I’ve always loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Cracking open those orange wrappers and then peeling back the black waxy paper from the perfectly formed Reese’s edges is one of life’s simple, but very joyous, pleasures.
Sinking my teeth into the peanut butter cup and making teeth marks into that perfectly smooth chocolate is also high on my list.
Lately I’ve been sinking my teeth into these homemade cups rather than storebought Reese’s Cups.
These aren’t just any homemade peanut butter cups.
There’s a surprise in the center: Ritz Crackers
I combined some of my favorite ingredients and the resulting creation is very puffy.
One of my homemade cups is about twice the height of a storebought cup or about the same height as five Ritz crackers. That just means there’s more to love.
You don’t have to make yours as puffy as mine if you don’t put as much peanut butter on the cracker before you drench it with melted chocolate.
A Ritz cracker smeared with peanut butter and then encased in a chocolate shell using the Trader Joe’s Chocolate score I’ve been loving.
Delicious does not have to be complicated and the proof is in the pudding in the peanut butter.
The saltiness from the crackers and peanut butter is balanced with the semi-sweet chocolate.
The crunchy cracker stopped with smooth peanut butter makes for lots of texture and fabulous chomping.
[print_this]
Ritz Cracker Stuffed Peanut Butter Cups (vegan, almost gluten free)
Makes 4 Peanut Butter Cups (halve, double, triple, or quadruple the recipe as desired)
8 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips, melted (for more info on melting, see this post)
4 Ritz Crackers (or similar)
6 teaspoons peanut butter (1 ½ teaspoons per cup), approximately
Place four paper muffin liners inside a muffin tin or on a flat work surface. Alternately, if you have silicone liners, you can use those. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and spoon approximately one tablespoon of melted chocolate into the bottom of each muffin liner. Place them into the freezer for a few minutes so the chocolate sets up. While the chocolate is setting, schmear each of the four crackers with peanut butter, approximately 1 ½ teaspoons of peanut butter for each cracker, or to taste. Take care not to make the peanut butter too dome-like; rather spread it in a manner similar to the white cream center of a double-stuffed Oreo cookie. Remove the chocolate-filled muffin liners from the freezer and carefully place one peanut butter-covered cracker in each cup. Cover the top of each cup with the remaining chocolate, reheating the chocolate in the microwave a bit if necessary. Based on the height of the peanut butter layer on the Ritz crackers, your paper liners may be filled nearly to the top with chocolate in order to fully encase all the peanut butter with chocolate and this is okay. Freeze or refrigerate the cups until the chocolate has set up before unwrapping and eating.
To keep gluten free, use a gluten free cracker such as Mary’s or similar. Ritz Crackers are already accidentally vegan.
[/print_this]
Making peanut butter cups (vegan, GF) at home is something I discovered years ago.
The possibilities to jazz up and get creative with cups are endless, which is where the Ritz crackers came into play.
Ritz Crackers and I go way back. My grandma used to keep Ritz crackers on hand in her cupboard and I used to be able to take down a half tube of those golden crackers in about five minutes right before dinner.
But that’s what Grandma’s are for: to do things that your mom wouldn’t let you get away with, like devouring a sleeve of Ritz crackers right before dinner.
Good thing I purposefully designed the recipe to only make four cups and you even can halve it if you prefer.
These have been a little dangerous to have on hand and will make you forget all about those resolutions. New Year’s what?
If you’re a fan of sweet ‘n salty combination desserts, I also recommend White Chocolate Peanut, Pretzel, & Chocolate Chip Fudge
If you like surprise middles with your sweet ‘n salty, try Pretzel Peanut Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles
For sweet surprises, the Dark Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies Stuffed with Chocolate Covered Strawberries are fun.
And last but not least, the surprise Snickers bars in Snickers Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies get me every time.
Questions
Do you like peanut butter cups? Have you ever made them at home?
Have you made any stuffed desserts?
I love stuffed desserts because it’s like you get two desserts in one.
I hope you’ve had a great weekend and that your week gets off to a fabulous start!
This is a neat idea! I made mine less bulky by using 2 teaspoons of melted chocolate on the bottom, 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on each cracker, and 2 heaping teaspoons of chocolate on top. They tasted delicious! And I found that the cracker made it easier to keep the layers from muddling.
One tip that you didn’t mention: Before freezing, jiggle the cups from side to side to get the chocolate to settle in a nice even layer. ;)
Oh yes, I always jiggle. I assume people know to do that, but you know what happens when you assume :)
Glad you enjoyed these!
Yeah, most people probably would think to jiggle on their own, but you can never be sure. I once came across someone’s blog post saying how she just figured out this amazing trick for easily spreading granola bars without it sticking to your hands: just use slightly wet fingers! And I was like, what?? How can anyone not know that? I do that for not just granola but for any sticky bars or cookies or whatever, and I can’t remember ever NOT knowing that. Just goes to show that sometimes things that you think are intuitive or obvious are entirely new concepts to some people!
I just got back from a cocktail party and one of the women there made YOUR ritz cracker stuffed peanut butter cups!!! small world! They were amazing! And I take my peanut butter cups very seriously!!!
No.way. WHAT a small world – wow! Well I’m glad they worked out…how crazy…what are the odds! Thanks for LMK! I love stories like this!
LOVED these :-) my family cant wait to try them :-) added some rice krispies for crunch and added Fleur de Sel on top . Keep the great recipes coming !!
So happy they were a big hit!
Amazing ideas, such a creation
This is my new favorite website! I’m amazed at how creamy and gorgeously chocolate-y these candies were. And SO EASY to make. Wow! Thanks for sharing your procedure with us.
thanks for the compliments, for reading, and for making these! Glad you liked them!
How did I miss these!?!?!?! These definitely top the ones I made. Look at all that amazing chocolate! You have a genius for coming up with tempting treats, Averie. I need a shipment of these asap!
These look amazing! What a great idea. I’m sure you get asked this all the time, and I apologize, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Do you think you could tell me what kind of granite that is? We’re remodeling our kitchen soon and I swoon every time I see it.
Gosh, I have no idea what KIND of granite it is because we didn’t build the place. I’m sure your remodel will be fabulous!
These look WONDERFUL!! I will be making these this week for sure :) I’m thinking of trying pretzels in place of the Ritz crackers in some. Great, now these are all I can think about…..
Sounds like a plan to me :)
Avery this looks so good. And anything homemade is better than anything you can buy!!!
Oh my, I’m addicted to these just looking at the screen. I need one. Now.
These look awesome, so creative! You are the dessert queen! I love peanut butter cups and need to create raw almond butter cups.
I’ve made your vegan PB cups with nutritional yeast.
Why did I never think of making full sized ones with cupcake liners and putting all kinds of wacky things inside??! Yum. Hm, what other things I can put inside.
I love myself a filled cupcake.
These are genius!! That Ritz cracker inside must taste somewhat like a PB Twix bar. Love those bite marks on a Reeses PB cup too. Now I am craving candy thank you very much!
I have a present for you :)
love this and the chocolate.. yum.. It is very similar to my ritz sandwich cookies I coat in chocolate :) For extra crispy crunch make a sandwich like these.. http://itsyummytomytummy.blogspot.com/2010/07/peanut-butter-cracker-treats.html
They look great!
I love this idea! I once made similar chocolate truffles for my friend’s engagement party. We stuffed chocolate and white chocolate with pb & j, marshmallow fluff and graham crackers and simple jam. Delicious!
sounds great!
Just stuffed my face with this. Holy crap balls. SO good!
Really? Ok thanks for LMK you liked them!
Those peanut butter cups with Ritz are pretty much the best thing that I have even seen! Can’t wait to try those babies out! I don’t think there’s anything better in the world than peanut butter cups!
My gosh, your cups are so perfect! When I make chocolate cups the layers are all over the place. Way to go :)
Well your salads are perfect :)
Reese’s peanut butter cups are the best candy ever made. They were my childhood favorite and they continue to be the best! Love them. I have made my own using recipes I’ve found on various website, but I haven’t found the perfect one that can replace the Reese’s perfection. It needs to be doughy instead of peanut butter smooth, but without adding a ton of extra sugar. Seemingly impossible. I guess I’ll just have to go with the sugar overload sometime! :)
Oh goodness…these are mighty dangerous! I can just imagine how much that Ritz cracker adds to the already yummy combo.
All your food always has me…drooling :)
easy peasy dessert! now thats what I am all about! :) love it!!! hope you are having a great start to the week, Averie!!
xoxo
You too, sweetie! :)
I LOVE the addition of the Ritz cracker! Yum!
The boyfriend would just love these!! Maybe I’ll stuff his with those peanut butter sandwich crackers. He buys them by the case!
Another reader just told me that Ritz are accidentally vegan. You’re in luck!
Yum, what an amazing idea. You always have the most creative dessert creations!
Thanks, Beth!
Those. Look. Heavenly!
Guess what! Ritz crackers are accidentally vegan!
http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/accidentally-vegan.aspx
:)
this is AWESOME info and I edited and updated the post, thanks!!!!!
Oh my goodness! Chocolate & PB is my favorite combo…but chocolate & pb with a salty crunchy cracker in the middle, amazingg!
Those peanut butter cups are heavenly! And, I love all those recipes that follow it, especially the chocolate cookies with the chocolate covered strawberries in it. YUM!
So many ways to stuff and surprise things within other things :)
How creative! Looks amazing!
ahhhhhh omg. so good. i love that you combined ritz crackers into this to give it the sweet & salty flavor. as you saw on my instagram yesterday, I LOVE RITZ!! haha
I sure did and I loved it!
What a great addition, I bet these are awesome!
THIS is genius. I think I just fell in love. With the cups or with you. Kinda hard to tell cuz there is a lot of joy coming out of my pores right now. GENIUS!!!!!
you’re too sweet :)
Holy smokes girl! What a great idea! Salty plus crunch plus sweet has to be the stuff dreams are made of.
Those look insanely good!! Just put on pinterest
Thanks for the Pinning, my friend!
YUM! Salty-sweet flavour combos are absolute bliss. I made some peanut butter cups with ice cream but not made these for ages – it’s time to go back to the old school! I love the crunch cracker addition too – what NY diet?! :-)
This is worth the treadmill!!
Holy chocolate peanut butter cups. Have I died and gone to heaven? Those look amazing!!
Thanks, Aimee…all your food ALWAYS has me wanting to cook!
I used to LOVE Reese’s peanut butter cups, but I haven’t had one is so long! I actually have made my own before and they usually turn out really good! I absolutely love the idea of Ritz crackers in them to add a little crunch!
I hope you try them since I know you love PB cups so much!
Wow never thought of doing the whole sweet and salty thing. i do love a good cracker though! Texture in food is such a thing for me. I will take the crunch of roast veggies over mashed potato any day!
crunch is where it’s at, I agree!
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/12/crunchy.html
Hi,
I saw your posting on Joy the Baker. I love veggies and I love my yoga classes…..so your blog name inspired me. I am trying to stay away from sweets after the holidays but my college son LOVES Reese Cups so I am definitely going to be trying this recipe! I love your variations, too. Looking forward to exploring your site. Have a wonderful day! Kim
Thanks for popping over and saying hi! And for the nice compliments and I hope you enjoy your yoga. And veggies. I’ll be enjoying some more chocolate and PB :) lol
I’m drooling. Can I come over?!
anytime !
I used to eat ritz with pb sandwiches every day when I was working in the field. I called them “power snacks”. I would make about 6 sandwiches every day. I got the idea from my aunt who used to make them, covered in chocolate like this, for Christmas. I’ve seen them with saltines and wheat thins too. The wheat thins version tastes kind of buterfinger-y.
I’m excited to be home now – and back to my own kitchen!
glad you made it home from your vacay in paradise :)
This is seriously my fantasy dessert! I absolutely love eating crackers..and adding chocolate and peanut butter just makes it so much more wonderful!
I love PB cups, but have never made them at home. I have made a few stuffed desserts, such as stuffed cookies, and peppermint patties.
Peanut butter cups are my FAVORITE! I have never made them at home but I would love to. The Ritz crackers are such a great idea – a great combo of sweet and salty!
so easy to make at home…try!
This made me realize how long it’s been since I’ve eaten a Ritz…TOO LONG! Love this salty/chocolate combo :)
I know, I hadn’t had any in…years. We changed that though :)
Ok , how do you do it? How do you stay in awesome shape eating these kind of treats? I’d have to work out for 4 hours a day! I am envious of you!
I love peanut butter cups and I have yet to make them, but I plan on it! Now I want to do it with a ritz, which we just ran out of Trader Joe’s version). Could I use a pretzel?
Have a great week!
Moderation and yes, I work out!
ahhhhhh this is such a perfect combo
Aww yeah, brilliant! Love this idea!
Man oh Man! I will definitely be making this version of your peanut-butter cups when I get home from Maui! We ALWAYS make your regular peanut-butter cup recipe (delicious), so I can only imagine how yummy these will be. Thanks for the great recipes for us sweet tooth folks :)
enjoy your next cooking project!
I have a straight-up addiction. I eat a small Reese’s or two pretty much every day…either that or a piece of dark chocolate or a Yorks. A girl has gotta have dessert…
Your addiction just got even stronger. wait til you try these :)
Holy YUM! I love variations on Reeses PB Cups. Nice job :)
Thanks, Lori. I am still drooling over your recent cake. It’s..perfect. Surgeon’s hands type of precision!
the possibilities are endless for stuffing pb cups. that’s why they’re called cups. lol
And the cups on your header image…get me. Every.time. Ahhh, yes.
I bet this is pass-out-fall-the-floor amazing. WANT!!
No pass out and fall on the floor amazing would be your latest tiffany blue cake that seriously I have been dreaming about. Beautiful beyond all words!
These look AMAZING! There I am giving you caps because you deserve it. The crunchiness of the ritz cracker inside one of my favorite treats, you hit a winner here.
Thanks for the SHOUT :)
This looks so delicious…I do love Reese’s peanut butter cups and I always have to stop myself from eating them in the double digits, but I think the crunch from the cracker is the perfect brain trigger to tell me 1 or 2 is good for the day…save some for tomorrow :)
Hey Averie those look yummy!! My husband took a glance at my laptop and went “ooh” I guess that’s when you know you have a winner right?
I wanted to share my iherb.com $5 off code, since I first used yours and have gotten hooked ordering stuff from there! Every little bit helps nowadays right? My code is PIT248.
If I can get a hubs to look up and comment, it’s a job well done. Thanks for telling me :)
We must be on the same wavelength because I bought everything to make homemade PB cups today! And then I took a nap and forgot about making them… :) Next weekend!
What kind of peanut butter did you use in those? It looks so, so creamy! And I love the Ritz addition.
Generic store-brand PB. I go thru SO MUCH Pb that I buy what’s on sale and in huge tubs. For baking and cooking with, I use cheap stuff. Unless I am eating it with a spoon, I really don’t care if it’s not ‘high end’ designer Pb. :)
Agree completely – no nee for the fancy stuff when it comes to baking! It just looked so creamy, I had to ask… this makes me feel good :)
I loved your regular vegan PB cups when I made them a couple years ago…I can only imagine what a salty Ritz does to the flavor!
I actually vaguely remember that. Hard to believe we’ve known each other for years (plural!) and we’re both still blogging away at it :)
I do like peanut butter cups! Josh REALLY likes them! The ritz is such a fun add in. I just realized your posts aren’t showing up in my reader (lame)- going to fix that now!
Oh. My. Goodness. It’s clear we have identical taste in desserts. Salty, Sweet, Crunchy, Nutty, and obviously, CHOCOLATE.
These look cute and tasty! I saw a recipe last week for Chocolate covered Saltene Crackers that sounded great. I love the big bar of TJ’s chocolate too, especially the price. Have to try the white chocolate version of these, love Ritz anyway.
What a great combination of flavours – love the idea of that crunchy layer hiding away in the middle!
Salty and sweet equals heaven in my mouth. I love the addition of the Ritz cracker for an added crunch. Yum! :)
I love pb cups, and make them at home a lot… I love to fill them with fun things too.
these look great!
Oh what an awesome flavor combo there! Ritz crackers always remind me of my great-grandmother. She always had them on hand as well. She liked to mush hers up in a glass of buttermilk though. Me…just plain or with PB.
“mush hers up in a glass of buttermilk” — my grandma used to do that with graham crackers and coffee. Lol
I saw this chocolate today and remembered you posting about it. I passed it up and now I wish I would have grabbed some. These look amazing!
Pick some up next time or use choc chips in the meantime!
i am in LOVE with peanut butter cups! i rarely ever buy Reese’s PB Cups because they instantly seem to disappear… into my belly! i asked “Santa” for some Reese’s Trees in my stocking this year – they were gone in no time. and sweet ‘n salty combos??? ohhh yes, another huge love of mine. needless to say, this post is right up my alley. ;)
Glad you likey :)
What a cool idea! Bet it’s got some good sweet ‘n salty action going on, flavor-wise. I haven’t had Ritz crackers in way too long! I used to eat a whole sleeve at a time =X
Salty n sweet, crunchy n smooth, it’s all there. Loved our email chat. Have a great weekend :) What’s left of it!
Sweet and salty, oh yes, come to mama! I could eat a dozen of them right now. Yummmmm
Me too. That’s why I capped it at 4 servings. Lol
Oh good idea! I’ve made your regular PB cups before, I suppose you could put anything in there huh? I definitely prefer stuffed or layered treats. I need lots of different flavors happening :)
Glad you’ve made the other ones. These are to new heights if I do say so :)
I’ve made pb cups with your recipe before…and they’re awesome! I love the idea of adding the crunchy crispy cracker in the middle…
Thanks for LMK you’ve made them. Try this version if you need variety :)