It’s easy enough to avoid conventional chocolate peanut butter cups, but Nell and Paul Newman’s organic dark chocolate covered peanut butter cups are simply impossible to resist. So dark and healthy, so rich in anti-oxidants. So virtuous, made of organic cacao from small farms in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica, providing important buffer zones for the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, a habitat for endangered mammal and bird species. So luscious, the creamy center made from organic valencia peanuts from New Mexico. So harmless, served up in petite 6o calorie size cups. As if we could stop at only one cup… thankfully, there are only 3 per package.

Some things are better not known, such as the calorie count on the giant peanut butter cups at Grounded, made by PMS Cookie company, whose slogan apparently is “if we can’t cure it, we’ll feed it.” These intensely decadent creations feature crunchier, less processed tasting peanut butter than the Newman cups. The high-protein peanutty center sits regally atop a cookie crust throne in a cupcake wrapper, topped with a layer of dark chocolate.

These really should be sold like old-school bottle service where you buy one that gets stored in the refrigerator with your name on it, and they cut you a slice every time you come in for a cup of coffee.

Eleni’s takes the traditional Reeses’ Peanut Butter cup and bakes it inside the Rivington chocolate cupcake, then tops this indulgent alchemy with peanut butter buttercream frosting and yet another peanut butter cup. Overkill? Perhaps.

Dark Chocolate Dreams is like a chocolate peanut butter cup in a jar. Or an all-American version of Nutella. Perhaps it should be classified as an addictive narcotic. Just please don’t take it away from us.

Peanut Butter & Co. has an adorable sandwich shop in Greenwich Village, NYC and a funny cookbook, should you get bored eating it straight out of the jar or on any form of bread, fruit, vegetable or loved one. Ooh, this recipe for chocolate peanut butter bread pudding does look good!

Grounded 28 Jane St New York, NY 10014 212-647-0943 (Flickr Photo Pool, Felicia Sullivan’s review)

Eleni’s (inside Chelsea Market) 75 9th Ave New York, NY 10011 888-4-ELENIS

Peanut Butter & Co 240 Sullivan St (Btwn Bleecker St & W 3rd St) New York, NY 10012 212-677-3995

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