Chocolate Peanut Butter Patties
These homemade peanut butter patties are very easy to make, since I skip the step of tempering my chocolate. Of course, you can temper the chocolate properly if you would like (a process that involves melting the chocolate and bringing it to exactly 45 degrees C, then cooling to exactly 25 degrees C, then reheating back up to 30 degrees C), but I am a bit lazy when it comes to tempering chocolate. Instead I am using a method called direct warming, which means that you bring the chocolate to the exact final temperature. In the case of the milk chocolate used here, that temperature is 30 degrees or 86 degrees F. Tempering chocolate properly is essential in chocolate making because it ensures that the chocolate will have a smooth and glossy finish. Untempered chocolate will not set completely and leave you with melty mess, and more than likely it will bloom, (the process in which cocoa butter arises to the surface of the chocolate and re-crystallizes) giving you a white coating all over the surface of the chocolate. Bloomed chocolate certainly won’t hurt you or take away any flavor – it just isn’t all that attractive to have white mold-like spots on your candy.
With that said, I still decide to skip the tempering step since I am not so terribly concerned with these homemade confections looking perfect, and they will likely get gobbled up before they even have the chance to bloom. Plus, I dust them with roasted peanuts, just in case my quick and dirty method doesn’t pull through. So I leave the choice to temper the chocolate up to you.
Makes approximately 15 chocolates
Ingredients
1/3 cup creamy organic peanut butter
1 teaspoon butter, soft
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cream
scant 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
6 ounces milk chocolate
1/4 cup roasted and salted peanuts, finely chopped
To make the peanut butter filling combine the peanut butter, butter and salt. Add the confectioner’s sugar and stir until combined. Finally, stir in the cream. Scoop out approximately a half-tablespoon of peanut butter filling and roll in the palm of your hands; then press down slightly with your fingertips to create a disk. Place the peanut butter patties on a piece of wax or parchment paper.
Meanwhile, heat the milk chocolate in a small saucepan (or over a bain marie) over low heat, while stirring. When the chocolate is almost melted, remove from the heat and continue to stir, until completely melted. (If using a candy thermometer, bring the chocolate to 30 degrees C or 86 degrees F.)
Dip one peanut butter patty in the milk chocolate. Use a fork to pick up the patty and let the chocolate drip off the bottom of the patty; then place on a clean sheet of wax/parchment paper. Top the chocolate with a pinch of chopped peanuts. Repeat the same process. Let cool completely.
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