There’s nothing quite like seeing the faces of a group of  adults at a dinner party when you put a plate of these beauties out for dessert.

The calorie-counters who insist on half-servings and surreptitiously check their smart-phone apps to see if they can squeeze in another glass of wine…

The polite pickers who quietly move the potatoes (perfectly roasted in duck fat, I might add) around so that it looks like they’ve been eating…

Even the waist-watchers who wouldn’t touch the lovely artisanal bread you painstakingly sourced if their life depended on it and who happily lecture the entire table on the evils of carbs…

They all have the same look – shock, then disbelief, then – slowly, but inevitably – joy. Pure, unrestrained joy.

They are kids again and they’ve just been given a candy store. They dive in.

Politely, you remind your guests that choking will be less of a risk if they eat them one at a time.

Later, when it is all over and the fingers circling like sharks have found the last crumbs, they all ask – still breathing heavily from exertion – for the recipe.

So here it is.

Peanut butter cups

Makes 36

1 1/4  cup butter, divided

1 1/2 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups confectioner’s or icing sugar

1 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Line three muffin tins with medium baking cups (cupcake papers). Or make in batches using one muffin tin.

In a bain marie (or a stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water), melt 1/2 cup butter. Transfer to another bowl and mix well with sugar. Stir in peanut butter and then graham cracker crumbs until mixture forms a smooth paste. Set aside.

Melt remaining butter butter. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips  are melted and mixture is smooth, shiny and runs freely. 

Place a teaspoon or so of chocolate in the bottom of each baking cup and place muffin tin in fridge or freezer for 15 minutes to let chocolate set. Return bowl of chocolate to bain marie and stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, on parchment paper, roll out peanut butter mixture until it is approximately 1/2 inch thick and cut into disks using a small round cookie cutter. Alternatively, roll mixture into small balls using your hands and flatten into disks.

Place one peanut butter disk in each baking cup, leaving a small gap all around. Cover with melted chocolate and return to fridge or freezer to set for half an hour.

Peanut butter cups store well in the freezer. Enjoy!

NOTE: Depending on how much peanut butter mixture you put in each cup, you may have some leftover at the end. Don’t waste it! Place it in an even layer in a small baking dish lined with parchment paper and cover with a little melted chocolate. Let is set up and you have peanut butter squares. A little less fancy than the peanut butter cups, but just as good.