I love to cook and bake as much as possible, and I love that Rory enjoys doing it with me! The only problem… is that it’s hard to bake with a toddler. I have quickly learned that Rory is just like her mom and her aunts; she loves to pick at dough! However, if the batter has any egg product, it’s not going to touch Rory’s mouth. So today, I was thinking of doing a no-bake sweet treat (yet not all complete sugar) that Rory could help with, and what is better than a Peanut Butter Cup!

let’s make Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

I decided to use homemade peanut butter for this recipe – you can use a store bought if you like, it works just as well. However, I watch Rory’s sugar intake closely.

To make your own homemade peanut butter, just take a jar of peanuts and put it into a food processor and grind it. I added a little peanut oil at times because it does get a little thick. But that is it!

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homemade peanut butter cups ingredients

• 2 cups peanut butter
• 1/3 cup butter
• 3 cups rice krispies cereal
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• Candy melts or chocolate chips (for this recipe I used one bag of vanilla candy melts since my husband doesn’t like chocolate and one bag of dark chocolate chips, since I love it!)
• Cookie sheet with waxed paper
• Freezer
• Device(s) to help you dip in the balls (we use leftover skewers from our grill nights) but candy dipping spoons work wonderfully too!

directions to make peanut butter cups

Step 1

First, we had to wash our hands. Rory knows before we cook anything we have to wash our hands, and her hand washing process normally takes about 15 minutes!

Step 2

After the hand washing was done, we melted the butter in the microwave and added in the peanut butter.

I made sure to let Rory know that the butter was hot and to ONLY stir with the spoon. To help get her mind off sticking her hands in the bowl and eating a whole handful of dough, we made a game out of stirring. We decided to stir in circles, then stir in straight lines, and finally we stirred in the shape of squares. Rory loved going crazy with the spoon!We also discussed texture when we made these. We talked about the SMOOTH peanut butter while we stirred.

Step 3

Once the peanut butter and butter were smoothly stirred together we took out the rolling pin and crushed the rice krispies.

We talked about the CRUNCHY krispies, again reinforcing texture. Rory loved crushing the krispies! We played around with the rolling pin, going forward and back and then rolling side to side.

Step 4

Once they were crushed nicely, we added them to our butter mixture. We also added the powdered sugar and mixed.

Step 5

Once it is well mixed you get to form the balls! This was by far Rory’s favorite part because she could sneak a pick in her mouth, and did so frequently! We mostly made circles, but on occasion Rory wanted to make ovals or squares.

Step 6

Once all the balls were formed, we put them to sleep, or let them chill in the fridge for a few hours. We sang them sleeping songs and checked on them to make sure they were sleeping soundly.

Step 7

When you are ready to dip be very careful with your toddler, the chocolate gets very hot! I melted the chocolate in the microwave, but you can always use a double boiler. If you are using a bag of chocolate chips you may want to add a tablespoon of shortening to help thin it out a bit. Just dip the balls in the chocolate and take them out making sure they are completely covered in the chocolate.

Step 8

Then you can decorate them! Rory loved dumping sprinkles on them, and we tried to make them look like eggs! We then talked about the SMOOTH eggs, and the colors of the sprinkles we put on them.

more dessert recipes

• Check out these peppermint creams that your family, especially the kids, can’t resist!
• Try these foil surprise balls with your kids or you can create them ahead of time to surprise them!
• Or you can simply Make Your Own Lollipops. Yum!
• You have to try this peanut butter pie.

Have you tried making our homemade peanut butter cups with your toddlers? Share with us in the comments below how much fun they had and how many pieces they ate!