So, it’s Halloween season, and if you’re like about 95% of the population, your favorite Halloween candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – Oh my gosh, they’re so yummy, I could die. So, as I was perusing the candy aisle looking for candy to hand out (aka: eat all of) to all the trick-or-treaters, I decided to take a look at the ingredients of those delicious little morsels.
Guys, I wasn’t happy…not. at. all. For starters, Hershey’s chocolate openly discloses the fact that their ingredients are possibly GMO ingredients (Kudos, Hersheys, for being honest, but please get rid of the GMO’s)!. If that’s not enough, they also contain two following two questionable ingredients:
- PGPR (polyglycerol polyricinoleate): Instead of cocoa butter, they use PGPR, and this ingredient has been linked to gastrointestinal distress and allergic reactions.
- TBHQ (tertiary butylhdroquinone): Ugh, this stuff is extremely toxic, and has been linked to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, anxiety, restlessness, and delirium. On top of that, it has been shown in research that it can damage the lungs, cause stomach cancer, and umbilical cells in humans.
Come on Reese’s, say it isn’t so! I’m sure one would have to ingest A LOT of Reese’s for these types of symptoms to appear, but honestly it got me to thinking “why take the chance when I’m sure I can come up with something similar that I wouldn’t have to worry about”? And that’s just what I did!
I don’t mean to brag, but…well, actually, I do mean to brag! These chocolate almond butter cups are SO freaking delicious! I like them just as much, if not more, than Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and I can eat them without having to worry about GMOs, PGPR, or TBHQ. In fact, these guys only have 5 ingredients (6, if you use the optional pinch of sea salt), and some of them, like almond butter, are actually good for you! Oh, and I’m sure you’re wondering if you can use peanut butter instead of almond butter for a more Reese’s like experience, and the answer is definitely yes! I just prefer almond butter to peanut butter, but these would work just as well with peanut butter. I’m chalking this one up as a major win!
Alright, let’s get to the recipe!
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER CUPS
Ingredients: Makes 6 chocolate almond butter cups
Filling:
- 1/4 cup almond butter (or nut butter of your choice)
- 1 1/2 tsp. coconut flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. maple syrup or raw honey
- pinch of sea salt to taste (optional)
Coating
- 1 cup chocolate chips (can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, vegan chocolate…don’t be afraid to get creative! I used milk chocolate for the batch I made – DELISH)
- 2 1/2 tsp. coconut oil
Directions:
1.) Line 6 cups of a muffin tin with a muffin cup liner. Set aside.
2.) In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the filling. Stir until completely combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
3.) After the 15 minutes are up, take the bowl out of the freezer and take 2 tsp. of the mixture, and use your hands to create a round disc shape (this will be the filling of the cup, so that gives you a good idea of what shape it should be). Place it on a plate. Continue doing this until you have made 6 round discs. Place them back in the freezer.
4.) Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a small sauce pan, and heat over low heat. Stir continuously until it is all melted together. Remove from heat.
5.) Use a teaspoon, and place about 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. of the chocolate mixture in the bottom of each of the 6 muffin liners in the tin. Gently tap the muffin tin on the counter until the chocolate evenly coats the bottom of each muffin liner. Remove the filling discs from the freezer, and place one in each liner on top of the chocolate mixture. Again, use your teaspoon to place about 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. of the chocolate mixture on top, spreading it so that it tops each one evenly.
6.) Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 20 minutes, then remove and let sit in the pan for 10 minutes. (This is the hardest part of making these, because you can see how delicious they’re going to be, but you have to wait to dig in if you want them to turn out all pretty like).
7.) After you’ve waited the full amount of time, remove the liners from each of the chocolate almond butter cups, and you’ve got your very own homemade chocolate almond butter cups (or peanut butter cup, etc.).
Give yourself a pat on the back for creating such a masterpiece and dig in!!!
I promise you won’t be disappointed! YUM YUM YUM!!! Happy Halloween, and enjoy!
Loving and Laughing 