Make Peanut Butter Cups That Taste Like Reese's With Only 3 Ingredients

Whether your local Trader Joe's was out of its world-class chocolate peanut butter cups or you just like to know exactly what's going into the snacks you're eating, DIYing the classic Reese's peanut-butter chocolate combo is easy and quick and allows for modifications to make the treat completely fit your taste. There are two popular recipes, both of which require only three ingredients, and the best part is, they're no-bake recipes — a microwave and some space in your freezer are all you'll need.

For both recipes, you can probably guess the first two ingredients: Chocolate chips of your choice (melted in the microwave) and peanut butter are non-negotiables. The third ingredient, though, is more of a choose-your-own-adventure: The first version uses powdered sugar mixed into microwave-melted peanut butter, and it will give you the classic Reese's flavor: sweet and peanut-buttery. This one has the added benefit of using ingredients that are likely already in your pantry. Meanwhile, the second version, which uses unsweetened applesauce instead of sugar and powdered peanut butter in place of regular, provides a lower-sugar, lower-fat alternative. Besides having a milder sweetness level, the applesauce flavor does come through in this recipe, to some extent, so if that's not something you want, the first recipe might be the one for you.

If you want to recreate Reese's as accurately as possible, use a mini muffin tin to layer the chocolate, peanut butter mixture, and chocolate again, and then chill for about an hour until the peanut butter cups are hard and easily pop out. You can also freeze them longer if you prefer your peanut butter cups cold. Use paper muffin liners to make sure they don't stick to the pan, and keep the peanut butter mixture in the center of the muffin cup if you want chocolate to fully cover the edges. You can also use a regular muffin tin for jumbo chocolates, or these FireTreeSilverFlower fun-shaped chocolate molds to make heart-shaped, flower-shaped, or bunny-shaped peanut butter cups for seasonal or holiday treats.

Of course, once you've perfected the basics of a recipe, it's time to try mixing it up. And for such a simple treat, there's a surprising amount of changes you can make. Try swapping regular peanut butter for crunchy, or replacing it with sunflower seed butter, almond butter, or the slightly addictive Lotus Biscoff cookie butter. Try replacing semi-sweet chocolate chips with dark chocolate, or doing a half-and-half mixture. Instead of peanut butter cups, make denser peanut butter balls by rolling up and chilling pieces of the peanut butter mixture and then spooning melted chocolate over top. And if you're feeling extra fancy, sprinkle on a touch of salt to make the chocolate's sweetness shine.