Peanut Butter Cups

Can we all agree that peanut butter cups are the king of candy?

Be still my heart.

Halloween is right around the corner so there's no better time to make these.

Many of the recipes I have seen either use a ton of powdered sugar or graham crumbs to thicken + sweeten the peanut butter filling. While that's okay as a treat, I really wanted to make the perfect peanut butter cup without all the added sugar.

To make the peanut butter filling I added coconut oil to natural peanut butter. Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature it keeps the peanut butter from being too runny. But if you don't like the taste of it, or, are allergic, you can use regular butter instead or none at all.

I opted to use a combination of dark and milk chocolate, and chose to use an unsalted natural peanut butter so that I had the option to add a pinch of sea salt if the filling needed it. Sometimes that little bit of salt is all you need to round out the flavours just perfectly, especially when we're talking chocolate.

These can be made vegan or gluten free by using dairy-free or certified gluten-free chocolate such as Enjoy Life chocolate. Their mega chunks are my favourite to use.

When there are peanut butter cups, its a happy halloween for sure!

Peanut Butter Cups gluten free, vegan | makes 12

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate, vegan if needed
• 1 cup dark chocolate, vegan if needed
• 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar (or sucanat/coconut sugar)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or regular butter)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Line a mini-muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. Melt the chocolates in a small bowl set over - not in - a small pot of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the melted chocolate into the bottom of each muffin liner. Tap the pan gently on the counter to smooth out the surface. Refrigerate the tin until the chocolate begins to set; about 10-15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the peanut butter, sugar, coconut oil, and sea salt if using, in a small bowl and stir until smooth and creamy. Spoon one teaspoon of the peanut butter filling on top of the hardened chocolate. Place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to set.
5. Return the remaining chocolate to sit over the simmering pot of water and stir until smooth. Then top each cup with the melted chocolate, making sure the filling is completely covered.
6. Refrigerate until set; about 30 minutes.

*Tip*

• These are best if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They can also be frozen. If you leave them out a white film that sometimes appears on chocolate will form after a few days. The reason for this is because the chocolate was just melted and not tempered. Store them in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. If you are freezing them they should last about 2 months.
• If you want a more classic tasting peanut butter cup I recommend using all milk chocolate.