My Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups – Butterscotch with Amaretto!

​There is a “treat” that I love to eat daily; crunchy peanut butter with crackers or rice cakes. I eat this almost daily in mid-afternoon, with a cup of ginger and lemon tea. It’s silly but it gives me a sense of a break in the afternoon from my super busy schedule. Since I love peanut butter, many years ago I found a peanut butter cups recipe and began to make them as holiday gifts. However, through the years, I changed it to make it my own and today, I want to share my recipe with you.
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 30 minutes plus time for the chocolate to set.
Approximate Cost: $7.10 or .32 cents per piece
Difficulty Level:     X    Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 22
 
INGREDIENTS
9-ounce semisweet chocolate ($2.45)
¾ cup crunchy salted natural peanut butter (from Trader Joe’s) ($1.00)
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar (.35)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract ($1.00)
½ teaspoon Amaretto Liquor ($1.00)
18 to 20 mini paper baking cups set on a baking sheet. ($1.00)
22 Butterscotch morsels to garnish (.30)
 
DIRECTIONS
Melt 4 ounces of the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave.
Spoon 1 teaspoon (or less) of melted chocolate into each cup. Use a small spoon to spread the chocolate slightly around the sides of each baking cup. When done, you should have an even chocolate base at the bottom of each cup.
Let them cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes until solid. (It takes time to get solid)
In a medium bowl, stir together peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and Amaretto. (before adding the peanut butter and sugar, stir it well in the jar to make sure the oil is not on top but well combined.)
Transfer the peanut butter mixture to a Ziploc bag and seal it tightly. Cut one corner of the plastic bag and pipe about 1 to 2 teaspoons of peanut butter mixture into the center of each cup. (It will all depend on the size of your mini muffing baking cup, the mini’s varies in sizes)
Then, moistened your finger lightly, press down the peanut butter mixture to flatten it, leaving a bit of space between the peanut butter and the edge of the paper cup
Melt the remaining 5 ounces of chocolate. Spoon 1 teaspoon of chocolate onto the top of each cup. Use a small spoon to spread the chocolate evenly over the top and down the sides of the cup.
Refrigerate until solid, about 30 minutes or just leave them in a cool place until the chocolate   set real hard.