patty cakes (chocolate coated peanut butter cracker sandwiches)
Patty Cakes are chocolate coated peanut butter cracker sandwiches, a 3-ingredient sweet-n-salty treat, perfect for care packages. Use colorful sprinkles to customize for different special occasions, or just for fun.
Ingredients
- 36 Ritz crackers
- ¼ cup JIF peanut butter
- 12 oz baking chocolate, chopped or melting chocolate discs (see notes)
- sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with wax paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Sandwich ¼ teaspoon peanut butter between two crackers to create 18 peanut butter cracker sandwiches. Arrange in rows on the sheet pan, and refrigerate until ready to coat in chocolate.
- Fill a small sauce pot with 1-2" of water. Place a heat-proof bowl larger than the mouth of the pot across the opening (you need to be able to hold the side of the bowl without burning your hand on any escaping steam or the pot itself) to create a double boiler. Bring the water to a low boil. Chop the chocolate and place it inside the bowl. Stir until melted and smooth.Keep the bowl over the pot on a low boil while you coat the crackers in chocolate, adjusting the heat as needed.
- One at a time, slide the cracker and peanut butter sandwiches into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to flip them over to coat both sides. You may need to use the fork or a small spatula to drizzle extra chocolate over any hard-to-cover spots.
- Use the fork to lift the patty cakes of the chocolate, tapping the handle of the fork on the edge of the bowl a few times to encourage any excess chocolate to drip off. Carefully place the patty cake on the lined sheet pan and slide the fork out from underneath.
- Top with sprinkles while the chocolate is still melty, before moving on to the next patty cake.
- Place the finished patty cakes on a sheet pan in the fridge until the chocolate has set. When the chocolate has set completely, remove the patty cakes from the pan and store in an airtight container for up to a month.
RECIPE NOTES
- The right bowl for the job: It should be big enough that you won't burn your hand if you're using the double boiler method, but not so big that the chocolate isn't deep enough for the patty cakes.
- If you don't want to use a double boiler: Chop the chocolate and place it inside a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 10-15 second bursts, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you don't stir in between or microwave too long the chocolate will seize up and resist melting. Slow and steady wins here. (If you use this method, you may need to periodically return the bowl to the microwave periodically because the chocolate will cool as you coat the crackers.)
- Chocolate: You can use any chocolate you like — milk, dark, semi-sweet, a blend of all three, etc. Bakers chocolate, melting discs, or feves are ideal here, though chocolate chips will work. Chocolate chips have stabilizers in them to help them retain their pointy shapes, which makes them harder to melt.
- Peanut butter: Do NOT use the natural stuff or any peanut butter where you can see the visible separation of PB and oil in the jar. Your sandwiches will collapse on themselves and slide apart in the chocolate. This is a JIF-or-bust situation.