BAKING

Naughty Made Nice

Charles Roff
Chevi ‘62, 1978
Black and White Photo
Courtesy of Black and White Gallery, London.
Scottish Photographer

Ah, my first recipe with peanut butter. Because Leo is deathly allergic to peanuts, we don’t have a trace of them in our home, but work is a different matter. I wanted something naughty; something I haven’t eaten in a million years…

Peanut butter cups? Maybe. Chocolate peanut butter bon-bons? Hell yes! I wanted just a little something I could pop in my mouth and have that unmistakable, harmonious marriage of salty and sweet, awaking my senses in a very specific way-like pulling the drapes from the window on a bright sunny day, flooding a room with effervescent light.

When I was little, I ate peanut butter cups until there were no more. I’d nibble away at the edge so the chocolate wouldn’t overpower the real star: the peanut butter center. I couldn’t get enough. Unfortunately for Reese’s, I no longer eat processed candy, but then again, homemade always tastes better. And because I was grappling with the ratio of chocolate to peanut butter in the peanut butter cups, I wanted to down-size, thus came the idea of a little bon-bon popper.

For the filling, I highly recommend using light muscovado sugar, as the flavor really can’t be matched by your regular brown sugar. These are super easy, super fun to make, and perfect for an impromptu gift or that little cocktail party you’ve been meaning to have.

For this an other mouthwatering Blackbird Bakery desserts, pre-order your book now!
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February 21st, 2008 — 12:43 pm

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