Dear Day Job, Will You Be Mine?

February 2011

I’ve never been one to be depressed about Valentine’s Day. In my world, it’s a theme party revolving around my favorite color and dark chocolate and creative gift giving. I wanted to have a craft hour at work in which we would make mailboxes to put by our desks. Just as in the days of elementary school, we would distribute Valentines to everybody. Thinking that not everyone would share my weird zeal for a commercial holiday, I decided to tone down my fervor and bring in a chocolatey treat instead.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Like Reeses but better for you!

Ingredients

6 cups high quality, dark chocolate
1 cup organic creamy peanut butter
1 cup local honey
1/4 cup organic honey bunny graham crackers, crushed*
1 teaspoon sea salt

*Whole graham crackers will do, but bunny grahams were all I could find. I recommend Annie’s Honey Bunny Grahams anyway because the number one ingredient is organic, whole-grain, wheat flour.

Directions

Line a muffin pan with 24 paper liners. Set aside.

Melt 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the stove and turn off the heat.

Using the back of a spoon or a pastry brush, paint a layer of melted chocolate onto the bottoms and sides of the paper liners. Set aside the remaining melted chocolate.

Put the muffin pan in the refrigerator for 20 minutes while you make the peanut-butter filling.

Combine the peanut butter, crushed graham crackers, honey and salt in a food processor.

Return the chocolate to the top of the double boiler. Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of chocolate and melt.

Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator. Put a spoonful of the peanut butter mixture into each chocolate-lined, cupcake paper.

Using a spoon, dollop the top of each peanut butter mixture mound with a generous portion of chocolate.

Use the back of a teaspoon to smooth out the tops.

Place the muffin pan in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator, pack into a carrying case, walk to work and serve to friendly faces.