Guilt-Free Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups!
I am a lover of all things chocolate and peanut butter, so the marriage of the two is a no brainer. I always buy Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, but that habit is getting expensive. My inspiration for these came after I received my Naked PB in the mail. It is a powdered peanut butter which is created by pressing peanuts to remove the oil so you are left with a product that is lower in fat and high in protein. I first heard about it from Twist of Lemons (if you want a good foodie/nutrition account to follow, she is my fave) on Instagram. I have purchased PB2 in the past, which is also a powdered peanut butter, but has added sugar. Naked PB's ingredients are JUST roasted peanuts - no added sugar! Hooray! Let's just say I ordered it asap. If you want to order some Naked PB, you can use this link to get 15% off!
Now don't get me wrong, Jason and I are all about that high fat diet, but sometimes I like to experiment with different products. Naked PB allows me to use different kinds of fats, like coconut milk, which builds up the body's immune defenses and prevents disease. You can read more about the benefits of coconut milk here! If you don't have Naked PB you can definitely use 100% natural peanut butter or almond butter in its place.
I decided to make two variations of chocolate peanut butter cups: a Coconut Peanut Butter Cup and a Peanut Butter and Jam Cup. Happy to say they both turned out amazing! The combinations are really endless. Once you have the chocolate made you can fill them with whatever you have on hand.They are made with just a few healthy ingredients and come together SO quickly. They are also refined sugar-free and dairy-free! I love keeping these in the freezer for whenever I want a treat (so like always). Let's just say they don't last very long. Find recipes for both variations below!
Guilt-Free Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Makes: 12 large cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Set Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Chocolate:
3/4 cups natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cups unrefined coconut oil
1/3 cup full fat canned coconut milk (you can also use plain unsweetened almond milk)
1/4 - 1/3 cup raw honey (sub maple syrup for vegan)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Coconut Peanut Butter Filling:
1/3 cup Naked PB
1/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk (I have also used coconut water, almond milk and kefir)
1-3 tbs water, until you reach a peanut butter consistency
3 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes
sea salt to taste
Plain Peanut Butter Filling:
1/3 cup Naked PB
1 tsp 100% maple syrup
add 1 tbs of water at a time until you reach desired consistency
sea salt to taste
*Note: You can also just use almond butter of peanut butter as the filling!
Find the recipe for Chia Jam here.
Instructions:
1. Start by making the chia jam if you haven't already.
2. Get a regular sized muffin tin and fill with 12 muffin liners.
3. Combine all of the chocolate ingredients in a small pot on the stove on low heat. Whisk until melted and combined and turn off the heat.
Note: use new can of coconut milk at room temperature. I have tried using coconut milk I had in the fridge and it separated the chocolate mixture
4. Add a spoonful of chocolate mixture to each muffin liner. Enough to coat the bottom and go up the sides a bit.
5. Once each muffin liner is coated, place the muffin tin in the freezer to set.
6. While that is setting, make your coconut peanut butter filling. Pour the can of coconut into a blender or food processor to combine the liquid and fat layer to create a smooth consistency (you can store your unused coconut milk in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze it in ice cube trays). Add all of the coconut peanut butter filling ingredients to a bowl and combine. You may need to adjust the liquid to get to a texture that you like. Make sure it isn't too runny or it will be too hard to stay put in the line.
7. Next add the ingredients for the plain peanut butter filling in a separate bowl.
8. Once the bottom layer of chocolate is hard, remove them from the freezer and add a spoonful of the coconut peanut butter filling to 6 liners. To the other six liners add a spoonful of the plain peanut butter mixture and a spoonful of the chia jam.
9. Next pour chocolate over each one until the filling is covered. It should pour down along the sides so that it "seals" shut (if you have leftover chocolate you can dip bananas, strawberries or apples in it and freeze for another treat).
10. You can top each cup with a garnish like flaked coconut or sea salt to tell them apart, or leave as is.
11. Put them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until hardened, and then remove each cup from the liner. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Note: Let them thaw a bit before eating them as the center hardens when frozen. I find this helps me not overeat them!
Best,
Stacey