Seeing as I inhale chocolate like it’s my job to do so, I thought I would try out these raw chocolate peanut butter cups I had seen everyone raving about. It’s no secret that Reese’s peanut butter cups are freaking amazing, but they are full of fat, processed milk and deadly chemical preservatives (can you even attempt to pronounce tertiary butyl hydroquinone? Didn’t think so). Well, thank god I tried these, because they turned out to be HEAVENLY. I used Loving Earth’s recipe and tweaked it a bit to (duh) add even more chocolatey-nutty-buttery-ness.
The best thing about these bad boys is that they can be stored in the freezer for basically as long as you’d like (if they can even make it without being in your belly for that long). AND because of the combo of ingredients, the freezer doesn’t make them rock solid icy chunks of broken teeth waiting to happen, like many other frozen desserts.
Another awesome thing about these fantastic little creations is that they really don’t taste “healthy” per say, because the chocolate chunks combined with the creamy texture of the nut butter and coconut oil make for a delectable layering of flavor that leaves you feeling oh so satisfied. And because they are COLD they are especially yummy. For sure better than the OG Reese’s you maniacally dug for in your bags of Halloween candy (…or was that just me?).
I know you’re ready for the recipe, so I’ll stop rambling. Here it is:
Serves 9-12 (depending on how big you make them)
Ingredients:
Peanut Butter Portion:
– ½ cup natural peanut butter
– ½ cup natural almond butter (you can do 1 cup of one or the other, but I loved the variety of flavor in the combo)
– 1 tbsp organic agave syrup (may substitute with maple syrup or honey)
– 2 tbsp organic coconut oil (melted)
Chocolate Portion:
– ½ cup cacao powder
– 1 tbsp organic agave syrup
– 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
– ¼ cup organic vegan chocolate chips
Directions:
- Whip out your trusty muffin trays, and if you don’t have them, buy them, because they come in handy for just about every yummy treat.
- Combine the nut butters, coconut oil and agave syrup in a bowl and stir until the ingredients are well mixed.
- Place a spoonful of the mixture into each muffin cup until you have used it all.
- Place in the freezer until hardened. Now time to start on the chocolate portion!
- Combine the cacao powder, coconut oil, agave and chocolate chips in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
- Place a spoonful of the chocolate mixture over the hardened peanut butter mixture.
- Pop them back into the freezer and harden. Now comes the hard part – wait until they are hard so you can nom on those puppies!
And as Alicia Silverstone, one of my favorite vegan celebs, says, “I dare you not to love them!” But that’s not fair for me to say in this case… because that’s a bet I know I’ll win.
