Reese's Peanut Butter Tart

By stancec44

You know what's really fun? Giant homemade versions of Snickers, Twix Bars, and Peanut Butter Cups fulfill everyone's childhood dream (“I’m going to make the biggest candy bar ever!”). Plus, giant Halloween candy bars make for super fun party centerpieces. They don’t require more than standard baking tools and techniques and supermarket ingredients, but they’ll make you look like a Willy Wonka hero. And yes, kids will go crazy for them, too.

THE KEY TO SILKY, SNAPPY CHOCOLATE
Better chocolate makes for better-tasting Halloween candy bars, but don’t go crazy. Save single-origin, hand-crafted, bean-to-bar chocolate for savoring on its own. Just choose a good-quality chocolate with a cacao percentage between 40% (milk) and 60% (dark). Cacao higher than 60% will be too bittersweet, and cacao lower than 40% might not give you the better-than-storebought chocolate flavor you deserve.

To get a snappy chocolate shell on your giant candy bars, just gently melt chocolate until it’s just smooth over simmering water, then stir in oil to ensure it sets properly. Stir the mixture until it’s silky, but don’t over-stir or it’ll end up streaky or dull. Use a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water instead of microwaving since it guarantees more even melting. Just be sure to wipe any condensation on the bottom of the bowl before you start to pour the melted chocolate. Water drops will mar an otherwise flawless shell. And now, on to the oversized candy!
The secret to mimicking the almost crumbly filling of the iconic orange-clad peanut butter cups? Start with dry-roasted peanuts, not peanut butter (which can end up tasting too oily and soft). Instead, whip up your own almost-peanut-butter in a food processor in minutes, and then stir in a bit of actual peanut butter to smooth it out. The result nails the sweet-salty balance of the original with an added bonus of decadent richness.

To create the most perfectly shaped giant peanut butter cup, start with a fluted 10-inch tart pan, which just happens to mimic the crimped edge of the original candy. Another tip: Pat the peanut filling into a round before transferring it to the chocolate-lined tart pan. To make sure the round is the right size, you can trace the pan base on parchment paper, then flip the paper over and shape the peanut butter disk just ¼-inch smaller than the circle. Pour more melted chocolate over the top, and all that's left to do is chill the tart until set.

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 18 ounces milk, semisweet, and/or bittersweet chocolate (preferably 40–60% cacao), chopped
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut or other neutral vegetable oil
• 1 pound unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts (about 3 1/2 cups;the only ingredient for the peanuts should be “peanuts.” Don’t buy the dry roasted peanuts that have lots of seasonings or the peanuts with salt and oil added.)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
• Special Equipment
• A 10" fluted tart pan with removable bottom

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from epicurious.com

Preparation

Step 1

Spray inside of tart pan ring with nonstick spray. Wrap removable bottom of pan with plastic wrap; gather excess plastic underneath (it should be smooth on top of removable bottom). Set inside ring.
Heat chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring, until melted. Remove from heat and, stirring constantly, add oil. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until chocolate mixture firms slightly, about 10 minutes.
Pour a little less than half of chocolate mixture into prepared pan; reserve remaining chocolate mixture at room temperature. Tilt pan until bottom is evenly coated. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, purée peanuts, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and salt in a food processor, scraping bowl often, until mixture forms a large mass around the blade that sticks together; do not overprocess or mixture will be too soft and greasy.

Transfer peanut mixture to a large sheet of wax paper. Press firmly into a disk 1/4" smaller than diameter of tart pan, about 9 3/4", until no cracks remain. Carefully invert disk into tart pan, centering it. Peel off and discard wax paper.

Pour reserved chocolate mixture (it should be the consistency of fudge sauce) over center of peanut disk. Tilt pan to spread completely over the top, filling the gap between edges of pan and disk, until smooth. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Remove sides of tart pan. Carefully lift tart off bottom of pan, then slide onto a platter while removing plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature 10 minutes, then cut into wedges.