Homemade Peanut Butter Cups | Nutty Novelties Style
We’ve all run into that problem of wanting a dessert without a bunch of bad ingredients. We work hard to eat well, and it’s healthy to budget something sweet every once in a while. But just because you budget something sweet doesn’t mean you should need to budget for a bunch of additives and preservatives, too! Cooking at home allows you to control what exactly you're putting into your body. Thankfully, our friend Lauren (check her out @happyhungryfoodie) decided to create this masterpiece of a dessert. Rich, sweet chocolate finds it soul mate in our Nutty Novelties Cappuccino Peanut Butter. The bitterness of coffee and the saltiness of peanuts make for the perfect foil to that ever-so-craveable chocolate. We combine her flavors with our methods and your diet to make this amazing iteration of the classic chocolate peanut butter cup.
The Methods
To make them, we start by using a double boiler to melt the chocolate and coconut oil. Double boilers are a simple, two-part piece of cooking equipment perfect for achieving very gentle, delicate cooking. The first part is a small, ordinary saucepan. The second part is a smaller pan with a rounded bottom that fits on top of the saucepan. To use it, place some water in the saucepan and boil it. Then, sit the rounded pan on top of the saucepan. (NOTE: The pan on top should fit snuggly on top of the smaller pan. Also, make sure the boiling water doesn’t touch the bottom of the top pan. If the water touches the rounded pan, the chocolate inside of it could burn). The key is to let the steam from the boiling water hit the bottom of the bowl, creating a controlled and gentle cooking environment. If you don’t have a pan for double boiling, a simple glass or metal bowl that fits safely and snuggly atop a saucepan works perfectly. Melting chocolate in this way gives it a luxurious texture and a beautiful sheen when it cools.
The Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup Nutty Novelties Cappuccino Peanut Butter (or any flavor really; try it with our butterscotch peanut butter or our classic peanut butter, too!)
- 1/4 cup Natural Maple Syrup
- 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil
Directions for Homemade Peanut Butter Cups:
- Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double boiler until they have fully melted.
- Pour half of the melted mix into 9 silicone muffin molds (or any muffin tin with muffin liners), only filling the bottom to halfway up the sides. Then, place the molds in the freezer until the chocolate has solidified. At this point, you can probably turn off the burner for your double boiler. Keep an eye on the remaining chocolate, making sure it doesn't harden (too cold) or bubble (too hot).
- While you wait for the chocolate to fully freeze, mix the peanut butter and maple syrup in a bowl.
- Take out frozen mold and fill each one with the same amount of peanut butter mixture.
- Top off the molds with the remaining chocolate and freeze again. They are ready as soon as the chocolate has hardened completely. Store these in the freezer or fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Check out this page for how you can get your hands on some delicious, all natural nut butters like the ones you found in this recipe, or this page for more of our nutty recipes!
Again, special thanks to @happyhungryfoodie for these delicious, energy boosting treats!