Chocolate Cups with Ice Cream and Peanuts

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 4 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
• 1 pt superpremium ice cream, slightly softened
• 1/4 cup chopped cocktail peanuts
• Special equipment: a mini-muffin pan with 12 (1/8-cup) cups; 12 paper-lined foil mini-muffin liners* (1 1/4 inches across bottom and 1 inch high); a small watercolor paintbrush

1. Line muffin cups and lightly spray liners with cooking spray.
2. Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.
3. Spoon a scant teaspoon chocolate into each cup and use paintbrush to coat bottoms and sides evenly.
4. Freeze cups until chocolate is firm, about 5 minutes, then repaint any thin spots, especially around top edges, with some of remaining chocolate and refreeze until firm, about 5 minutes.
5. Spoon remaining melted chocolate into a small sealable plastic bag, pressing out excess air.
6. Twist bag firmly just above chocolate and set aside.
7. Working in 3 batches, scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons ice cream into each cup and gently press into cups with a small offset spatula or back of a spoon to fill cups evenly.
8. (You will have some ice cream left over.)
9. Refreeze cups to firm ice cream, at least 5 minutes.
10. Sprinkle cups with peanuts, then snip off a minuscule portion of 1 bottom corner of plastic bag with scissors to form a very small opening and decoratively pipe remaining chocolate over peanuts.
11. Freeze desserts until chocolate and ice cream harden, at least 30 minutes.
12. Remove petits fours from freezer 1 at a time and carefully peel off liners, then refreeze on a tray until hardened, about 30 minutes more.
13. *Available at New York Cake & Baking Distributor (800-942-2539).

vegetable oil cooking spray, bittersweet chocolate, cream, cocktail peanuts, paper

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-cups-with-ice-cream-and-peanuts-108905 (may not work)