Peanut Butter Cup Panini Bites

This week’s editorial assignment – to come up with recipes incorporating candy – was quite a challenge! How does one create a lunch recipe using candy?

Well, for me, the final answer was to feature what I view as the ultimate Halloween treat: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Yes, that classic chocolate & peanut butter combination just can’t be beat!

I envisioned mini panini sandwiches stuffed with peanut butter cups, banana slices, and extra peanut butter… because, let’s be honest, more peanut butter is never a bad idea.

I used the same dried fruit- and nut-packed bakery bread that I featured with the Apple Pie Grilled Cheese for a more sophisticated flavor, and placed the little bites into my panini press just long enough for the chocolate to soften and the peanut butter to melt.

Given the decadence and petite stature of these panini bites, they’re really more like a lunch dessert than a main dish. You know, an indulgently sweet two-bite finish to what is hopefully a nutritious lunch… because who can resist candy this time of year?!