettier than when I made some recently)

  11. Johanna GGG says:

    cute cupcake papers and yummy chocolates – and I bet you were relieved to have one lot of “baking” under your belt when you started your baking marathon – love plan ahead sweets! (and your mac and cheese looks so much better than the blue box but then so does every one I have seen here – what is he thinking!)

  12. bellini says:

    I couldn’t possibly refuse either Joanne.

  13. Lynn says:

    I LOVE mac and cheese – this looks divine. 🙂 So funny, but my sisters and I made the blue box mac and cheese when we were scrounging for a quick meal at our family home when we were clearing it out. It reminded us of childhood.

  14. Nora says:

    Those little peanut butter cups look so simple and delicious (and I love the cute tulip wrappers)! And in the same post as mac & cheese? Bingo. Dream meal.

  15. AHHHHH I want those amazing lil pb cookie dough pb cups!!! WHAAA??! YES!

  16. sandra says:

    I love those little cup holders – shaped like tulips! They are too cute.

  17. Oh dear me. Those cc cookie dough pb cups look insanely yummy.
    How do you do it all?!?! You continue to impress me, lady! 🙂

  18. Oh yum I completely forgot about these from How Sweet it is. Haave had them bookmarked on pinterest for far too long!

  19. Lora says:

    These look wonderful. Cookie dough and peanut butter cups – two of my favorite treats.

  20. Yum! Cookie dough cups? Sounds amazing.

  21. That mac and cheese looks GOOD! I’m also a fan of the blue-box variety, so if your bf loved this, I prob will too. And the choco cups…i mean what’s not to love about cookie dough and chocolate! 🙂

  22. Nutmeg Nanny says:

    Oh man, that mac & cheese looks so tempting!! I’d love to try it out soon 🙂

  23. Pam says:

    I am off to check out the mac & cheese. The cookie dough cups looks tasty – what a great idea!

  24. You have no idea how badly I wanted to sneak one of those peanut butter cups from the bag you sent for the bake sale- they sounded amazing!

    Love that mac & cheese idea too- off to check it out at Culinary Covers! 🙂

  25. Karen says:

    I’ve never had pimento (!) but for some reason it sounds good… going to check that recipe out!

  26. I want those cups of love in my body so freaking bad!! YUM!

  27. Ashley says:

    I’ve never made my own peanut butter cups…but you’re making it pretty tempting to try it out!

  28. Pimiento is one of my favorite ingredients and is so underused! I love the idea of it in mac ‘n cheese. The peanut butter cups sound great too, you are always busy my friend!

  29. holy crap! i’m thinking mini’s of those cups for a bakesale at work will go over well 🙂

  30. Good gosh, you’re really tempting me today! I want all the things you posted! And I want seconds! 🙂

  31. Love these peanut butter cups and your baking cups are so adorable!

  32. Amy says:

    Your Pimiento Mac and Cheese looks divine. I can’t imagine anyone would want the “blue box” when you have this!

    Those Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups are adorable. I bet they taste fantastic as well. I love chocolate chip cookie Dough anything. 🙂

  33. Hotly Spiced says:

    Those cupcakes look so rich with the dark chocolate – very decadent xx

  34. That is a crazy amount of baking, I would have been completely sugared out too! I often need desserts for a group that can be made ahead of time too but I’ve never thought of peanut butter cups, even though they’ve always been on my to-make list. Thanks!

  35. I just died. And now I have to go find that macaroni recipe.

    Damn the diet!

  36. peanut butter cups are my weakness.
    did you ever see the ones I did stuffing them with cake balls?
    gah!!!

  37. Gwen says:

    That poooor boy! ;} I’m totally up for the Best Mac & Cheese recipe ever!

  38. Honey says:

    The mac and cheese looks sooooooooo good. Love the little veggies in it. Hope you tried ROcking Horse Cafe. Wasn’t the salsa amazing?

  39. G’day Love the flower liners too!
    Who can go past a good Mac and Cheese , TRUE!
    Cheers! Joanne
    What’s On The List
    http://www.whatsonthelist.net

  40. That Girl says:

    I bet those peanut butter cups flew off the table at the bake sale.

  41. Kari says:

    I suspect you were one popular baker when you turned up with these!

  42. I’ve been wanting to make homemade peanut butter cups. These look great! You’re a baker extraordinaire!

  43. OohLookBel says:

    You really have the best recipes. The mac and cheese looks so good (love the panko), and these cupcakes with peanut butter – drool!

  44. Those peanut butter cups look like they’d be too dangerous to have around the house!

  45. Are you kidding me? You couldn’t take one bite of the cookie dough peanut butter cups to give us a prized view of the insides? AAAA you torturer you. Guess that leaves me no choice but to make them so I can see them for myself. Or was that your cunning plan all along?

  46. These peanut butter cups look divine!

  47. Ooo. Love all that chilli heat in the mac and cheese!

    Go you, so cool that you were involved in this bake sale. And needless to say, these sound amazing. Hooray for Pinterest, huh? It can get a bit ridiculous but I do love it for when I just need inspiration, now, and my brain isn’t delivering the goods.

  48. Yumm, two of my favorite things, chocolate and cookie dough. AND to top it all off, for a good cause such as No Kid Goes Hungry!

  49. I quickly snagged one of these beauties at the bake sale. Delicious! That chocolate is so good! Cute paper liners, too.

  50. Dining Alone says:

    I sure wish you could cook for me 🙂 Chocolate and cookie dough together is right up my alley!

  51. Mary Younkin says:

    ooooooh, cookie dough chocolate cups?! LOVE it!

  52. These chocolate cups sound incredible – and easy. Perfect!

  53. Oh My goodness – you are killing me here with these chocolate mini cups- I can eat the entire batch right now, especially with my late night cravings.

  54. My hubby would love those peanut butter cups. Maybe if he’s a good boy 🙂

  55. grace says:

    i’m equally giddy about the savory and the sweet here, which rarely happens. also, what lovely little muffin cups!

  56. Laura says:

    I love peanut butter cups, but after making them I get so freaked out at what goes in them I can no longer eat them lol. So clearly you should mail me yours.

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