Mini Peanut Butter Cups
Delicious homemade mini peanut butter cups! This recipe is so easy. You'll need chocolate chips, peanut butter and maple syrup (I add flaky sea salt, too).
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on December 5, 2024
These homemade chocolate treats are essentially grown-up, homemade Reese’s peanut butter cups. They are so good. I’m always tempted to keep the whole batch to myself!
I make my peanut butter cups with dark chocolate and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. You can make these peanut butter cups with milk chocolate and skip the fancy salt, if you’d rather.
My version is for you if you’ve ever walked down the freezer aisle at Trader Joe’s and grabbed the mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups and the salted dark chocolate-covered almonds. Also, we should be friends and eat chocolate together. I’ll bring wine.
I’ve been holding onto this recipe for Halloween. They’re a variation that I discovered when making Jessica’s chocolate peppermint cups earlier this year, which is kind of mean now that I think about it. I’m sorry. Now, you can enjoy them any time of year.
The Best Peanut Butter Cups
Three reasons to love this recipe:
- These peanut butter cups are far more tasty and somewhat more redeeming than your average Halloween haul.
- They’re also easy to make, requiring just a few basic ingredients.
- These homemade candies take about 15 minutes to put together. They’re ready after a 30-minute chill. Let’s make some!
Mini Peanut Butter Cups
Delicious homemade mini peanut butter cups! This recipe is so easy. You’ll need chocolate chips, peanut butter and maple syrup (I add flaky sea salt, too). Recipe yields 15 mini candies; multiply as necessary.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter*
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 6 ounces chocolate (that’s 1 cup regular-sized chocolate chips)**
- Flaky sea salt, optional
You’ll need mini muffin liners, too!
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and maple syrup, and stir until well blended. Fill a mini cupcake pan with liners or arrange mini cupcake liners on plate(s) like I did.
- Melt the chocolate (I did this in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each one, or you can use a double boiler on the stove).
- Fill the bottom of each cup with 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate. Add a small dollop of the peanut butter mixture in the center (about ½ teaspoon), then top it with another teaspoon of the chocolate.
- Freeze the candies for 5 minutes. Sprinkle sea salt lightly over the tops (if using), then freeze until firm, about 25 minutes more. Now they’re ready to eat!
- If you won’t be serving them all immediately, transfer them to a container or sealed bag. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from these chocolate peppermint cups.
*Peanut butter notes: I’ve used a range of natural peanut butters here, and they all work well (or you can make your own). If your peanut butter is salt-free, I would stir a little pinch of salt into the filling. Crunchy peanut butter works if you want some crunch. You can also use almond butter instead of peanut butter.
**Chocolate notes: I used Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao content) and thought they were perfect. Use chocolate chips that you enjoy on their own—I prefer darker chocolate, but milk chocolate will work, too.
Make it dairy free: Choose dairy-free chocolate chips. Check out Enjoy Life and Pascha brands.
Make it vegan: Choose dairy-free chocolate chips (see above) and maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it soy free: Make sure your chocolate is free of soy derivatives like soy lecithin (see above).
Make it nut free: Use sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter.
FYI: The links to Amazon on this page are affiliate links, meaning that I make a tiny percentage of your purchase at no cost to you.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This recipe is REALLY speaking to my PB obsession!!
That is great, Gabby! Let me know if it satisfies your peanut butter obsession!
Perfect timing and you are forgiven for waiting to share.
Where is Cookie? Miss her little face!
She’s barking in the living room right now! I’ll try share some more Cookie pics soon. If you’re on Instagram, she makes frequent appearances in my Instagram stories (we’re @cookieandkate).
Dear Kate, this sounds so simple, and yet delicious. I’ll definitely be trying this out soon! You’re my go-to for recipes, I’m obsessed with both your book and blog!
Thank you, Ana! I appreciate the kind words!
Doesn’t get any better than peanut butter, chocolate and maple syrup in my opinion!! Going to make these tomorrow. Thanks for the wonderful recipe Kate!
I agree with you, Val! Let me know how it goes. Thanks for the great review!
I was looking for a recipe to kill my chocolate cravings when this popped up on my email! Had all the ingredients so I went ahead and made them. Soooo tasty. Have you tried making them with caramel instead of peanut butter? Did they turn out well? Thanks for another great recipe!
I haven’t, but I think that caramel would work instead of the peanut butter/maple combo.
Love all the ingredients but I am not really good with desserts. Will try this at the weekend. Thanks
Let me know how it goes and what you think after you give it a try!
WHATTT these look amazing!! I will definitely be making them in the near future:)
Also- I’m hosting a brunch on Sunday for a bunch of teen girls, and I’m looking for some recommendations on what to make. Any thought/recommendations on some fall brunch ideas?
thanks!
Hey Elissa, I’m sorry I missed your question earlier! I’d probably make a frittata!
Can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter. And these look so easy! Looking forward to trying them. :-)
Glad to hear in, Miriam! Let me know what you think!
Yes, please. Chocolate and wine with good company sounds so great right now.
Right!? They are great compliments, Giselle.
What’s your peanut butter of choice?
Hey Meaghan! Sorry for the slow response. Can’t say I really have a favorite. I probably use Trader Joe’s most often.
Wow!! I made these tonight and they turned out perfectly! I ended up getting about 20 out of my recipe though… I will keep quiet about how many were left after I started snacking on them (lol!) the sea salt makes these!
Thanks!
That is great! Thank you for sharing, Allison. Having a few extra can be a pleasant surprise. A star review would be great, if you wouldn’t mind :)
Already did :)
dreams come true. I love pb cups, but find the store bought ones to be almost painfully sweet and always wishing they were dark chocolate. I cannot wait to make these! And I will most likely eat them all myself.
I know what you mean, Aimee! These are a great balance. Let me know what you think once you make them!
I love peanut butter and chocolate, so these are really talking to me!!
I’m in love with your wonderful blog Kate!!
You are kind, Charlie! Sometimes you just can’t beat a sweet treat. Let me know how you like them!
beautiful peanut butter cups.. thanks for sharing
Welcome! Hope you enjoy, Jessica.
Yum! These looks great! Going to get round to making them soon
Let me know how it goes when you get around to it! They are delightful.
Hello Kate
I made these little treats last evening ….simply delicious! Since I always have Ghiradelli Bittersweet chocolate chips stocked in my pantry [much to the delight of my adult children!] I didn’t have to run to the store to pick up any ingredients. Another of your many winning & easy to make recipes …..thank you!
Chocolate always on hand. Now that is what it is about! Happy to hear you loved it, Teresa!
Hi Kate,
I lost your fantastic pumpkin recipes (8) sent on the 17th of October.
Is there anyway you or someone could send them back again to :
radoux.veronica@orange.fr
Tks,
Veronica
Hi Veronica – there are so many great pumpkin recipes on the blog you should check out! Type ‘pumpkin’ in the search bar of the blog and it will take you to them. Enjoy!
Made them. Love them!! Will try with less maple syrup next time to reduce sugar intake (26 weeks preggo and trying to minimize blood sugar surges)! La
Congratulations! Happy you (and baby) enjoyed them, Laura!
Just made these and absolutely loved them! I just made the transition from vegetarian to vegan and have missed sweets the most (I have a giant sweet tooth).
These really hit the spot! (As did your caramel popcorn).
Thanks, Kate! I’m definitely going to bookmark your blog.
Sometimes the sweet tooth just hits! I am happy this was able to satisfy your sweet tooth :) Thanks for your review, Larissa!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I am a big fan of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I wanted to point out that Trader Joe’s chocolate chips are vegan. Just another option. Thanks for all of your recipes. I regularly use your recipes with much delight and satisfaction!
Let me know what you think once you try them, Karen!
I totally pick up the dark chocolate peanut butter cups every time I go to Trader Joe’s. Unfortunately I live kind of far from a TJ’s, which is why I am SO glad you posted this recipe! I made some with dark chocolate for me, and some with milk chocolate for my husband. Both are delicious! I couldn’t find mini muffin papers, so I just used my non-stick mini muffin tin and they turned out fine. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Welp….these were amazing! Very easy to make and super satisfying. I told my husband if he wanted me to every make them again he had to limit his intake though…otherwise they would all be gone in a day or two!
Yay! That is great. Thank you, Audrey for your review.
What else can I replace the peanut? Not a big fan of peanut but this recipe makes me want to try it.
The peanut butter really makes these cups. I don’t have a replacement for you without completely changing the recipe. Sorry!
I used Adam’s creamy peanut butter in this recipe, and it seemed a lot runnier that the Adam’s crunchy that I normally use. It never really set or mixed to a smooth consistency with the maple syrup. I also doubled the amount of peanut butter filling to put in between the chocolate layers because I looooove peanut butter. This recipe tasted great! I’ll try a thicker peanut butter next time.
This is a great idea! When I made it, it came out too sweet for my taste though. For people who don’t like their treats quite as sweet, I would pass on the honey, and make sure to use chocolate chips that aren’t so high in sugar.
Thanks for sharing, Kayla!
Thank you for another perfect recipe! I used to loveee TJ’s peanut butter cups before I was vegan and these are just as good. On another note, thanks for making your recipes so adaptable to different diets. I’m a vegan and my husband has celiac disease and almost every recipe on your blog still works for us with a little tweaking!
You’re welcome! I’m glad this is helpful. I try to do my best. It isn’t always possible 100%, but do try. Thanks for your review, Clare!
We made this recipe on Episode 99 of our baking podcast, Preheated. They turned out so great!
Great to hear!
I’m a little hesitant to make these. Why? Because I may eat more than 1 …
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing… Looks so yummy. I will definitely this try and share my feedback with you.
Yes, please do!
These turned out delicious! So simple and satisfying. I don’t think there’s a better combo than chocolate and pb :)
Thank you, Sarah!
I made these for a 4th of July cookout. I used almond butter with honey for those with peanut allergies. They were a HUDGE hit. Just a perfect size dessert. It was supper easy. I will make these again for sure.
Great, Nancy!
Delicious! I used piping bags and that made my life a whole lot easier.
I’m glad you loved it, Hollilyn!
Made these for a work morning tea. Everyone LOVED them! Super easy to make and super delicious.
I tried these over the weekend and they were a great hit with my family
Thanks for the recipe
Chana Masala! Another great, family-loved, dinner! Thank you, Kate, and Cookie! We loved it. I especially appreciate your liberal and encouraging use of garlic and spices. So yummy. And as always, it came together quickly with pantry staples! So happy I found you.
Hi Kate, just wondering if I can omit the honey or does honey makes a difference to the texture? Thanks!
Hi Yvonne! Unfortunately, yes that would impact the texture and the flavor significantly.
Thank you very much for your prompt reply! I just made half a recipe as I did not have enough chocolate and they turned out amazing!!! The salt nicely balanced the flavour! It’s simply amazing! Love the peanut butter honey texture as well. Thank you so much for sharing! Time to stock up on more chocolate.
Wow, I love Reese’s but these are soooo good!! Who knew peanut butter and maple syrup together is magic. Yum!
Hi Kate, just wondering should the chocolate cups remain solid in room temp? I just left one cup in room temp to thaw and it totally melted. Any idea why? Thanks
Hey Yvonne, sorry to hear that! They should be as solid as chocolate chips are at room temperate, so I’m not sure why that happened (unless your room was quite warm).
It’s really warm in Singapore, all year round haha. I quickly pop the cup into the fridge after I found it all soft and it firmed up beautifully. Can’t wait to try the peppermint version. Thank you so much for sharing all these amazing, simple and healthier food.
I made the Mini Peanut Butter Cups today, so good !
I used 3 Tb Trader Joe’s Creamy Salted Peanut Butter and 1Tb maple syrup. I used Enjoy Life Semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. I was very pleased with the results. Thanks so much for your fantastic recipes.
I will try these for a lockdown birthday treat for my daughter, she turns 13 tomorrow. I don’t have mini muffin liners, I only have normal size. I will double the recipe and let you know how I get on!
Please do!
i love this recipe, I tried it and loved the results. thank you so much for sharing this!
very excited to make these for my daughters virtual graduation. can you tell me- we have no room in our freezer! will they set in the fridge?
Hi Alisa, to make sure these set-up the best in the freezer. I don’t know if the chocolate will cure correctly, but you could try it. I would suggest leaving it in the fridge for at least 2 hours and see if you need to let it last longer.
Thank you for repsonding! so my fridge is pretty cold and i stuck it in the back and perfect! and delicious. i made one batch with crunchy natural pbutter and the other with cashew butter. now, how do i not eat them all!!! thanks again!
These are yummy! I’ve made them a few times and find adding a table spoon or so of coconut oil to the chocolate helps make more thin smooth layers that are easier to bite through. I also warmed up the peanut butter this time since mine was a bit thick. Great ease treat with no baking. Thank you!
Hi Katie!
I look forward to trying this recipe, it’s simple and seems delish :)
In your ingredients you have posted 2 Tb of peanut butter and 2Tb of maple syrup… so like 15 Tb of each for 15 cups?
Thanks!
Anna
Hi! This recipe yields 15 cups. It’s not for a single candy. I hope that helps!
Hi Kate,
Will you kindly offer guidance or even suggestions for quantities for making these in regular-sized muffin cup liners? Thank you!
Hi Sherry, this recipe works best as written. Sorry!
Can erythritol substitute for the maple syrup? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, sorry!
Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your recipes. This one, just like the others came out dependably delicious! Thanks for keeping things simple.
Great to hear, Leigh! Thank you for your review.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wonderfully satisfying!
My husband and I made these last night. We followed your recipe exactly. We used Smuckers Natural Creamy PB. Mixing that with the maple syrup made such a delicious, creamy treat when biting into.
Thinking of trying to use
Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate to make chocolate overed cherries for Valentine’s Day.
Question, Kate:
What syrup could I use for inside these?
You’re welcome, Elyse! Thank you for your review.
What are the calories and macronutrients of this recipe?
Hi Susan, the nutritional information is below the notes section. You need to click to expand.
Made these last week and almost half the plate was gone in 10 minutes. It’s the absolute perfect combination of salty and sweet. Plus, it’s a great date night activity to do together! My boyfriend and I enjoyed making them but enjoyed eating them even more. :)