Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

My wonderful and accommodating mother whipped up some of these for me for my birthday a few years ago, and they were so amazing that I tucked the recipe away for a later date. I think I might make a few batches of these in a couple weeks to give out to my vegan pals for valentine's day. The chocolate and peanut butter combination is basically my favorite thing ever and I used to love reese's pb cups...plus the recipe is pretty easy.

Ingredients:
One package vegan chocolate chips -or- 12 oz. of a fancy vegan chocolate bar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
24 paper gem size candy liners -or- (for big pb cups) muffin/cupcake liners
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon vegan margarine, melted

Instructions:
Melt chocolate chips or candy bar and vegetable shortening over hot, though not boiling water (this is the double-boiler method, see here for more detailed instructions. You can also just melt the chocolate/shortening in the microwave, but you may need to microwave it a few times during the course of assembling the cups if you go this route). Stir until everything is melted, smooth, and well-combined.

Coat the inside of the candy or muffin liners with chocolate (for the candy liners use one teaspoon of chocolate mixture to do this, for the muffin liners, just be judicious--is should coat the bottom and edges but not just be glopped in there--leave room for the peanut butter). A rubber spatula will help you gently push the chocolate up the sides of the liners. Chill the filled liners in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until they're hardened. If you're using muffin liners, it might be a good idea to put them in a muffin tin so they don't lose their shape.

Combine the peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, and margarine in a bowl and stir well until blended. Using slightly rounded measured tablespoonfuls or a melon baller, shape the peanut butter filling into balls. Place one pb ball in each chocolate cup and press lightly with your fingers to flatten, then spoon the melted chocolate mixture on top (about one tablespoonful for the candy liners) and smooth over. Place these in the refrigerator again to harden (about 45 minutes).

It's best to keep these refrigerated until you're ready to eat or gift them. Hopefully I won't eat them all before I can package them up nicely for valentine's day.