Peanut butter cup

A peanut butter cup is a molded chocolate candy with a peanut butter filling inside. Peanut butter cups are one of the most popular kinds of candy confection in America.[1] They can be made at home,[2] but like most candies, they are commonly mass-produced. They may also be available in candy shops, produced by local or regional candymakers.

Peanut butter cup
Small peanut butter cups
TypeCandy
Place of originUnited States
Created byH. B. Reese
Main ingredientsChocolate (usually milk chocolate), peanut butter

The diameter, thickness, and the relative proportion of its two major components vary according to the desires of the maker. Any type of chocolate may be used for the shell, but milk chocolate is most common. Fillings are usually smooth, creamy peanut butter, but crunchy peanut butter, or peanut butter mixed with other flavors, is also used.

Brands

The most popular brand of peanut butter cup is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (sold as Reese in Canada), now a Hershey brand. The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is considered the "finest creation" of Harry Burnett "H. B." Reese, a former employee of Hershey's, who set up his own candy-manufacturing business in the 1920s. The company merged with Hershey's in a July 2, 1963 tax free stock-for-stock merger,[3] seven years after the May 16, 1956 death of Reese.[4] The famous slogans, "Two great tastes that taste great together" and "How do you eat a Reese's?" originated in marketing campaigns for this candy. The most popular slogan is "There's no wrong way to eat a Reese's." The current slogan is "Not Sorry."

In recent years Reese's has experimented with different types of peanut butter cups. Some variations have used white chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate-flavored peanut filling, and banana peanut butter in a chocolate cup sold as the Elvis Special Edition (all by Reese's).

Another brand is Palmer, which specializes in holiday peanut butter cups. There are various forms that the peanut butter cups take for the different seasons. Each holiday has a different color of foil for the season. They can also come in different shapes such as Christmas trees during holiday seasons.

Many regional candy companies also have versions of the peanut butter cup, including Boyer Candies in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

See also

Notes and references
  1. Smith, Andrew (2006). Encyclopedia of junk food and fast food. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. pp. xxxv. ISBN 0-313-33527-3.
  2. Recipes abound and vary significantly. Compare this version from Candy Making Basics, p. 50 (ISBN 9781895569254) to this version from Peanut Butter Planet, p. 140 (ISBN 9781579549633)
  3. "The 1963 Reese/Hershey Merger Closing Agenda" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  4. Beth Kimmerle (2003). Candy: The Sweet History. Portland, Or: Collectors Press. p. 115. ISBN 1-888054-83-2.
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