2-Ingredient Chocolates That Rival The Popular Store-Bought Brands

In a world where hundreds of candies can be bought for cheap at any supermarket, making sweets from scratch can be a hard sell. While some treats like caramels are indeed fussy, you can recreate one beloved candy using only chocolate and a jar of peanut butter. Easy two-ingredient peanut butter cups turn out so tasty that you may never buy them at the store again.

Why make your own PB cups when Reese's (or a bunch of Reese's knockoffs) are right there on the shelf? Not only do you get a whole batch of cups for little effort, but you have full control over the ingredients. If you wish this candy were less sweet, good-quality dark chocolate will fix that. Want a filling that's richer and creamier than crumbly and grainy? Going DIY lets you use any high-end peanut butter brand – and any type of nutter butter. Even if you don't change the classic milk chocolate cups, they're a great project to do with kids and make for a special homemade gift.

To make these goodies, start by lining a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Melt the chocolate, drizzle an even coating into the bottom of each liner, and dollop a small spoonful of peanut butter into the center. Pour in more chocolate until the PB is submerged, then chill the cups in the fridge until set (you can also freeze them for about 15 minutes if you're impatient or think Reese's are candies that taste better frozen). That's basically a wrap, but the possibilities go far beyond this default version.

The only semi-tricky part of making homemade peanut butter cups is melting the chocolate, as any type will burn when it gets too hot too quickly. A gentle and easy way to melt a chocolate bar is submerging it in hot water — just don't let water get into the chocolate itself, or it will "seize" and turn grainy. The microwave is another simple method, but you have to zap the chocolate in small amounts and in very short intervals, stirring in between, to avoid overheating it.

Once you make your first successful batch, you can customize your cups to your heart's content. Toppings like sprinkles, crushed nuts, sea salt, and shredded coconut are super easy to add. Just scatter them over the cups right after pouring in the second layer of chocolate. For even more visual appeal, drizzle salted caramel sauce or a contrasting color of chocolate over the cups after they harden.

Swapping out the chocolate and peanut butter lets you get even more creative. High-cacao chocolate filled with almond butter would be utterly sophisticated, or try white chocolate stuffed with Nutella for a fun "inverted" Reese's cup. You can even branch out into unusual chocolate flavors and extra fillings. Dollop some jelly over the nut butter for PB&J cups, use coffee-infused chocolate for mocha cups, or add a layer of marshmallow fluff to the filling and garnish with graham crackers for s'mores cups. You're going to feel just like Willy Wonka, minus the Oompa Loompas.